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Ford Explorer Mercury Mountaineer 2006 and newer

841 messages,  Last post on Nov 24, 2009 at 10:05 AM

You are in the Ford Explorer Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & tidester

What is this discussion about? Mercury Mountaineer, Ford Explorer, SUV


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#737 of 841
Re: 2007 Mountaineer AWD [nbx] by pnewby
Jul 25, 2007 (7:05 am)
Reply

Replying to: nbx (Jul 24, 2007 8:04 pm)

I'll agree with the rock crawling comment, except that the biggest limiting factor for any brand is the wheel base. All things being equal, the wheel base is the biggest difference. Shorter wheel base = better rock crawling ability. As for the 4WD low, I did use it in snow once, and it will pull you through drifts that 4WD high will not, but that is not something most of us see very often. In the snow, if you have enough traction, ground clearance is not quite as critical. Kinda the snow plow syndrome I guess.
#738 of 841
Re: 2007 Mountaineer AWD [panzer] by baggs32
Jul 25, 2007 (9:54 am)
Reply

Replying to: panzer (Jul 24, 2007 2:19 pm)

Sure wish I could turn off the stability control. Makes life miserable in the sand.
 
You can but you have to stay below 25 mph.
 
From the manual of my '06 V6 XLT.
 
AdvanceTrac with RSC button and icon functionality
The AdvanceTrac with RSC system automatically turns on each time
the engine is started, even if it was turned off when the engine was last
shut down. The “sliding car” icon which is located with the warning
lights in the instrument cluster will illuminate during bulb check at initial
start-up and then go off. This tells you that the system is normal and
active. All functions of the AdvanceTrac with RSC (RSC, ESC, Engine
Traction Control, and Brake Traction Control) will be activated at start
up. When the system is left active, the “sliding car” icon will flash only
when any of the components of the system are affecting the vehicles
performance, otherwise the light will remain off. Consequently, the
“sliding car” icon will not be illuminated during most of your normal
driving.
The AdvanceTrac with RSC button,
located on the center stack of the
instrument panel, allows the driver
to control certain features of the
AdvanceTrac with RSC system
below 25 mph (40 km/h). If the
vehicle is below 25 mph (40 km/h), momentarily pressing the
AdvanceTrac with RSC button will disable RSC, ESC and Engine
Traction Control and steadily illuminate the “sliding car” icon. Pressing
and holding the AdvanceTrac with RSC button for more than five
seconds will further disable the brake portion of the Traction Control
feature and the “sliding car” icon will flash momentarily and then
illuminate steady.
If the vehicle is above 25 mph (40 km/h), momentarily pressing the
AdvanceTrac with RSC button will steadily illuminate the “sliding car”
icon, however, the AdvanceTrac with RSC system will remain enabled
until the vehicle speed drops below 25 mph. If the vehicle speed
decreases below 25 mph (40 km/h), the system will become deactivated,
but if the vehicle speed subsequently increases to above 25 mph (40
km/h), the system will again become active. In general, the system will
be active at all times the vehicle speed is above 25 mph (40 km/h).
In R (Reverse), ABS and the Traction Control feature will continue to
function, however ESC and RSC are disabled.
All these conditions are normal during AdvanceTrac with RSC
operation. Refer to the following table.
#739 of 841
Mountaineer AWD V8 in sand by sacmtnr
Jul 26, 2007 (8:32 am)
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I will be going to Florida in a few weeks and plan on doing a fair amount of driving on the beach there. Sand varies from packed to very soft. I gather from the information above that I should probably disable the traction control system to achieve better performance. Does anyone have any further advise to help make sure my beach driving is enjoyable and hopefully tow free? I do have tow straps, a platform for the jack, and a shovel just in case but would rather they never came out of the back of the truck. Thanks
#740 of 841
Re: Mountaineer AWD V8 in sand [sacmtnr] by steve_ HOST
Jul 26, 2007 (8:55 am)
Reply

Replying to: sacmtnr (Jul 26, 2007 8:32 am)

Air down - seems like 15 to 20 psi is the usual recommended tire pressure, although it depends. People were getting stuck in normally hard Daytona Beach a couple of weeks ago. (link)
 
I'd ask about local conditions once I got there, and either take a compressor or figure out where the closest service station with air is so you can air back up when you get back on the tarmac.
#742 of 841
Re: 2007 Mountaineer AWD [baggs32] by panzer
Jul 26, 2007 (12:33 pm)
Reply

Replying to: baggs32 (Jul 25, 2007 9:54 am)

Nice to know you can do it, kinda. 25MPH comes up pretty quick when I drive on sand. Speed is your friend.
#743 of 841
Re: 2007 Mountaineer AWD [panzer] by tidester HOST
Jul 26, 2007 (8:25 pm)
Reply

Replying to: panzer (Jul 26, 2007 12:33 pm)

Speed is your friend.
 
That depends on what kind of sand you're driving on.
 
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper
#744 of 841
Re: Mountaineer AWD V8 in sand [sacmtnr] by lateralg
Jul 27, 2007 (10:50 am)
Reply

Replying to: sacmtnr (Jul 26, 2007 8:32 am)

It's my view that disabling traction control is the wrong thing to do. If it is disabled, the first wheel to lose traction will spin, unchecked, digging a nice hole.
#745 of 841
Re: 2007 Mountaineer AWD [tidester] by panzer
Jul 27, 2007 (11:01 am)
Reply

Replying to: tidester (Jul 26, 2007 8:25 pm)

I thought about that again. Not always true. The sand I typically drive on is in NW Nebraska, on the shore of a big lake that's down about 80 feet from high water line, leaving a beach that's over a mile wide down to the water in some areas. The sand is quite fine and fluffy, alot like a New England seashore beach. It gives traction and stability control quite a workout. They both work against playing "Rat Patrol." There are few real hazards there. It would be reckless to drive fast on most any seashore beach that I'm aware of. With beachcombers, walking traffic and the various shore life, driving on the beach, even slowly must be done with great care. That's why it's illegal to do so in many jurisdictions.
 
I've actually not had the opportunity to take my 06 V8 Explorer to the sand. I've done plenty of sand driving with my old cars, including a VW Touareg and two Isuzu Troopers. Your comment about air pressure is right. Low pressure makes a big difference. I usually just fight it with highway air pressure in the tires, and let some out if the going gets tough. With the Touareg I could air up from the onboard pump.
 
I much prefer a simple 4wd in the sand. Wonder how the Land Rovers are with an actual program in the traction/stability control that accounts for sand.
#746 of 841
Re: 2007 Mountaineer AWD [panzer] by baggs32
Jul 27, 2007 (11:16 am)
Reply

Replying to: panzer (Jul 27, 2007 11:01 am)

I much prefer a simple 4wd in the sand. Wonder how the Land Rovers are with an actual program in the traction/stability control that accounts for sand.
 
If you go by the mags they are unstoppable!

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