Ok, tried to search, endless swamp for me
When snow mode is on, it seems to provide and change power only between rear and front axle, not between each wheels.
Something else? Like less power?
Owners manual says only that it helps driving when it is very slippery.

 

Snow mode....WHAT IS THIS BLASPHEMY YOU SPEAK OF?

 

Snow mode in most vehicles means the car starts in 2nd gear, not sure how it use SH-AWD though.

 

This must be something only on the euro/canadian models?

 

Nope us Canadians don't have this feature either. Can u take a picture of the snow mode button so we can get an idea of what you are talking about? Thanks!

 

I was not aware theat Honda LEGENDs offered this feature. It is not offered on North American RLs nor JDM LEGENDs to my knowledge.

But assuming it was offered on European LEGEND configurations I would assume it retards the torque vectoring logic of SHAWD to prevent over torquing any corner of the car in ice or snow conditions. Symmetrical AWD may be more controlled in snow and ice and the logic may mimic symmetrical AWD characteristics.

Also, as previously mentioned, it may alter tranny logic to launch in second gear.

 

wi kneed piktures

 

Brief mention of snow mode in this review, but no details

http://www.carpages.co.uk/honda/hond...2-20-02-07.asp

 

snow mode??

My Lexus GS had it. My RL definitely does not...

 

Snow Mode is standard on the JDM Legend. The switch sits above the two brightness control switches. The JDM owners manual gives no indication of what it does, except that it can only be used on straight roads and at speeds under 100km/h. The JDM Legend brochure from 2004 indicates that by using a combination of the 'drive by wire' for throttle control and the SH-AWD for torque control, Snow Mode allows for smooth starts on snowy or slippery roads unlike previous transmissions which started the vehicle moving from 2nd gear.

 

^This.

Per the RL manual: However, I have started in 2nd before just for kicks and the car still down-shifted to 1st.

 

your magic is broketed.

 

I believe snow mode is same for all vehicles, it basically cuts down power and prevents wheel spin. Awesome in the snow, or at least in a IS300 it was

 

Heer juu aar

Snow switch


On display that SH-AWD text changes to SNOW


Manual says that it is on when you drive straight road and the speed is under 100km/h
That power indicator shows that power changes between rear and front, like there is rear diff locked and also front diff locked, that may be also the reason why it is on only when you are driving straight.
Have to try that start with 2nd gear, interesting.
If i take wot start, it feels that there is no power missing so it wont ease the start restricting power. If i switch off the VSA then it will spin the wheels as much i want so it is easy to play on the icy surface.

 

Normally the '2' position or even 3 on some higher-powered vehicles was used to limit slipping and lower the amount of torque put down.

Since the computer in the RL/Legend handles torque application, I imagine it's not the same.

 

thats pretty damn cool

 

Thanks Maintenanceman (Kiitos!) and paddlesnz (Bob's your uncle) ...7 years of this forum and this has never come up. Nice to know this car can still surprise us that far down the road. We certainly have too few LEGEND owners on the forum and too often we lose focus that this is a global car with many packaging variations.

At least 'SNOW' is not another weird Honda acronym like 'Super-NOW'.... That would make me think we had some sort of time travel capability built into our cars!

 

This is probably the same thing as I had on my 05 Acura MDX which was VTM-4 Lock which

 

I just had a glass of wine and stopped by the office before getting in the car to drive home (car has no "wine mode" button) to let some of it burn off ...

Have to say awesome, thanks maintman!

Love seeing something new I didn't know existed.

 

My guess, and this is just a guess, would be that it locks the rear diff keeping it from transferring power to the outside wheel. Transferring the power to the outside rear wheel is great for helping the car turn in under spirited driving on dry surfaces but too it also inherently makes the car more tail happy...not so great for vehicle stability in the snow.

OP, have you noticed it transferring power side to side in the rear when the snow mode is enabled?

 

 

I have never seen a post about "snow" mode in all the years I've been on the RL forum. Cool that it exists on EDM and JDM Legends. I sure could have used that here in Cleveland a few times during my RL ownership.

 

It seems that it is not doing side to side transfer, it is equal both sides. Changes only between front and rear.

 

I didnt realize that this "Snow" thing is so rare, i thought that you guys are just not talking about it, ha ha.

 

Thanks for sharing.

 

Why did Honda think that the US did not need "Snow" mode or "LKAS" or "headlight washers" or "cooled seats"? Other manufacturers were/are offering these options and Honda had then available but chose not to install them in Acura. The early RL's could have been even more advanced than they were if Honda wanted to flagship the RL.
There may be other options that we do not know about in the JDM or EDM?

 

Rear fog light?

 

Yes, you are correct. I have been in many threads touting the attributes of the rear fog light but it's too complicated for the average driver in America. It's the same problem with LKAS - if you don't indicate for a lane change then LKAS thinks that you are asleep. In the US about 90% of the drivers are asleep or, at least, drive like they are so they would just turn it off.
There are many on this forum who even admit to driving while using the phone in their hand. Do you think that they ever use their indicators?

 

As with anything that does not follow intuition or logic, the answer is simple. $$$.

 

I toyed around with starting in 2nd today and found that it will not downshift to 1st as long as you stay in 2nd gear. Once you go to 3rd it will auto shift all the way down to 1st.