Open differential? ONE-wheel-drive '03 VibeGT in snow

[CompSci8]

According to my dealership I was one of the first people in northern Alabama (I have since moved to LA) to own a Vibe GT! I just recentely found this great site and joined up. This is my first post. Please forgive my ignorance, but I wanted to seek the input of all you gurus. I recently took my Vibe up an iced over mountain road to get to a ski resort (I ride a snowboard). The police required everyone to use snow-chains. The VibeGT performed terribly with them equipped. Starts from a standstill applied power to only one wheel (a condition I'll call "1WD"). The car would slide laterally all over the road... often sliding backwards when power was applied and the wheels were spinning. Similar performance was observed when I removed the snow-chains later in the day. In low-traction situations the car seems to revert to "1WD".I've also noticed that when you launch the GT it pulls to one-side. I've had my alignment checked twice and both times they claim it is within spec. My tires show a peculiar wear pattern where the centers are worn down much more than both the inside and outside edges (overinflation?). Rotating my tires (the tech said something about a "tire-pull" condition) lessened the pulling effect for a while, but it ultimately returned.My questions are basically these: Does anyone know the differential on this car? Is all of this to be expected? and does anyone have any recommendations as to where I go from here?Thanks alot! Regards! -Jonathan.

[ragingfish]

This is normal.On my base vibe (same drivetrain), I got the right front wheel stuck in a snowbank once. Naturally, that stuck wheel was the only one spinning when I hit the gas.I don't understand the design, but that is the way it is. Odd.As to the tires, if the center is wearing more than the edges, YES, your tires are overinflated! 32 psi is manufacturer's recommendations, and DESPITE other threads on this site, I STRONGLY urge you to run the manufacturer's recommended pressure!

[ColonelPanic]

Sadly, I'd say that is to be expected. One wheel is going to get traction, the other isn't when you are driving on slick roads. I got the Vibe hung up in the parking lot at work last month after a snow/ice storm, one wheel would just sit there and spin, the other wouldn't even budge. And as I continued to fight it, the spinning wheel vs. the wheel not moving would alternate. A limited slip diff would be very nice to have... Sure would have been a great help for me that day.

[joatmon]

welcome to genvibedifferentials in cars allow one wheel to move at a different speed than the other. If you had a fixed axle locking both sides, you would eat tires unless you drove perfectly straight all the time. I have had the one wheel spin, one wheel stationary in low traction in a lot of vehicles, the worst was my RWD pickup truck that could get stuck on wet grass if there was nothing in the bed. How Stuff Works is a great site, check out http://auto.howstuffworks.com/differential.htm for their description of differentials. a limited slip differential would probably help, but I don't know what the cost would be, or if it would be worth it. It wouldn't be for me, because I don't race, and if the roads are icy enough to make the car get stuck, I tend to stay home.The pull to ths side under hard acceleration is probably what is called torque steer. I don't know why it happens, but mine does it a little. I notice it most when really acelerating hard, then shift, and as I let the clutch out the car feels like it wants to swim a little bit. There was another thread here on that but no real solutions other than expect it and deal with it. http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=9726Sounds like the roads were pretty bad on that mountain.

[wicked1981]

Welcome glad to see more and more members here in CA..

[JohnC]

There is a little trick you can use when driving an open differential in low traction conditions. If one of your wheels is spinning (no traction) gently apply the brake, this will transfer a little power to the wheel that has traction. This is used by allot of late model SUV drivers. Why buy a 4x4 without limited slip or locking differentials? There is a benefit to open differentials, and that is when you are on ice. LS differentials tend to make you spin out when accelerating. An open dif. is more controllable.Better yet: get a Jeep with locking differentials for a true 4x4 experience. My Jeep will claw its way over anything, it is really amazing what four driving wheels can do. Unfortunately it makes steering a bit tricky in some conditions.

[Altus]

There is an LSD available for the 2zz transmission too.I don't know too much about it, other than it was made in Japan (no surprise there). I remember reading about it on one of the sister sites as it was being used in a Matrix.

[Jahntassa]

The GT has a natural pull to the right..I believe more often than not it uses the driver side wheel as the main drive wheel. So that's normal... Honestly though, if you're looking into driving in mountains and such..you should probably trade into an AWD version..

[satur9]

yeah its normal, i find i get going better in the snow if i slip the clucth till im rolling if i just let the clutch go and press the throttle(even light throttle) ill get the one wheel wonder.quaife makes a lsd for about a grand buts its helical and theorectically you could still get stuck with one wheel cause of the way it tranfers power also a phantomgrip traction device is availible for around 300 bucks but there are mixed opinions on this device.

[technomobile]

I drive a base 03 vibe with AWD. I bought and drove it for bou a year and a half in alaska and never had a problem with it. Only time I did was in the summer got stuck in some mud.... took it off roading lol