4X4s help you go in the snow of a Wonder Lake winter but not to stop

Those 4X4s are great for offroad and getting

you started in the snow of a Wonder Lake
winter. But they don't make much
of a difference when you want to stop.

The potential for adventure is resting in your Wonder Lake driveway waiting for your next offroad excursion. Of course, you drive that 4-wheeler on the roads and highways, too, right? And why wouldn’t you, especially when winter rolls through town.

It doesn’t snow everyday of winter here in Wonder Lake. But it does snow often enough that your 4-wheel drive comes in handy (though we've had some warmer days lately, that doesn't mean we won't see anymore snow this winter).

If you’ve got tires that will pull you through mud and over random trails, it’s certain those tires will do an admirable job pulling you through the snow.

Then again, maybe you’ve got a 4X4 that isn’t built for that kind of adventure. You’ve got some reasonable meats on the four corners but nothing like those folks who see offroad trails as a challenge. Your tires are made for the road.

If you want to take advantage of your 4-wheel drive, you’ll have tires with a little extra grip – with tread that sinks its teeth the road.

There’s a glorious feeling of freedom when several inches of the white stuff covers the landscape in these parts and you know that your vehicle isn’t the least bit intimidated. While neighbors may worry about getting stuck without the benefit of 4-wheel drive, you’ll walk your truck or SUV through the snow as though it’s nothing at all. But don’t allow that sense of power over the elements get the better of you.

4-wheel drive helps you go but doesn’t help you stop

While 4X4s have an advantage when it comes to getting going and going through the snow, they don’t mean anything at all when it’s time to stop.

Sometimes, it seems as though a disproportionate number of 4-wheel-drive vehicles have gone off the road when a winter storm rolls through Wonder Lake. It’s not that they’re less able to handle the road. Rather it’s the sense of power that can lull the operator of a 4X4 into a false sense of security.

There’s a sense that, if the Jeep, Bronco, Toyota 4Runner or other 4-wheeler can get you going so smoothly in the snow, it should be able to help you stop in the snow. That’s simply not true.

When it’s time to stop, your best bet, 4-wheel drive or not, is caution so you’re not caught off guard. The need to suddenly slam on the brakes when driving on snowy roads creates the potential for spinning out or losing control with or without 4-wheel drive.

Comments

Is your antifreeze safe from freezing this Richmond winter

You still have time to have it checked Well, there’s no denying it – winter tends to get chilly here in Richmond. We have to deal with snow and ice on the roads, scraping the same off our windows and windshield, and staying warm while we drive. Of course, you had your antifreeze checked before winter rolled into town. What?! You didn’t have your antifreeze checked before winter clamped down on Richmond? So, how’s your antifreeze doing? If you haven’t had it checked, there’s really no way of knowing, is there? This car has overheated in the middle of a Richmond winter. But, on the other end of the spectrum, the antifreeze can also freeze if it's not up to its job. Hopefully, you haven’t had a serious problem with your antifreeze already. If you did, you’d probably know. When antifreeze fails, it’s a potentially catastrophic condition for your vehicle’s engine. You could have hoses that have burst because of freezing antifreeze. Worse than that, your engine block may have crac...

Blocks of ice falling from cars in McHenry could cause accidents or damage

We’ve all seen those blocks of snow falling from behind the rear tires of a car when the snow rolls into McHenry . Fortunately, they’re just packed snow that will disintegrate under your vehicle’s tires as you simply drive right through them, right? Don’t count on it. Those blocks of snow are often packed so tight, condensed by the thaw-and-freeze cycle, that they’re anything but oversized snowballs . They’re often more like boulders. Hit one of those blocks and the collision between the block and one of your tires could send you careening off the road or into oncoming traffic. In some cases, they’re so solid you could pound them with a sledgehammer with little effect. They truly can represent a serious road hazard. The problem is that it’s difficult to tell how solidly they’re packed when you see them on the road, left their unwittingly by another driver. Either way, your best bet is to try to avoid them. But you want to be careful dodging blocks of ice in the road, too. You need...

October 20 Hootenanny will benefit veterans with PTSD

Been to a Hootenanny lately? When you read that question did you ask, “What?” Well, if you have gone to a Hootenanny in a while, or if you don’t know what a hootenanny is, we have an event for Oct. 20 that will clear up either question. From 6 p.m. to Midnight, Saturday, Oct. 20, MC3, the McHenry Area Chamber of Commerce business networking group, is helping to host an inaugural Veterans R&R Wild Horse Hootenanny at Beyond Stable Farm (11129 Rte. 176, Woodstock). The event will benefit Veterans R&R Operation Wild Horse. Operation Wild Horse serves veterans with PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder). Working with the horses has proven to have an incredibly calming effect on the veterans. And, it’s good for the horses, too, rescued wild mustangs. This means that the hootenanny is for a very good cause. But, it’s also a lot of fun. So, what is a hootenanny? According to a Google search, a hootenanny is “an informal gathering with folk music and sometimes dancing.” The V...

Performance Unlimited Blog

Search This Blog