@oblivian
Rwd will give you fewer surprises if the vehical has traction control, which the Jeep does, and added weight over the drive wheels in the back. It will be decent if you do or it will be down right scary if you don’t. Good advice about the lot practice. Without experience and rwd with old technology, this vehicle needs help, and lots of it.
Rhode Island doesn’t get massive amounts of snow. While a Jeep may not be an ideal vehicle for snowy/icy conditions (far from it), the OP just needs to use reasonable caution on the limited number of days per year when the roads haven’t been plowed yet or ice is likely. Improving the Jeep’s weight disteibution might help some, but these aren’t rare vehicles and their drivers seem to manage keeping them on the road. Winter conditions there are more like NYC than Buffalo, with daytime temperatures usually comfortably above freezing. It’s nothing like the northern Midwest or the inland parts of New England.
And if the tires are pushing 30,000 miles they’ll be even worse.
Stop & shop at the tire shop!
@MarkM
While I agree in principle with everything you say; the first day an inexperienced snow driver has in a 2 wd Jeep Liberty in snow without weight and with all season tires…will be scary. An inexperienced driver, doesn’t have a clue what “driving cautiously” means. Check out utube for southern driver escapades in even light snow. I say, if you aren’t going to do anything, take the bus when snows.
Good tires and careful driving habits should get you by just fine. An AWD or 4WD will slide just as easily as a FWD or 2WD as that “invincible” mindset takes over.
Sorry for being MIA for over a couple of months, I didn’t know my posts had so many replies!
Thanks everyone for their opinions.
Now that I’ve been through a couple of snow storm here in Providence, I can safely say that my RWD was more than adequate. When the snowstorm was hitting the hardest, I tried to stay off the road and not go anywhere; I work from home so that’s not too hard.
Once the the storm stopped, I find driving my car in semi-plowed road wasn’t as scary as I thought. Of course I fishtailed a couple of times, but that’s when I stepped on the gas too hard. I find if I gently step on the gas, it wasn’t all that bad. I had no problem driving over 1-2 inches of snow, but anything more than that, I had to shovel a path for my car.
I recently had brand new Firestone Destination LE2’s installed on my Jeep, and I’m certain they contributed to the overall experience of driving in the snow. The tires that came with my car, Goodyear Wrangler ST’s, were absolutely crap.
So overall, I don’t feel I need to get rid of my car. Of course having a 4WD would be great and more convenient, but as long as I drive slow and avoid any “jackrabbit” start, I should be fine.
My SIL,acquired a Jeep Cherokee or whatever in 2WD,she lives in tidewater NC,it gave her many miles of trouble free driving and she liked it,these vehicles are fine when you generally dont get a bunch of snow and I’m guessing it saved Her thousands of dollars in initial price and upkeep over its life-Kevin
Had to shovel a path for your car in more then 2 inches of snow ? ;=( Heaven forbid you should add four or five bags of tube sand to the back along with those new tires and balance the vehicle out… ;=) It might actually become quite good in snow and there would be little to complain about. The more weight , the more help you give those new tires. It appears to be a foreign concept to fwd car owners but since you now own a rwd car, it’s critical for improved snow performance. But, since no one else is pressing this obviously at least to me, very important issue, do what you wish. Just keep that shovel handy and your insurance card in the car. ;=()
The problem I see is that most snow-rookies think only of “going.” Thus the thoughts of AWD, etc. Going is good, but where winter driving will get you in trouble is inability to steer and stop. That is what causes the winter accidents. And which wheels are providing power has almost nothing to do with your ability to steer or stop your car.
What you need to properly steer and stop on snow/ice is good traction where your tires meet the road. And that means good modern snow/ice tires. Buy them premounted on wheels and do the seasonal switch. The only downside is that everyone else on the road will seem to be driving way too cautiously.
@TonyCarlos "and which wheels are providing the power has almost nothing to do with your ability to steer…"
Tell that to all the race car drivers and all the ice racing drivers as well anyone who has ever driven a car and tried to make a corner while climbing even a slight grade in snow or while trying to merge or turn while going through an intersection in snow. That is a “snow rookie” statement with all due respect. Power to the whichever wheels has everything to do with your ability to turn in MOST situations. If you think you can coast through every turn, you must live at the top of a hill and hitch hike back up. That’s why when turning, power is shifted to the rear in all modern Awd cars when you can’t afford to coast, like turning out of a street and merging with traffic.
