im gonna chime in here becuase i see what youre saying, you keep your hubs locked because some roads may be clear, though, you maight need to engage 4x4 for some back roads, and by the time you get out to lock your hubs its too late.

4hi is the same gearing as 2hi, so you can go the same speed, but then you run the risk of premature wear if your going too fast (id say 50 is about good for normal traveling distance). in 4lo, you would pretty much have to engage that in a really bad road, so you probably shouldnt be gettin near top speed in 4lo if the road conditions are bad enough to use 4lo rather then 4hi.

 

4 hi is not the same as 2 hi. In 4high, the front output of the transfer is turning. In 2 hi, it is not. And if your hubs are unlocked and your in 2hi, then nothing in the front end is turning.

 

As has been said 50mph is the magic number as per my '88 3.0 4Runners owners manual. I have definetly exceeded that in the past. Reasons being not stopping to unlock from backroads to highway.

Straight answer is that if your 22RE powered..pretty much go as fast as you feel comfortable with and what YOU feel is safe as far as your individual driving skills.

Tires also make a huge difference in this as well. I wouldn't have even considered breaking 30 with the junk that came on the 4Runner from the factory, but with BFG MT KM2's...now that's a different story.

Nowadays I pretty much leave the hubs locked through a "snow day" and stop on occasion to put it in and out of 4H. The steering is a bit heavy and I am loosing gas mileage because I am turning the front CV's, but it's worth it in my opinion.

 

1: There is NO center diff in a part-time 4WD. So turning, wheel spin-out and adding power at the wrong time could get things squirrely and cause an under/ over steer situation... and then you'll be trying to drive it out of a ditch.

Let me repeat myself.

There is no AWD, or "Full time 4WD"

Part-time 4wd should only be used on surfaces that allow slip.


2: Technique:

Yes you can drive in 4WD. And you can shift in-to and out-of 4WD on the fly. It just takes technique. And it also helps where you engage and disengage the shifter lever.

You can decelerate and shift out of 4WD.

And you can (slightly) accelerate and shift into 4WD.


Now is when I realize I shouldn't have said that...

Gears have to mesh. And if you can't comprehend that, then DISREGARD what I've said above.

 

Oh! Engine brake? Where do I get one of those? Do you think Napa would have one? Is it difficult to install? Can I put it on my 460 powered 4runner with 15" of lift and 62" tires?

Srsly? I know what engine braking is. Thats how I stop on ice. I've driven on icy roads all my life. Having 4wd engaged might create like a 1% better stopping ability.
What I'm saying is there are tons of people who think just because they have 4wd means they can go 60-70 on roads that are covered in ice, in the dark with moose around every corner and think they can stop on a dime. Its usually the people in the big trucks/SUVs that do so.

 

Deja vu. This has been hashed out before. It not the going that is usually the problem on snowy/icy roads its the stopping, as previously posted in this thread and last years, and the year befores. There's a many different type of winter road conditions a the minutes of the day. Trust your driving skills and if in doubt slow down. If everyone is going slow don't "slice and dice" traffic.

"Good jugdement comes from expereince
experience comes from poor jugdement"
really poor judgement is called natural sellection
regret is when someone else pays ultimately for your mistakes

 

also having it in 4wd while braking is better too because it balances you braking. when i would be slowing down in 2wd in snow i would always get my front tires sliding and my back brakes doing nothing. put it in 4wd and it locks up all tires and stops much faster and without sliding .

i mostly drove around in 2wd in the snow and if i felt i needed to stop fast then i would just put it in 4hi. actually once i had to brake really fast and was going maybe 25km/h so i put it in 4low and engine braked lol. and like everyone said, it wouldnt be a good idea to be going super fast unless you were on a decently strait hwy.

 

.....

 

mine does 35 in 5th gear LOW @3k

unfortunately you can't run it like a 10 speed the way you can in a subaru

 

Correct me if I'm wrong about any of this, but engine braking works because it creates a resistance to the tires' rotation. Brakes do the same thing. The contact patch between your tires and the surface you're driving on shouldn't be able to tell whether you're using engine braking or regular braking.

 

If you engine brake your tires stand a heck of a chance better in not locking up and causing the truck to slide. If you engine brake too hard you can still slide but it will be a lot more controllable than if your brakes locked up.

 

I had the same question not because I need to be flying down the road but I live right on the highway and at the top of a hill. My 90 4 runner only goes about 40-45 up the hill when I should be doing 55-60 and I could use a little more speed.

 

Engine braking is wonderful, as long as you match your RPMs with the speed of the gear you're selecting when downshifting a manual transmission. Otherwise you'll wear the clutch faster and put more strain on the U-joints. On that note, engine braking in 4wd slows down faster than in 2wd especially on dry roads. There's just more moving parts using up some of that energy!

 

This made me laugh out loud. When your engine slow does your tires not slow too?? You must the best MPG fuel economy ever. Or all your drives are down hill, In that case you really dont need an engine.

 

winter tires> 4wd & 4x4.

 

I've held 70-80 mph in 4HI cruising down dirt roads in the middle of the desert no probelms...obviously doesn't pertain to the OP but I just want to see what kind of flak I get hahahaha