[V8] V8 winter performance comparisons and questions

[Bryan Kamerer]

Hi all.  Happy thanksgiving.  And I promise, no napalm jokes and
self-immolating strippers in this post.  I want basically those people with
more knowledge of different AWD systems to give me some feedback if they
would be generous.

*Background: *I bought an SUV this fall, to use for towing.  An Acura SLX,
which is a gussied-up late model Isuzu Trooper, just re-badged for Acura.
 Replaced about 2003 with their own mall cruiser design.  It is a real
"truck" type suv, with ladder frame, torsion front suspension, etc - which
is what I wanted for towing.  Very practical and inexpensive vehicle.  Only
other experience I had with SUVs really extensively was the last three
years, my ex and I had a 99 Toyota Land Cruiser, whose AWD/4WD system
impressed the hell out of me (she has it now).  I live in Seattle, but did
have my V8 in NY and VT from 1996 to 2002, so I did many, many miles of
winter driving in all conditions.  Always performed flawlessly in all
conditions - I ran Yoko Guardex snows and never once needed to put chains on
it for any conditions.  Incredible.

*Observation: *The last few days, we had unusual winter conditions here in
Seattle (I live in Redmond to be exact, but it's very close).  I drove the
Acura/Isuzu  through a lot of very nasty, icy conditions.  It has some
"Torque on Deman" system I don't fully understand - you drive it in 2wd all
the time until you need it, then hit a button and it distributes torque to
the front wheels from 0 to 50% based on measured spin.  It also has a low
range transfer case you can throw it in for real challenges (had to use that
in a few spots, too).  It has Michelin "Cross Sport" or something typical
highway tires on it, nothing specialized and not dedicated snow tires, so
that obviously was a hindrance.  It did OK but no where near as as
competently as the V8 with the torsens everywhere, or as I recall the Land
Cruiser ("TLC") when we had some similar conditions here about 2 years ago.
 The TLC then  had similarly generic SUV highway tires on it, but performed
vastly better except on bare ice.  I really don't know how the system in the
Land Cruiser works, but I liked it. I imagine with dedicated snows it could
equal my (our) V8s.  Which on reflection to me sounds like a hell of a
statement given the reputation (well deserved, I think) of the TLC.

*Questions:*
*
*
1) So does anyone know how (mechanically) the AWD system on a V8 TLC
compares to our Audi system?

2) Anybody understand how the late generation Isuzu system works?

3) Do all Audis (current generations included) all use the same Torsen
system like we have, or do they build some more robustly than others, like
Toyota and other manufacturers do?

4) If I get some better M+S rated AT tires or something for the SLX/Trooper,
will I get good snow/ice performance or should I just get dedicated snows?
 Not a big deal here, I can actually run them year-round since it's so mild
in the summers.  I have on my V8 a few summers (I don't drive huge mileage
so I was just too lazy to swap the tires).

I know I can go Google and find some of this stuff with hours of study, but
I know some of you guys can simplify the heck out of it for me by making
comparisons to the V8 system, which I do understand how it operates.  I'm
kinda a newb to SUVs despite having that TLC a few years. I just worked so
perfectly all the time it never challenged me to worry or think about it
other than maintenance.

Overall I'm really happy with the SLX/Trooper, especially for the low price
and high quality.  I'll use it happily a few years until I can replace it
with a nice used 100 series V8 TLC.

Bryan