HELP! I'm in a snow storm, and I need to know how to put it into 4 wheel drive!

[wolfhill]

I'm not kidding. I'm in a snow storm -- southern Indiana. I'm in this vehicle that I haven't had long. I have an automatic. Beside it is a 4-wheel drive stick, that says Hi and Lo. Then, I have these buttons that say "Winter" and one says "Power". I drove it awhile ago and a light said, "Power Mode" or something like that. Doesn't that mean it's in 4-wheel drive? How can you tell if it's in 4-wheel drive. You see, I'm totally confused about this 4-wheel drive (which I've never had) and this Torque on Demand stuff. I merely need to know how to get it into 4 wheel drive "High", and how to take it off. I pressed the "Winter" button but that didn't work. The Power button did go down though. Please help! I am not kidding.
Thanks for ANY ADVICE.
Julie
wolfhill@evansville.net

[Ldub]

Julie,
Easy now...don't panic, You are in s. Indy in winter...You're SUPPOSED to be in a snowstorm! Fear not, you're already in 4-hi,the TOD automatuically sends power to the front wheels as needed. Just drive safely & you will be fine.
Happy Trails, Ldub

Oh, BTW, Welcome!

[autox-racer]

step on the loud pedal and when the rears start to spin the Tod will send power to the front, then you are in 4wheel drive.

The winter button is only for taking off from a stop. Press it and a light will come on the dash saying winter so you know it worked. It will start you in 3rd gear so the rears don't spin as easily.

BTW, If you crank the steering hard left or right and gas it, the VX will do zero radius donuts... A lot of fun. I'm sure the CV joints hate me for it but I can't resist at least once a year.

[Triathlete]

Power button no good in snow/ice. Winter button starts you off in 3rd gear as you pull out from a stop to help prevent wheel spin. As was already stated, you are always in 4 hi. If however you become stuck in deep snow (or anything else) and need to use 4 lo you need to stop, shift into nuetral and then move the transfer case shifter to 4lo. While in 4lo you will not be able to go faster than about 40 mph. When 4lo is no longer needed you just stop again, shift into nuetral and put it back in 4hi.

Better yet move out here to a Arizona and you won't have to worry about all that white stuff!;Dy;

[cascabel3]

Julie

your 4wd happens automatically (and your TOD light on the very left will show you this) as you need it. The Power Drive is activated by the switch on the center console; if activated it will shift gears at a higher RPM giving you a little more humpf. The lever next to your gear selector can be pushed forward while in Neutral. This will bring you into 4wd permanently, and lower your gear ratio. Use it for real steep or tricky 4wheeling.

Enjoy, you are driving the perfect vehicle for an Indiana Winter.

[deermagnet]

Julie Greathouse, what a cool name! If your VX still has the stock tires, that's gonna be a problem for you. They are so terrible in the snow. Not even much better than bald tires.:eek: I remember a couple years ago someone drove their VX in the snow for the first time, and it was so scary, they pulled into a tire store in the middle of the storm to get new tires! I always get mildly aggressive tires and my VX is a blast in the snow. I find the best thing to do is just keep it in drive and let the TOD do it's thing. If we were in the middle of a 15" snowfall right now, I'd be out there havin' fun and taking some pics. Let it snow! ;Dy;

BTW, your ABS may be very sensitive and you may find yourself unexpectedly unable to stop in the snow, even when pulling into a snow covered parking space. So be careful with that also.

Mark Griffin

http://www.wtv-zone.com/markg/imags/541.jpg

http://www.wtv-zone.com/markg/imags/533.jpg

[Y33TREKker]

Hi Julie,

Are you having as much fun now in your VX as I am with all the snow we've gotten? I'm over in southern IL and have been dealing with the same storm since about 5:30 AM today. (As of 7:30 PM, 12/22, we've gotten about a foot). Actually though, I didn't drive the VX in to work this morning, but I did just get back from my first test drive in the snow since I bought mine about a month ago.

I didn't really need 4-Lo driving around town, but I tried it out anyway just to see how well it would help me get around. And maybe it's just because my stock tires still have relatively low miles (~19k), but they seemed to work fine for me. I do have plans for purchasing different wheels and tires, but for now the stockers seem like they'll do OK.