If you actually drove an Awd car WITH the right tires an entire winter in all conditions; you would know they do help you steer and indirectly help you stop because you can drive slower and not worry about making hills, merging or getting through an intersection. These are all places where many winter accidents occur and fwd only is at a huge disadvantage. But if you actually own an Awd car with the right tires, I’m not telling you anything new. Awd with the right tires are safer. Your last statement gives you away. You drive too fast for conditions because everyone else “seems to be driving too cautiously”. When someone actually makes the commitment to pay the big bucks with an Awd car and winter tires, they usually follow up with very cautious driving. They need not have to " get a run for the hills" or coast through stop signs. Their main concern is now avoiding drivers who do drive too fast for conditions. This Awd with the right tires does better too.
dagosa, I live in New England, and have driven here for over 40 years. I live on the side of a mountain with a driveway that people often chose to park at the bottom of, rather than drive up. My last car was an Audi A4 Quattro, on which I mounted Blizzacks (on alloys) every winter.
Having said that, I will admit my previous posts was narrowly worded, and my comments on steering were intended to refer to situations where one is trying to avoid an accident. In 95% of those case, the driver is NOT on the gas, in which case the drive wheels don’t factor into the traction equation. Racing and ice racing have little correlation.
I traditionally find myself driving faster than the cars around me, so they may see me as uncautious, yet I’ve never had an accident in all those years.
As for spending “big bucks,” I suppose that’s all relative. I see Justin Bieber’s Lambo as Big Bucks, but apparently he saw no reason to drive it cautiously!
@TonyCarlos
Thank you for expanding on your comments. In light of what you originally said, I don’t think mine were out of line. As you have owned an Awd car with those very good tires, you may then understand my response. I too live on the side of a mountain with a road that is snow and ice covered the entire winter in Maine. We get 100 inches of snow per year on average but because we live in the woods, it just keeps accumulating and never seems to leave the entire winter. . ;=(
Given that Awd cars also stop at least equal to fwd and handle at least as well while coasting, everything else they can do better with power on, which is most of the time driving, Is to their advantage. When I raced SAABs, you had to do things at the right time when cornering. These things hold true for every fwd car driver should they find themselves entering a corner too fast on snow or ice. It is very relevant to racing. They are always at their traction limits and knowing what to do long before slamming on the brakes and then giving up most of their steerage and just screaming is beneficial.
dagosa, I don’t disagree with anything you’ve said.
I will add however, that my observation is that too many people dismiss the need for good snow tires because they have opted instead to go AWD. They feel that AWD with “all season” tires is all that is needed. Personally, for winter driving, I would take a two wheel drive car with good snowtires over an AWD with summer tires.
But I see plenty of AWD SUVs in the ditches beside our highways because of those who choose otherwise.
@TonyCarlos
I could not agree with you more. After Awd, I always add,
" with the right tires "
Driving an Awd car without winter tires is like driving a Corvette with old bias ply tires. It can be down right dangerous trying to drive the car as intended. My best friend bought an Awd Outback and didn’t put on snow tires as I had advised and then later constantly complained how poor it cornered and stopped in snow. "Dah ! " I said to my lawyer best buddy. “You have more smarts in your finger then I have in my entire family…and you couldn’t figure that one out ? Put some snow tires on your car so it can perform like it should. You’re lucky to still be alive.”
I have always used winter tires or AT tires on all cars and trucks I drove in snow including all the 7, Awd and 4wd vehicles.
I will never understand why people spend thousands extra on an Awd vehicle and not pay a few hundred more for the right tires. Most of the tire it’s the poor advice they get from the dealers IMHO, who are just trying to sell a car, any way they can. Heaven forbid they should have to fess up that the tires that came with the car are sometimes crap.
uh,oh’youse Guys caught me,since I’ve had 4wd vehicles,been really lax about having good aggressive winter tires(plus the fact it doesnt seem to snow much around here anymore) the only time I had a fair amount of trouble with my Dakota,(dont think good mud and snows would have helped me much) the snow was dense enough and deep enough that it actually jacked the Dakota up on the skid plates and I ended up down over the hill in my driveway,after much exertion,sweating and panting I shoveled a path and actually had to shovel the snow out from under the truck to get back on the path,so maybe good tires would have helped me in retrospect,but seriously if the snow gets deep I try to stay home.When I take my wife around for Home Health visits I run in 2wd as much as possible for drill(hoping some of the driving technique will rub off on Her) but I will say this the LSD helps but if you are not careful you will get sideways in a heartbeat,so I take it slow and easy.
On the subject of tires my Brother had a AWD Ford Tempo,we had a little slick weather and the cars all season tires were about slick,that car was absolutely uncontrollable in AWD mode(He ended up in the Hollow near our driveway) we finally got Him out of there and he got a set of good tires,then the car performed like a champion in the slick,so tires really do make a difference-Kevin