-Strike- Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 Plowing snow with mine this morning, oh holy hell snow fall..... wtf LOL The car shows no signs of slowing down, the AWD works great! I parked and drove through, snow up to the doors, and burying past the fog lights. and pushing snow past the license plate. And it moved right through it like a bawse. Pics are from my cell phone, so quality isn't too great. And on the ride into town; 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iahawk Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 Wow, impressive. Snow tires? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Strike- Posted January 22, 2013 Author Share Posted January 22, 2013 Yeah, riding on Blizzak WS70's. So that does help a lot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluspikez Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 Does the AWD Fusion have a display to show the torque splits? When I drove a 2013 Escape AWD/4WD for a week, I found it very interesting to watch the "Intelligent 4WD" display to see just where the power was going. How does it distribute power in the Fusion? Pretty equal all around? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSKershaw Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 (edited) Great pics... Man, that's a lot of snow! Edited January 22, 2013 by JSKershaw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Expedition owner Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 Those snow pics must be from Buffalo/Syracuse/Watertown area of upstate NY where they are getting hammered by "lake-effect" snow coming off the Great Lakes. Forecast calls for up to 2 feet of snow today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Strike- Posted January 22, 2013 Author Share Posted January 22, 2013 (edited) Opposite side, just on the east side of Lake Huron, in Southern Ontario Canada. Still "Lake Effect" snow, they're calling for more, but it's eased off for now. The AWD in that snow seems fairly well split front/back. If you tromp on it, it'll throw more to the rear, which can kick the ass end out a bit. It doesn't have the display for power distribution though. It just feels pretty well rounded. Edited January 22, 2013 by -Strike- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarcastic6 Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 It doesn't have the display for power distribution though. Interesting, the manual says display modes 5 (fuel and awd gauges) and 6 (vert tach, fuel, and awd gauges) should have it. Then again, the manual seems pretty lacking in a lot of areas (thanks for the list of available settings, but how about a description of what they do!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluspikez Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 Opposite side, just on the east side of Lake Huron, in Southern Ontario Canada. Still "Lake Effect" snow, they're calling for more, but it's eased off for now. The AWD in that snow seems fairly well split front/back. If you tromp on it, it'll throw more to the rear, which can kick the ass end out a bit. It doesn't have the display for power distribution though. It just feels pretty well rounded. Interesting, the manual says display modes 5 (fuel and awd gauges) and 6 (vert tach, fuel, and awd gauges) should have it. Then again, the manual seems pretty lacking in a lot of areas (thanks for the list of available settings, but how about a description of what they do!). Thanks Strike, that sounds similar to how the Escape performed, although I didn't get to test it in snow. sarcastic6, I remembered reading that as well, so I'm surprised it isn't showing up in Strike's car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarcastic6 Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 It wouldn't surprise me if the manual were wrong. It took them four revisions (5 printings) of the Focus manual in 2012 to get things right! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
svtenthusiast Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 (edited) I have been driving an 2013 Escape rental for the past few days, which is 4wd. My 2013 Escape is in the shop, it is FWD with Michelin Xice Xi3 tires on it. It's nice having the off the line traction of the 4wd, but the OEM continental all season tires are downright dangerous in the snow. My FWD with snow tires, once going down the road, is much more stable. Just shows AWD doesn't make a difference once rolling down the road unless you have snow tires on it. I guess my point is even with AWD if you are running the Continental tires, be careful. You are going to stop and steer just like any other vehicle on the road. BTW the Escape does have the 4WD readout and it's pretty interesting to watch since it is in real time for each individual tire. Edited January 22, 2013 by svtenthusiast 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest RRF985 Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 (edited) Yeah, riding on Blizzak WS70's. So that does help a lot! I just put the same tires on my car. Glad to know they can handle the really deep stuff. Great pics! Edited January 22, 2013 by RRF985 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluspikez Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 I have been driving an 2013 Escape rental for the past few days, which is 4wd. My 2013 Escape is in the shop, it is FWD with Michelin Xice Xi3 tires on it. It's nice having the off the line traction of the 4wd, but the OEM continental all season tires are downright dangerous in the snow. My FWD with snow tires, once going down the road, is much more stable. Just shows AWD doesn't make a difference once rolling down the road unless you have snow tires on it. I guess my point is even with AWD if you are running the Continental tires, be careful. You are going to stop and steer just like any other vehicle on the road. BTW the Escape does have the 4WD readout and it's pretty interesting to watch since it is in real time for each individual tire. I noticed the same with those ContiProContacts (they come on the Fusion 19" wheel package as well). They hardly grab at all in the snow/slush/ice. The traction control, stability control and ABS would keep me pointed in relatively straight line, but there was just no traction for starting, or more alarmingly, stopping. I put the set of Altimax Arctics on there for the winter and don't have to worry anymore. FWIW, my dad's '09 Charger (RWD) also came with the ContiProContacts, and he doesn't use them in the winter either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iahawk Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 I believe the AWD system splits power 70/30 Front/Rear during normal conditions and can send a max of 40% to the rear wheels. Not the best system and I do not believe its the same as the new Escapes...but I could be wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 (edited) I believe the AWD system splits power 70/30 Front/Rear during normal conditions and can send a max of 40% to the rear wheels. Not the best system and I do not believe its the same as the new Escapes...but I could be wrong. More like 95+ to the front wheels until slip is detected or the computer thinks you might cause slippage (hard acceleration, acceleration while turning, etc.). It can send up to 90% of the torque to the rear for short periods. I believe all Ford FWD based vehicles use the same AWD system now. Edited January 23, 2013 by akirby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboTi Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 Strike: right on! You are a classic case for needing AWD and snow tires. It's amazing a car that low can plow snow half-way up the wheels. I debated getting awd, but we just don't get that kind of snow, and I didn't thing it would help the handling in the twisties enough to make up for the reduced mileage. Great Pics! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jinx8402 Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 Same here Turbo. We hardly get snow that bad over here (sometimes we'll get a good storm though) to warrant me getting AWD. I will be putting on snow tires though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iahawk Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 More like 95+ to the front wheels until slip is detected or the computer thinks you might cause slippage (hard acceleration, acceleration while turning, etc.). It can send up to 90% of the torque to the rear for short periods. I believe all Ford FWD based vehicles use the same AWD system now. It would be nice if ford had more information on this system. I got my numbers from the reviews i have read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 It would be nice if ford had more information on this system. They do. Right there on media.ford.com. This is for the Escape but it's the same system and they've published similar articles on the Fusion and MKZ in the past. http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=35940 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robd23 Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 (edited) They do. Right there on media.ford.com. This is for the Escape but it's the same system and they've published similar articles on the Fusion and MKZ in the past. http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=35940 I've seen the same information that iahawk saw. In fact, I called my dealer to inquire because I had read both the 70/30 and the 95/5 numbers. Personally, I'd prefer 70/30. I specifically asked if the new fusion used the same AWD as the new Escape. Dealer said no. That site also says "The driver can see the power distribution displayed on a screen inside the dash.". This is apparently not true for the fusion. There is very little easily found information on our system. Edited January 23, 2013 by robd23 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iahawk Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Agreed robd23. When the car was first announced all the write ups said it was a rear biased system. Not sure where that info came from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 (edited) Agreed robd23. When the car was first announced all the write ups said it was a rear biased system. Not sure where that info came from. I've never seen anyone refer to Ford's AWD system as rear biased. The actual torque split may vary depending on the vehicle and how it's programmed. Edited January 24, 2013 by akirby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iahawk Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 http://www.edmunds.com/auto-shows/detroit/2012/2013-ford-fusion-2012-detroit-auto-show.html Edmunds was one i remember mentioning it as well as others. It was when the car came out at the Detroit auto show. Its obviously not correct information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Edmunds was one i remember Nuff said. I tried to explain to the then Senior Editor at Edmunds why the Lincoln LS V8 was 3.9L and the Jaguar S type V8 was 4.0L even though it was basically the same engine. The answer is that the Lincoln had a 1 mm shorter stroke than the Jag. His response was "What does stroke have to do with displacement?". Which is like saying why does a tall glass hold more water than a short glass of the same diameter. Idiots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
92merc Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Which is like saying why does a tall glass hold more water than a short glass of the same diameter. Well? Why does it? Don't leave me hanging! LOL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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