2WD on commute from Heber City to Park City? (Logan: dangerous, vs.)

[catagon87]

Hi all,

I recently moved out here to Heber City. I have a F150 Super Cab which is RWD (not 4WD), and all its weight is in the front. I am wondering if I should trade that in this winter as my commute to Park City (Kimball Junction area) is through a mountainous pass. Any thoughts? I am looking into Subaru Outbacks.

[UTES]

First off, congratulations. Heber is beautiful.

My father owned a 2WD pickup when he first moved here. With good (studded) snow tires and plenty of weight in the back he used to make it most places - but struggled to do so. I've got a Jeep pickup and it's a 4X4. When it's in 2WD in the slick stuff the ESP is fighting efforts to throttle up so I usually put in in 4X4 so I don't have to worry about it.

With careful driving you'll make it. But there will be days you wish you had that 4 wheel drive. Having it should make the commute easier and less stressful.

Bill

[Geo-Aggie]

I have an AWD Subaru Impreza and have made some pretty hairy commutes from Logan to Brigham City, through a series of canyons, and have never had an issue with it. In my experience that pass is about as well cared for as Kimball Pass and the amount of snow they receive is similar, so I'd say an Outback would be perfectly fine for the trip.

However, I want to also point out that at highway speeds 4WD/AWD vs. RWD isn't a big issue. The big advantage AWD has is when you come to a stop. A RWD vehicle may not get going again or fishtail (FWD is suspect to start/stop too, but a little better than RWD), while an AWD car shouldn't have a problem. If I do remember correctly though, there are some stoplights at the north end of Heber that AWD would be very helpful for. At highway speeds the primary thing you want to concern yourself with is braking and steering. Even if you have AWD, you need cold weather tires, and Anti-lock brakes. It will help with any sudden braking and any emergency corrections you need to make. So yeah, get the Outback if you plan on needing to do any start/stop driving in the snow or ice (especially in hills), but priority #1 should be good snow tires with a reliable braking system.

If you're new to snow driving, or if anyone reading this is, the most important thing you can take from it is that AWD does not make your car handle better at 65 MPH during snow - you MUST still drive to the conditions because your brakes and steering system is only as good as your tires, not your drivetrain. If you're in a 5,000 lb 4WD truck your emergency handling is worse than if you're in a 2,200 lb RWD Miata - because physics (momentum, inertia, traction)

Always. Drive. To. Conditions.

[Coffeequeen]

Tires/tyres.
Personally I would never own a non AWD/4wd vehicle here but that is me. BUT If it ever snows again in significant quantities, count me as surprised. Even the snowblower is all but retired. I see a lot of new performance cars on the road this year, jags, porsches, sporty beemers. I think they know something we don't.

[awilk7]

I'd personally recommend making the switch to a 4-wheel-drive (or AWD) vehicle. I drove that commute (plus a bit more, as it was Midway-Murray through Parley's Canyon on I-80) in an FJ Cruiser through the winter of 2010-2011 when Snowbird got 783" of the white stuff. Yeah, it snowed a lot. US-40 between Heber and Park City was routinely worse during a storm than Parley's.

The FJ I drove was pretty squirrelly in 2WD due to the short wheelbase, and though I had decent tires, I ended up keeping it in 4WD most of the time when snow was on the ground over that section of highway to get more predictable driving response at speed.

They do regularly plow US-40 and apply ice-melt, but this is a relatively long mountain pass prone to wind during storms and with low traffic. That translates to less frequent attention from plows and more chance for an unpredictable driving surface. This is also an excellent use-case for 4WD/AWD as opposed to the common argument of only needing plain old grippy tires and driving slow enough for conditions: you need to gain a decent amount of elevation from either direction to drive over the pass and 4-wheel traction helps immensely when climbing.

If you really want to keep the truck, you'll want to invest in dedicated winter tires and keep some weight in the bed. It can be done, but unless you're set on making a point, it's a potentially dangerous fight you don't need to put yourself through.

[catagon87]

Thanks for the feedback guys! I went ahead and traded it for a Subaru Outback. No regrets yet. Already huge savings on gas and easier to use on these currently slick roads.

[UTES]

Nice job.

Bill

[Geo-Aggie]

Originally Posted by Coffeequeen

Tires/tyres.

Tyres? You crazy Brit!

Originally Posted by catagon87

Thanks for the feedback guys! I went ahead and traded it for a Subaru Outback. No regrets yet. Already huge savings on gas and easier to use on these currently slick roads.

Good call on the Subaru. Best cars on the road, in my heavily biased opinion.