Pickup truck traction control test: test fail

[kevm14]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFJI0tLMVpI

Watch the video and then come back.

Due to laziness, I will just copy my comment:

A lot of confusion here. First, there was confusion over what this test was for. It was not for which truck had the best 4WD. It was for which truck is the most capable in 2WD on a split mu surface. But what this test showed is not really which truck had the best limited slip or traction control. No, it was really which truck had a COMBINATION of the best limited slip or traction control AND most weight over the rear axle. As you can plainly see in the GM trucks, BOTH rear tires are spinning. You can have all the locking differentials and traction control you want. The tire WITH traction was spinning and that was not enough to move the truck up the hill. This test did not prove what they set out to prove. But the result actually is somewhat useful: it means the F-150, exactly as configured, would have the most capability up a hill in 2WD. In the real world, however, you'd already be in 4WD, so this is just kinda lame.

[Adam]

Which 4WD truck is best 2WD truck?

[bill25]

you'd already be in 4WD, so this is just kinda lame.

This test shows the misnomer that most people have for 4WD. You wouldn't be in 4WD because it was raining. Granted 4WD is better now, but when I had the Jimmy, you couldn't be in 4WD unless you were on snow or dirt. That thing had zero power (2.8) and it was useless in the snow without 4WD. The rear 2WD sucked. Trucks are usually perceived to be awesome in any adverse situation because they have 4WD. This 4WD isn't automatically engaged when you need it, and RWD with no weight in the back in adverse weather makes these far worse than cars. Sure you can just drive in 4WD High, but only up to 55, so not on the highway. Trucks have a higher center of gravity, and weigh more which are both negatives for handling. They have more mass in motion in snow situations, and if you read reports, there are way more wrecks with 4WD SUVs than cars.

I would argue to the above comment, you really wouldn't be driving in 4WD unless it was actively snowing, and the road was at least slightly coated. This test tested rain situations as well as snow, and I have never seen someone engage 4WD in the rain.

[bill25]

It also sucks that Ford and Toyota won, at GM's Proving Grounds, and GM sent 2 of the same truck to make it look like they lost twice...

[kevm14]

Yeah they lost but read my comment again. They lost for a different reason than what the test was designed to determine. They didn't lose for inferior traction control, or inferior limited slip. They just plain had less traction on that inclined split mu surface. They spun BOTH tires, meaning the traction control and limited slip diff were doing everything they could. Raw traction is a function of tires, and weight distribution. Again, the conclusion is, the F-150 is better in 2WD, but not because it has better traction control or limited slip. It just plain has more traction, because it has a little more weight over the rear axle. From memory, was the F-150 a crew cab and the GM trucks extended cab? That alone would do it.