Including you now, I guess that makes about six of us VX owners in the southern IN/IL area. My friend Clyde over here has a Proton too.

Merry VX-MAS. :angel:

[VCrossfan]

Hey: I'm in central Illinois and I guess it just missed us, none here (yet). Good luck Julie, You'll find alot of good advice in this forum with quick response time.

Hey Y33TREKker I just caught your user name (bike correct?) I have a Y22 and would like to upgrade but I still love it. Just got my 9 year old girl a 20" TREK 60 Mountaintrack and she loves it....Lata all!! Steve

[Maugan_VX]

Since I really shouldn't say what I want to, I'll confine the expression to acronyms.

OMFG RTFM.

[Y33TREKker]

Originally posted by VCrossfan
Hey Y33TREKker I just caught your user name (bike correct?) I have a Y22 and would like to upgrade but I still love it. Just got my 9 year old girl a 20" TREK 60 Mountaintrack and she loves it....Lata all!! Steve

You are correct. Similar to the VX, the Y33's overall look and design hooked me not long after I first saw it. I picked up the 33 about a year and a half ago, and it's been great. There are a few mods I'd still like to do along with the ones I have made since I got it, (different/stronger chain rings, derailleurs, etc), but so far it's gotten me everywhere I've wanted to go.

[WormGod]

Ah yes Julie, the magic of TOD. You need not worry. The VX will do all the work on it's own.

Good luck and above all else, HAVE FUN! ;)

[wolfhill]

Thanks to all of you for your support! Yes, with my little 2001 Vehi and your advice, I made it through! I only have 8,000 miles on it, the original tires, etc. All of you explained it a lot better than the manual. I have 2 degrees from I.U. at Bloomington, and I still prefer your advice to the manual's. Thank you sooooooo much to all of you. I'm getting used to it -- and it's fun!
Happy New Year and thanks once again!

Julie

[t2p]

Y22 ... or is it Y33 ... VCross ............
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Do you remember the Y5O ?......... One of my friends had one for a while ........ limited production 'Y' bike .....
.
I'm a bike nut ...... have many bikes ....... road, off road, bmx, kids bikes ......... etc ...... barely ride now though .......
.
the kids do most of their riding on the the BMX bikes .... not the heavy free-style bikes, but the lightweight racers ........

[VCrossfan]

t2p: I have a Y22. In the mid to late 90's they had Y3,Y5,Y11,Y22 and Y33. The Y3,5 had Aluminum frames and the 11,22,33 are carbon fiber. I've added Icon headset and set post etc. Also a "Strada Pro" Lockout rear shock and it makes it nice for street riding,then with a flip of the lever once you hit the trails. They also had others like Y-SL and the Y-Foil road bike is bad azzzz looking bike..And yes I remember seeing a Y -50. It's like the "Maui" Limited edition, nice Hawaii style decal on it...

[Dallas4u]

Ahh... Trek's "Y" bikes. Pretty neat for its time, as was the Klein Mantra. Pretty flexy rear-ends though, correct?, being the single-pivot design.

[t2p]

VCross .... I remember the Y5O 'Maui' edition ........ they actually produced a black Y5O also ........ black with 'rasta' accents .........my friend had the black one .....
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I just saw a Y-Foil a week or so ago ........
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cooooolllllllll ................
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a few of my 'riding friends' rode Y bikes at one time ......... three of them ... all had metallic red Y bikes .......... put a ton of hours on them ........ all four seasons ........ day and night ...... had great success with them ........

[Y33TREKker]

Originally posted by Dallas4u
Pretty flexy rear-ends though, correct?, being the single-pivot design.

That's what I heard a lot of too when I was first looking into the Y's, but then I noticed that most of the riders who made comments about the single pivot being too bouncy pushed the scales at 200 lbs. or more. I personally don't weigh in quite that high, and found that if I just adjusted the rear shock to accomodate my lighter weight, there was hardly any bounce at all, even when pedalling hard. I've considered a lock-out rear, but at this point I just don't think it'd really be necessary for me.

I agree, the Y-Foil is the most eye-catching bike I've ever seen. If only I had an extra $1k lying around. :) Anyone ever had any long term experience with those cool looking 3-spoke carbon-fiber Spin wheels I keep seeing on eBay?