"Proper" 4wd tyres can make a difference IMHO.

[Trex]

I can tell you now- it won't. (Sent from the Passo Campolongo in the Italian Alps. Yes it is snowing right now)

Passo Campolongo.

A Lamborghini or Ferrari on that road would be fun unless it was snowing I think.

 

[pasquinade]

A simple test will be to lift the car on one side and measure "wheel vertical travel" (sway bar fully activated due to all weight on other side), then lower it and lift both wheels on one axle (sway bar not doing anything on that axle) and measure "wheel vertical travel". If the two values are very different it might be worth pursuing and try to actually disconnect a sway bar link (otherwise it will be due to the actual suspension mechanism). If I get my hands on a second jack I'll give this a try...

Today I did this test but was not very successful. All distances are measured from center of the wheel to top cover (only distance differences are relevant so I'll not elaborate too much on where the measurements were taken). Only the front axle is considered.

at rest: 46cm
one wheel up, one wheel down, measured the wheel up: 51cm
one wheel up, one wheel down, measured the wheel on the floor: 50cm
both wheels up: 51cm

Conclusions:
1) Max travel of the front suspension seems to be 5cm.. seems very little to me.
2) It seems that when I lift one side at the front, the car is mostly supported on the back wheels and the jack (3 plane support points). It would seem that the front wheel still on the floor is also being lifted.

I tried to cross axle it (one jack front left, one jack back right) but it became very unstable for my liking and I aborted the test.

Regarding the sway bar stiffness I cannot reach any conclusion (the results can be explained by a stiff back suspension). Now that I think of it perhaps it would have been more informative to put both jacks on a single side and raise both wheels on one side.

Regarding total suspension travel, seems to be quite limited at 5cm and would explain the apparently small obstacles cross-axling the PHEV. Two 5cm mounds in the right spots will be able to cross-axle it (probably what Trex did in his video)... Note: I speculate a bit that the back suspension will be similar to the front.

 

[anko]

Two 5cm mounds in the right spots will be able to cross-axle it

If that was correct and I am not mistaken, so will be 'putting a single wheel on a 10 cm high side walk'. And this is something I (and probably some others) do on a daily basis when getting into and out of small parking bays. But I never got stuck or had to turn my steering wheel left to right to get out

Sure, lifting two opposite wheels by 5 cm or more may lift the car a little bit, but that doesn't mean the other two wheels loose contact with the ground. Did you consider that suspension travel goes both ways, and that the amount of travel might be (for example) 41 - 51 rather than 46 - 51. Still not an awful lot, but .....

 

[pasquinade]

Hi anko,

Yes, you are right.

1) Since the jack was taking the weight of the car, the full weight of the car was not re-distributed to the other wheels (which would draw the car down).

2) When I wrote "suspension travel", I should have written "suspension extension from normal rest position"

 

[anko]

I waited for you to jump in

So, it was a set-up? :lol:
But I understand what you are saying. There is a difference between wheels being slowed down and wheels brought to a full stop.

 

[Trex]

Mmmm. nice wheels and car.




Damn. :shock: They got it dirty.

Full story here: http://toyotires.com.au/toyo-blog/399-tmr-australia-s-outlander-phev-crosses-finish-line-in-2014-australasian-safari

I love when they say:

“We’ve absolutely loved the challenge of competing in the Safari and, despite everything we’ve thrown at it, the mighty Outlander PHEV hasn’t skipped a beat.”



Except the major impact. :roll: