Engine braking in the winter
 

Well with the first sign of slush snow, it got me thinking of how i can keep the auto tranny 4runner under control more on those bad road days. i found it easy with my old manual runner to downshift smoothly and avoid any lock up with brakes and loss of control. will it be ok on those bad days to drive it in 2nd with the o/d off to take advantage of slowing down gently instead of the brakes? any reprocussions? (i.e. tranny heat/wear). i must note that my driving to work in the winter doesnt exceed 50km/h (like 35mph) and even slower in bad conditions. just looking for a way to ensure a safe winter. thanks for the help. (p.s. i have searched and done some reading :mrt: )

I went from a '90 with a 5 spd manual to a '00 with an automatic so I had some learning to do myself. I found that keeping the O/D off was helpful, but had a few occasions when I dropped it into 2nd and had the rear slip and want to come around. The time lag from when I popped it back into "D" (although only a second or so) was almost enough to have me crap myself. But then again, I was on a downhill incline on 2 instances and it was slick as snot. If I were you, I'd take the truck out somewhere safe on the first snowy, slick opportunity and experiment. A lot has to do with your terrain, tires, driving habits, etc.. I find a lot of snowfalls and the snow consistency to result in unique handling differences and that you have to pay attention to what it'll let you get away with. Sorry if that's not black-and-white...

every amount of info helps, and yes i plan on doing just that by experimenting. to avoid the rear slipping and come around on those right bad days i think it may be ok to just stay in 2nd, as you can go pretty high in speed and since i wont be goin fast anyway it shouldnt be horrible on gas (worth it if safer) and that way since you are still in the gear the transition should not be so abrupt but more of a consistent deceleration. i guess ill find out soon enough.!