Here I thought I was going to be the only one from WI chiming in on the recent snowfall. Most of you guys got way more snow than me but I got plenty of the white stuff. I made it to work on Thursday and then they kind of sent us home. The D does not go through the snow like me T4R did but I was not expecting that. For the amount of times we see this type of snow, I was happy to not end up in the ditch like some other people. My dog still thanks me for the rear heat. That I did not have in the T4R.

 

I've had my D out now in some of the recent snow in the NE and it's no powder animal, but it does just fine, and I have all confidence that I can go anywhere I have ground clearance (which would be the limiting factor). I also tried the low-range, and even with wide M&S tires I'd have a hard time getting totally stuck.

 

Had my D out on the snow yesterday afternoon and this morning. This is the most I've driven the D in the snow since last year when I bought it. Not perfect but decent enough driving in the snow. The OEM tires (GY Fortrera) are not the best maybe if the D were fitted with GY Triple Threads the D would excel much better in cornering, braking and acceleration. Used to drive an '03 Nissan Xterra SE/SC 4x4 was a fun vehicle and a beast in 4WD in the sand/snow environment.

 

I've been tooling around in the 20+ inches we just got last week in Wisconsin and I'll say that I'm not used to the weight of this vehicle at all. The AWD is pretty good though, not so impressed with the "traction control" being on, but it works well enough. The Michelin Latitudes it came with (25k miles on them) are pretty much worthless. Might as well have racing slicks on there. I'll have to start saving my pennies for new ones now.

 

This is my first AWD vehicle, do you need chains
or not, if so front or back? I ask because since i
have the V6 and there is no low setting, i can't
understand why.

 

there is no lo setting on the t-case because that is not a setting you would want to use in normal driving, the lo setting is reserved for really low speed off-roading where you need extra torque, or for low traction towing situations (ex: towing a boat up a wet launch).

if you are driving on the road 4hi will be plenty for you it actually behaves the same as 4lo except for the gear ratio used inside the t-case.

also chains are not required in most areas on any vehicle anymore from a legal standpoint, and anything with 4wd from any standpoint the systems are more than enough to keep you moving.

 

Can anyone chime in with a RWD D that used/ is using winter tires. What size did you get?

On a side note, I know 18"s will fit but will 17"s fit? Also, what seems to be a good place to find cheaper rims? I am thinking about buying a second set of wheels to run winter tires on.

 

Thanks for the this excellent answer, here in cali it
Doesn't snow except in lake tahoe which i love to
visit, which is the reason i decided to get an awd rig.
Then when would Chains be required with awd?

 

I believe i recall seeing something in the owner's manual regarding the AWD without 4Low. It more or less said that if you have a situation requiring 4Low, you shouldn't be using the v6AWD Durango. An example would be pulling a stump.

Regarding chains, my concern would be that anything that could throw of the wheel speed on one axle vs the other could be a problem for a vehicle with full time awd. I think you need to ask your dealer on this to make sure you aren't doing anything that would void a warranty. My brain would say all four wheels or none of them.

That said, as a guy that has been driving a variety of vehicles through WI winters for 20 years, i would think that if you have snow deep enough that the AWD can't make it through without chains, the depth of snow vs the low front end is going to be your problem and chains won't fix that. Of course we don't have mountains here, that probably contributes a whole lot to your desire for chains. Personally I have never needed anything more serious than snow tires (I love Blizzaks but a separate set of wheels is probably more expense than you want to invest), and that was on a front drive car.

 

Does the low range lock the differentials? And does that imply you would get wheel hop on dry pavement? I noticed that in 4Lo it put the tranny in 5th gear to start to reduce torque. And of course you could do that on your own in regular awd mode.