I was looking over the manual on how the winter mode functions and I have a question.. if the car starts in 3rd gear, how does it affect the lifespan of the TCC? Would it cause more wear, similar to slipping a clutch to start in 3rd?

(I did figure out that 2nd gear starts are also available in the '3' gear)

 

D is all 4 gears
3 gives you 1,2,3 gears
L gives you 1 and 2

Winter takes off in 3 and shifts to 4. You should only use winter when you absolutely have to, it causes a lot more strain on the Auto box than normal driving.

 

It seems as if winter mode changes D,3,L to 3/4,2,1 when I was playing around with it the other day. With winter mode engaged, If you put it in L, it starts in first and stays in first; 3 will start in 2nd and keep 2nd; and D will start in 3rd and shift to 4th. I could be wrong, as I didn't have a scanner or anything telling me, but this is just what it felt like when I was trying to figure out all the gears on winter mode.

But I would cry on behalf of my car for trying to take off in 3rd, lol. That thought just makes me cringe. I just wanted to see if anyone else agreed that it's not really a "normal" winter use thing.

 

Theory is that if you start out in 3rd gear you will have less tendency to spin your tires on slippery road conditions. I've been driving 850's since 1994 in Colorado, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia. I can count on one had how many times I've actually used the winter mode and not sure I even needed it those few times. And I don't hesitate to drive in snow.

 

When I picked up my wagon, the transmission was pretty messed up. First and second were slipping real bad, it would take about a minute for the car to find first and another minute to shift into second. This was a real problem seeing that I just flew 1,500 miles to pick up the car. Needless to say that winter mode quickly became my best friend. The 1,500 mile drive home was no problem.

After the car gets up to speed the winter mode kicks off automatically.

 

I think I actually read that thread about you buying it!

99% of the time, I think just an easy granny takeoff will get it rolling without too much effort. Although I have to admit, ever since I tweaked my wastegate rod, the 2nd gear start (Position '3') is a significant help, and other wise keeping an eye on my boost gage to make sure the car doesnt try to take off when I'm muddling through snow.

 

I'd trade that "winter" mode for a limited slip differential any day. I like my automatic but without a LSD option for it once you start modifying your 850 and making some serious power a manual swap with a LSD is almost mandatory. Youtube has some funny clips of 850s doing one wheel burnouts

 

Will TRACKS do the same thing as LSD?

 

No. With a limited slip or posi traction it will either transfer all or some of the power to the other wheel once it detects a wheel spinning. In some cases the differential will almost lock the two outputs together allowing the best application of power to the ground. If both are on ice you have power going to both wheels rather than just one which unfortunately is how the 850s are set up.

With "tracs" the antilock brakes kick in and try to stop the excessive power from spinning the wheel by ..... well using ABS in reverse. They stop the spinning wheel over and over again causing a lot of noise and pulsation in the system. Since it's stopping the spinning wheel it might be forcing some of the power to the other wheel but I'm not sure. I love ABS but the Tracs function IMHO doesn't really help you much.

I live in Minnesota and I haven't even used the "Winter" mode yet.

One northern driving tip, always roll your windows up before the plow goes by