Originally Posted by JamesNoBrakes
AWD gets you moving. While that's not a huge concern in most places, in some places, like here, it makes all the difference.
Just starting in an intersection on ice, frost, compacted snow (which is ice) or snow can be next to impossible without studs on a RWD car like this. True winter tires can help, but the disadvantage with the weight bias really hurts you. Throw an incline in there, even very slight, you'll just sit there spinning wheels. Manual trans helps a bit to help feather the clutch and short-shift, but again, just starting is usually half the battle here in Alaska. Once you are rolling, then it's about braking and cornering, but all sorts of little things throw a wrench into your plans, like a vehicle ahead that slows down where you have to come to a stop or nearly a stop, and now you have to accelerate again. You also need momentum for some places and inclines. With RWD, hitting the gas doesn't do anything but spin or brake the wheels. I was at an intersection a couple years ago, making a left turn onto another road, when a car came sliding and spinning through the intersection against the red light. I was in my AWD BMW and I hit the gas, which let all four of my studded tires claw the surface and launch my car out of danger. That's the **** we have to be prepared for. Or if someone behind you is locking up and about to rear-end you. You might be able to slowly feather the clutch with RWD and winter tires on ice, but you won't produce the acceleration rate you need to get out of harm's way.
So yes, in some places AWD makes a huge difference. IMO, it's mostly the vehicles that don't have a lot of weight on an axle. Most light cars, some trucks, as the vehicles get heavier, less of an issue.
There's a slight advantage with engine braking, it brakes all the wheels, rather than the rear two, this can help you maintain traction.
If I lived in Texas and I had to daily it every day, I'd throw some good wet AS on for winter. They would do well enough if you get a little snow if you are careful.
The problem is ice storms really just F-everything up. I go to Texas at least every 3 months, was stationed in Fort Sill and I've been in both places for some nasty ice storms. There is no safe driving in freezing rain, unless you are on studded tires. Back when we had a bad ice storm in Texas a few years back on a work trip, I had to thaw the car out for a few hours to get ice to come off of it, and then I drove to the airport. I was real careful and just feathered the throttle, etc. There were no cars on the freeways or byways. There were parts of cars strewn everywhere though, a bumper here, a wheel over there, total Armageddon scene.
Many places down south get snow get snow on warm ground and it turns to slush, then it's just about penetrating the slush, but wet slush can be just as bad as glare ice, where nothing really grips enough. If they don't get this, they'll have the sun come out and bake the roads and remove the ice from the cleared portion. Unless you are at ski-resort elevation, it's typically never a lasting issue or reason to get AWD.
If you go far enough north, like up in Fairbanks, when it drops to -20 and colder on ice and snow, traction actually goes way up with winter tires. It's more like driving in the dry at that point. That's when you truly don't need studded tires anymore, since the surface is more like sandpaper. But if you try normal tires, they are like hockey pucks and you just go spinning out.
But back to freezing rain, we get that a lot here too. We get more and more warm storms with the pacific ocean warming and a warm "blog" that hangs out in the gulf of Alaska, but due to our sun angle, the ground remains cold, so anything that falls as rain, turns to ice. Then there's freezing fog, which we get too, and lastly, frost. Most places don't get cold enough or high pressure enough to get frost on the roads, but we do, and that's what "black ice" is. The effect is very similar to freezing rain. In all of those conditions, you are basically pretty F-ed unless you have studded tires. Winter tires help a little...but you gotta slow WAY down to like half of the speed limit or less, again, unless you are running studded.
FWD is fine for most conditions, your weight is on the axle, where it should be for accelerating traction. It's infinitely better than RWD with the engine in the front.
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