V8 owners try this and let me know: sand mode

It has been a horrible winter in the NE and the heavy LR4 has been our friend through all of it. I noticed snow mode is not right for all types of snow. Sometimes you need to get going in deep cold snow and sand mode would always do the trick as it uses more power and lets the wheels spin more. (Snow mode lugged the engine so much I wonder if it saves gas on the road. I haven't tried that yet.) But I noticed that sand mode seemed to unlock a lot of power, more than just because of the higher rpms it lets the engine do.
So today at a light in dry weather I put it in sand mode and sport transmission mode and mashed it.
Holy crap. There are the 375 HP they are claiming, everything slid to the back of the car with thump.

I had said, when we had our first 2013 LR4, that there was no way it had 375HP because our 400HP BMW that weighted about the same was light years faster, like 50-100hp faster. Now I know it is locked away in the programming in the name of gas mileage most likely.

Anyway, try sand and sport and let me know if I am crazy to think it is much faster out of the gate.

Another interesting thing — it seems like sand mode increases the lock ratio on the viscous fan. A little better AC performance when it’s triple digits and you’re creeping along in traffic.

Snow mode makes it start out in second gear all the time, for one. I'd also like to see a 400hp BMW that weighs 5600+ lbs...but yeah. I've used snow mode extensively this season and in some hairy stuff - it's designed to keep you from losing control, and that's about it. Doesn't allow for much wheelspin, which is fine by me.

Sand mode increases the throttle response which is why it feels faster.

What tires are you running in the snow?

snow mode is going to LIMIT slip. so it's good for highway running and such, where you dont want wheel spin. If you're in deep snow you should be using mud/ruts.

also, these factory continentals SUCK. embarrassingly so.

mm3846 said:

If you're in deep snow you should be using mud/ruts. .

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^This. I was in Maine once where it snowed 3 feet overnight. Most vehicles were paralyzed. Between lift and mud/ruts mode I was able to drive out of our unplowed condo road. Nokian Hakkas deserve credit as well.

f1racer328 said:

Sand mode increases the throttle response which is why it feels faster.

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I was thinking it could be throttle response as well, I put a throttle controller in my JT and it "feels" faster, but you should be able to recreate the same acceleration in normal mode by flooring it off the line but you can't in the LR4. It could be that normal mode has a different final throttle limit than sand mode, which would explain how you are literally unlocking more HP.

True enough, the BMW was 5250lb. Still not enough to explain an alleged 25hp difference, either BMW under reports (some say they do), LR over reports and/or only allows it in certain modes, or both.

Sand mode also makes the transmission a lot more snappy as well as keeps the torque converter locked the whole time. So in a way it’s possible it could make it faster but I noticed it won’t let the engine rev past 6,500 RPM. If someone had the supplies I’d be curious to see if there is any difference on a Dyno.

ktm525 said:

What tires are you running in the snow?

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Nokian Hakka's R3. They are absolutely amazing. I've been in some pretty hairy snow storms up here in the Colorado mountains and extremely happy I had those tires on.



Sadly, I haven't gotten to use snow mode hardly at all this winter. We just haven't had much snow up here in Steamboat. But mud season is here, maybe I'll check out the mud program on this snot mud we have.