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Snow Capability?

8K views 31 replies 21 participants last post by  TypeRod 
#1 ·
New WK2 owner here - Question: What snow depth can I reasonably expect to be able to traverse with the stock Limited WK2? What have others been able to accomplish?

Supposed to get up to 25" in the DC/MD area...
 
#3 ·
You should have the ELSD just like the Hemi.

How deep depends on your driving skills, the type of snow, and your tires.

25 inches of wet snow is a bit much unless it is just something you have to get past, and can keep momentum up. Extended stretches can drag on the body enough to keep you from getting thru, particularly with ice underneath unless you have formidable studded tires or chains.

25 inches of dry powder is no big deal with decent snow tires [i.e. not the factory ones] particularly if you use OR-1 to raise the body a bit to cut drag.

On the other hand if you are not used to snow driving, 3-6 inches can mean you walk home--particularly if there is ice under the snow and you don't have really really good snow tires or even better studs or for really bad conditions and hills, qualified chains.

Run it in snow mode to keep the aggressive shifts down and take it easy on the throttle with all that torque available.

And, if you DO get stuck, look around for a buncha big black SUVs with flashing lights and guys in cheap suits standing around and see if the President has any extra coffee to share. :thumbsup:
 
#5 ·
I have a 14 Limited Hemi equipped with pretty aggressive winter tire (big blocks). We had a storm like your getting last year here in New Brunswick Canada. As long as you have good winter tires you'll have no worries. I had to drive 2 hours in the worst of it. The Jeep will bust through some pretty massive drifts. It'll push through 2 feet of wet snow pretty easy as long as it isn't for a long stretch, you'll eventually high centre.

If your in an empty area try sand mode. It'll do some nice 4 wheel drifts hehe.

Weather like this is fun for us Canadians!


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#18 · (Edited)
If your in an empty area try sand mode. It'll do some nice 4 wheel drifts hehe.

Weather like this is fun for us Canadians!
Good to know! Thanks!

And hey, we Californians like to have fun in the snow too, you know.

(Well, maybe not ALL of us Californians. Some of us who grew up in Upstate New York do.)
 
#6 ·
This morning I went to the gym around 8am (Northern Bergen County, NJ). Around 4 inches of snow on unplowed roads. Main roads were semi-plowed. No problem getting up my inclined driveway or over the snow hump from the plow. I drove like a sane person so, very little slip. Main roads went around 30 mph. First real experience in the Jeep in snow... good times!
 
#8 ·
2015 Summit here with stock tires (20k on them) Elizabeth n.j. Experience slight sliding on turns nothing major but weight and speed plays a factor.. Slower speeds you should be fine.. Drove through 8 " of fresh snow.. Body drag from snow build up can be a problem with traction but again drive slower you should be fine.. Stock tires are definitely not as good as my 04 jeep stock tires but these tires are wider and bigger then the O4 model.. Plan on changing these tires to snow tires in fall 2016 and going with another set of rims and tires for the other 3 seasons.. Great suggestion if you have the space for storage..


People enter your life for 1 of 2 reasons.. Either to be a Blessing or a lesson.
 
#9 ·
Last night I got up the hill I live on and down into my driveway that is a steep grade to get to the basement level garage in the rear. No problem.

This morning, the Jeep climbed the driveway to the street with no issues.

Coming down off the hill, I used the paddle shifters to engine brake so I could avoid using the brakes more than I had to. None of the 3 stop signs I had to stop at posed an issue.

In fact, I didn't even need to touch the brakes at all to slow down in the left turn lane leading into my workplace by using the transmission.

I only experienced one moment where a pocket of heavy slush and ice grabbed one of my tires and jerked the wheel a bit, but the Jeep stayed settled.

When I tried the Snow mode, I noticed the transmission shifted a bit later and started me off in 2nd at each stop.
 
#11 ·
I had to be on the road during the blizzard with the OEM Forteras. On Saturday morning on several inches of untouched snow, the '15 Overland with stock Forteras was fine. On Saturday evening on plowed and re-covered with many more inches (feet) of new snow on top of plowed, it also did fine.

The only problem I had was backing out of the driveway in the evening. Even on 20" wheels and ORII height, I got hung up on a self-created snow dam before going about 20 feet to the street. After shoveling out the snow from underneath, she drove like a charm.

One other thing I noticed: when I got hung up on my snow dam, the exhaust outlets were always well above the snow level. Snow never got even close to getting in them.
 
#12 ·
Re: Snow Capability - tire pressure

I have a 2015 Limited with the stock 18" Lattitudes. I got it in Feb 2015 and did some snow driving last winter. I was not impressed. In this storm (we got 30") I actually went for a ride on Saturday when it was still snowing and the GC did great with the same tires!

