I won't pile on here , other then to say I would not be running 4 wheel drive on surface streets and taking close to full lock turns , as you know this is when you are feeling most of the binding and this is hard on shit when the tires cannot slide or skid as they would on most off road surfaces. You living in So cal I get the whole 1/16 of an inch of rain can turn the 5/405 into a skating rink and if you want to run 4 wheel on the highway in this conditions that is your choice . Is it going to cause some tire and drive train ware , sure but what the hell . It will really not be that abnormal. As soon as you hit the off ramp I would go back to 2 wheel.
As far as switch backs on dry roads . If they are true switch back roads and the conditions are dry , do you really need 4 wheel . Not likely arguably the binding do to the very tight turns is causing a hazard and a distraction for driving on these roads. Particularly as you are probably going very slow.
Now if you want to rally race in the Raptor around switch backs put just the rear locker on and drift away .
I have driven up Pikes Peak a few times and at about 10,000 it goes to gravel , very well maintained not to narrow but some great switch backs and I would not be in 4 wheel in good conditions .
Well this ended up being more than my 2 cents. Dam Writing cramp and brain cramp here.
My follow up was lacking in some details that I had covered previously in the thread, so for conversations sake, I'll throw a bit more info in here.
I do know that running 4wd on concrete, and even some dry, hard pack surfaces, is a strain on the system. That being said, the ONE time I did run the 4wd system on concrete, was when we received several inches of rain over the weekend. That was when I noticed the initial bind....and just to be clear, I live nearly 400 miles north of LA, so I'm nowhere near what people consider SoCal. But I take no offense to that, I understand that when people in other parts of the country hear that I live in Cali... they automatically assume the LA area. Its all good.
As for the switchbacks, they were dusty, rocky, desert "roads", with slow crawling sections...that were, in sections, partially covered in snow. This is where I still noticed the binding, but to a lesser degree, due to the tires ability to slip in the dirt. My issue in this situation, and with the system in general, is the binding at even slight turning angles. I'm not talking full lock, although that's definitely binding, but talking a quarter turn of the steering wheel. Take the red mark on your wheel, make it point straight left or right, and that's when I can feel it start to slow the vehicle, even at speed.
In my mind, that minor a steering angle shouldn't be exhibiting binding. If the truck is meant to be an all 'rounder, with rock crawling in its book of tricks. Then the binding should be minimal, if anything, non-existent. There in lies my concern...is my truck broken? Is this normal? I'm not the only who's noticed this trait, so is this acceptable?
For the foreseeable future, I'm just going to live with it. I don't get off road enough for this to bother me, I was just initially concerned about the possibility of damaging my truck. I'm just going to need to be mindful of this finicky trait and love my truck for what it is... the most bad ass factory off roader ever!
