To all fellow offroaders, I have a 2.4 cvt Outie 08, Question #1) does one has to disengage ASC before entering a potentially difficult track (say soft sand, deep mad, snow???)
My experience , this summer, in Chalkidiki Northern Greece, I arrived at a fantastic small (apprx 400m) sandy peninsula, at the end of it I saw a Daihatsu Terios, so without any hasitation engaged the 4W lock &I went on....mid ways I discovered I was in deep trouble, finally reached the end but quite allarmed what would happen on the return leg. Returning mid ways again the car was moving with great difficulty skiding on the thin sand and presto the ASC reports a fault & disengages its self, few seconds later the 4W disangaged also. I arrived with great difficulty at the end of sand corridor using 2WD. The fault message for the ASC switched off 3-4 minutes after entering pavement, no problems there after.

This brings me to Question #2) I am sure part of the problem were the Bridgestone Dueler tyres , good for pavement but forget them for offroad conditions as the above, at least this is what I think. Any one knows of other acceptable tyres 225/55 18" for say mixed driving conditions (25% off road-75% pavement)???

 

1. YES DISENGAGE The ASC. IT works by detecting when a tire slips it shut downs power to that wheel. Mud equals slip = asc power cut off. If your in 4x4 lock the ASC should always be turned off.

2. A Good set of winter snow tires do the trick nicely. I havent found any good off road tires yet.

Dger what part of the country you join us from?

 

I agree, I got stuck in packed snow last year, ended up jacked up with hardly any weight on the tires, this was in the middle of the road. I had ASC on, and I'm fairly certain that I would have made it throughif I had turned it off.

 

As a note when you get stuck the tow hooks at the front and rear do work very well ;p

 

The problem with the tow hook on the back is that, if the vehicle towing you is a little high the chain or rope pushed against the lower plastic piece under the bumper and could damage it. In my case even though my car was in the middle of the road, no tow truck could get close enough to pull me out, the city had to send a backhoes to clear the snow and pull me out. They used a chain and I though it was going to destroy the plastic, however it returned to it's normal shape after a couple of days.

 

BTW for anyone getting towed make sure your towed on a flatbed and that your 4x4 is set to 2 wheel. You can damage the drive system if your towed in 4x4 mode.

 

Very enlightening what you comment Azchipka, thx a lot for your response. I joined you from far away from Vermont, Athens Greece, lots of sandy beaches to explore in my country, if you ever come send a note so as to give a tour in my Outie!

 

Any one has ever tried Bridgestone BLIZZAK LM25 winter tyre (225/55 R18V or other size)??

 

I have not tried those specifically, but I have had Blizzaks in the past,in my opinion they were the best performing winter tires I have ever had, but they wear out very quickly. If you live in a cold area with roads that are often covered in snow, they are great. If the area you live in is not very cold and the roads are usuallycleared so you are on pavement 99% of the time, I would lookfor something more durable.

 

The Outlander is not a real 4X4 it does it by viscous fan plates and electronics their no real transmission tunnel/axle. Unlike my old shogun sport.

The reason 4x4 switched off was because you overheated the system you may have been better using 4X4 auto

puddy