The dealer delivered the vehicle with tire pressures between 41 and 42 psi. That was the pressure in the tires last winter. Since then I have lowered the pressure to the recommended 36 psi. I wonder if the tire pressure made the huge difference??
 
#21 ·
I find them pretty decent on dry Wintry conditions and even on a few inches of powder and soft snow. However they are quite terrible in icy conditions- it feels as if you are gliding on the road with little grip. The steering wheel also develops a life of its own in these conditions. Fortunately these cases are far less common, and generally careful and experienced driving can keep you out of trouble even with the GYs.
 
#25 ·
Yep! Mine too!!! Did GREAT last year in a foot of slop even with the Forterras. This year 37" with Defender LTX's was even better! Can't see a reason for winter tires, at least not here in Md.

BEAST!!!:thumbsup:
 
#26 · (Edited)
It seems common knowledge that the stock Goodyear Forteras are crap, not to mention my CPO car came with only 6/32 tread. I took it up to Whistler the day after I bought it, and while I didn't have any problems, it wasn't during a storm so the only snow I had to deal with was at low speed on flat plowed terrain in the village and parking lots, whereas the highway was clear all the way up/down.

I decided to upgrade the tires before taking it on snow again, so I upsized to a 275/55/20 Bridgestone Dueler Revo2 which is a true AT tire. It's rated to be one of the best AT's for rain and hydroplane resistance as well as highway noise/comfort. It's also highly rated for sand and snow. The next day I went on a road trip to Tahoe and this time around drove in snow/slush/ice/monsoon rain the whole time from about 30min from home lol the way until the end. Even with the single speed transfer case in my V6 Altitude, the 4wd + those tires did great on everything except stopping in slush and on ice. The only thing that would help on slush would be a much more aggressive AT like the BFG KO2 or a mudder. The only thing that would have helped on ice would be true snow tires or even studs.

Other than that the Jeep handled great and met my expectations. I've been up to the mtns with it many more times with no issues. Granted my Audi S4 with Quattro + snow tires is waaaay better, but the JGC does just fine. Bottom line what I'm saying is that the Jeep as a platform will do fine in normal snow driving conditions. As long as you have good tires like winters or AT's and not summers or all seasons, you shouldn't have any issues. It will never be as good as a Subie or Audi, even on QD2 models with Selecterrain because of the lack of a front LSD and the high COG.
 
#27 ·
I'm new to the 275/55-20 tires but love them so far. How do you like yours Triple8Sol?

I have yet to take mine into the snow. But I should. The Sierra Nevada is only a few hours drive and they just got dumped on with snow. But I'm heading to Mexico so snow will have to wait for now.
 
#28 ·
I'm new to the 275/55-20 tires but love them so far. How do you like yours Triple8Sol?

I have yet to take mine into the snow. But I should. The Sierra Nevada is only a few hours drive and they just got dumped on with snow. But I'm heading to Mexico so snow will have to wait for now.
It seems common knowledge that the stock Goodyear Forteras are crap, not to mention my CPO car came with only 6/32 tread. I took it up to Whistler the day after I bought it, and while I didn't have any problems, it wasn't during a storm so the only snow I had to deal with was at low speed on flat plowed terrain in the village and parking lots, whereas the highway was clear all the way up/down.

I decided to upgrade the tires before taking it on snow again, so I upsized to a 275/55/20 Bridgestone Dueler Revo2 which is a true AT tire. It's rated to be one of the best AT's for rain and hydroplane resistance as well as highway noise/comfort. It's also highly rated for sand and snow. The next day I went on a road trip to Tahoe and this time around drove in snow/slush/ice/monsoon rain the whole time from about 30min from home lol the way until the end. Even with the single speed transfer case in my V6 Altitude, the 4wd + those tires did great on everything except stopping in slush and on ice. The only thing that would help on slush would be a much more aggressive AT like the BFG KO2 or a mudder. The only thing that would have helped on ice would be true snow tires or even studs.

Other than that the Jeep handled great and met my expectations. I've been up to the mtns with it many more times with no issues. Granted my Audi S4 with Quattro + snow tires is waaaay better, but the JGC does just fine. Bottom line what I'm saying is that the Jeep as a platform will do fine in normal snow driving conditions. As long as you have good tires like winters or AT's and not summers or all seasons, you shouldn't have any issues. It will never be as good as a Subie or Audi, even on QD2 models with Selecterrain because of the lack of a front LSD and the high COG.
Have either of you experienced any rubbing or turn radius issues with the 275-55-20? Thanks!
 
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