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how do the 2 systems actually compare

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slayer2321

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
we all know on paper the freedom drive 2 patriot is far better in off road capability but how do they really compare not considering gear ratio etc. what have you got into with your jeeps ?

ill go first and say I have took my 2014 jeep patriot freedom drive 1 with no mods and i have took it on some pretty sketchy dirt trails and steep hills and it handled well. my jeep has seen a little bit of mud but nothing to really major just some small after math from some logging trucks .
 
#2 ·
i will say that for most people and 99% of what i do, maybe even 99.9%, ok, 100%, i don't need a lower gear. That is all you are getting with the fd2. Ok, you also get things sealed enough in order to go through 19" of water.


I never do that. nor do i want to.

the automatic 6spd 4x4 does just fine and i go up some steep mountain gravel roads where 4x4 or awd is required because of the slope and loose gravel.

also, if you drive on sand like at the beach, you never touch 4lo or in the case of the patriot, it's low setting of the fd2. UNLESS you get stuck. If you are smart and air down, and use alittle common sense, you won't get stuck.

So in summary, think of the low in the fd2 as the 4lo of a part time 4x4 system. When would you ever use that? Some people rock crawl so they use 4lo. Patriots have no business rock crawling, in fact most vehicles don't have any business rock crawling besides wranglers/xterras/fj cruisers or other short wheel based vehicles with proper ground clearance of at least 9 inches and approach and departure angles and solid axles at least in back.

our patriots are not that vehicle.


now i will say that i do use the 4lo in my xterra sometimes while driving down the same hill i mentioned previously. i can do it in just 2wd BUT that thing is heavy and the wheels sometimes will skid- abs doesn't quite work as good as it does on our patriots. The jeep goes down that same hill never slipping/sliding etc.
 
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#3 ·
I haven't gotten my FDI stuck yet. I've taken it through some seriously deep water, as well. Haven't run into a situation where I needed lower gearing and the FDI BLD seems to work fine the few times it's kicked in. As an adventure rig, it's perfectly capable. I'd love to see a head to head comparison between the FDI and FDII though.
 
Discussion starter · #4 ·
great responses guys! I would say for most of us if you need low gear then you shouldn't of drove the patriot . My patriot is used to drive the family around and for hunting purposes when my truck is down or gas $ is just not there lol. so its seen a few small holes.
 
#5 ·
My Patriot has FD2. I haven't really had her very far off road, just some logging trails and to a few camp sites in the mountains. There have been a couple times where I was glad that I have the skid plates. When I put her into LOW, under the speedometer lights up with "LOW/Off-road" but in reality, it's not like dropping a transfer case into 4Low, all it actually does is lock the CVT into its lowest position, sort of like shifting a regular automatic into 1. I could see that helping if you're in a situation where you need to minimize wheel slip or if you're trying to go up a steep incline.

The best comparison that I can come up with though is between my Patriot and my wife's RAV4. I really don't know much about the RAV4's AWD system other than when you push the "Lock" button in it, it automatically disengages once you hit 23MPH... that seems rather pathetic. But her RAV4 has gotten stuck in snow several times, where my Patriot had no issues at all. There have also been numerous times where starting out from a light on snow covered roads in the RAV4 was scary... slipping and sliding, where my Patriot had no issues (I was driving behind her).

I'd also be interested in seeing a head to head between FD1 and FD2.... if there's anyone near Buffalo with a FD1, let's go do it, lol.
 
#6 ·
Have FD 2 and I've been in mud up to the floor pan and have gotten out. Was impressed that I did get out ? This winter I've high spotted and got hung up on a drift that in hindsight I should of stayed away from. But hey, FD 2 gives a person some balls to attempt to tackle? my kid got me out of the drift with a tow strap. Being in North Dakota we get snow, and I like plowing thru it, so I'm glad for the skid plates as u don't know what's under that snow sometimes ?
 
#7 ·
I have the FD1 (5-speed manual) and live in high mountains +12,000 Ft. (low oxygen) It does good, except when having to combine going up hill with tackling boulders. Not enough humph to go over and up.
Now the manual has only 15.something Crawl ratio, vs. 17.- and 19.- of the auto and FD2 respectively. Still, 19 something Crawl ratio of the FD2 is too little to do real rock crawling.
 
#9 ·
I do notice that when i go to my camping spot in the mountains in my jeep, and where i have to turn around and reverse up the gravel/dirt hill, and if that dirt is wet so muddy, i have zero issues. in my gf's new crv awd, it biggs down a lot. it's a cvt. I keep pushing gas and it doesn't quite move as you would expect so i don't know what it's doing.. i just know my patriot goes up it fine without any struggle..
 
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#10 ·
FD2 final drive ratio is a well-documented 19-1. I believe the 6-spd that everybody gushes over 'til I wanna puke has a 16-1 final drive in 1st gear. 5-spd manual like 15-1 or 14-1, something like that. Regular CVT I think is 12-1 or 13-1 at its lowest. And mine has done rather spectacularly within its limits and capabilities on many different occasions.
 
#11 ·
silverflash said:
....i don't need a lower gear. That is all you are getting with the fd2. Ok, you also get things sealed enough in order to go through 19" of water.
Click to expand...
It's not just lower differential gears and water seals.

The FDII also has a more aggressive brake lock differential/traction control program for stopping wheel spin, which is what makes it better at going over certain obstacles where you have wheels lifted in a cross-axle situation.

 
#12 ·
A good basic info video to watch would be the FD1 and FD2 videos Jeep has. Ive found that for most of the offroading I do, an FD1 would probably have no problem. However, I have come across circumstances where the extra-aggressive BLD and the "low gear" did help a lot (primarily up steep hills with deep holes in it). The HDC is good, if slightly scary (goes a bit faster than I normally keep vehicle at)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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Discussion starter · #13 ·
again this post was about what have you put your jeep into fd1 and fd2. on paper we all know the fd2 is better no debate there.

"we all know on paper the freedom drive 2 patriot is far better in off road capability but how do they really compare not considering gear ratio etc. what have you got into with your jeeps ?

ill go first and say I have took my 2014 jeep patriot freedom drive 1 with no mods and i have took it on some pretty sketchy dirt trails and steep hills and it handled well. my jeep has seen a little bit of mud but nothing to really major just some small after math from some logging trucks" .
 
#14 ·
I've taken my 2014 FD2 through snow up to the headlights... about 1/8 of a mile worth. And up a couple pretty steep, soft hills in the woods.
 
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#15 ·
Also, consider WEIGHT, for example carrying 4 persons plus camping gear, baggage, tools, etc. will bog down your performance drastically. To me, it's like Chrysler/Jeep didn't take that factor (payload) into the account of having the correct needed power.
 
#16 ·
I've got an idea....anybody with a FD2 wanna plan on coming to Jeep the Mac or Blessing of the Jeeps in Northern Michigan come late April, early May? Maybe do a head-to-head comparison with what my FD1 can do.
 
#17 ·
Finally!

silverflash said:
...Patriots have no business rock crawling, in fact most vehicles don't have any business rock crawling besides wranglers/xterras/fj cruisers or other short wheel based vehicles with proper ground clearance of at least 9 inches and approach and departure angles and solid axles at least in back.
our patriots are not that vehicle...
Click to expand...
Well said. When I was a child my idea of a jeep was wrangler and still is. Having said that, I have always driven FWD starting with SAAB, long ago, then Honda, Toyota, and others. I have no use for a 4x4, but if I ever bought that overpriced wrangler I would never, at my age, use its potential. So, FWD and patriot is satisfactory. If you have the cash, buy what you want, not what you need.
 
#18 ·
slayer2321 said:
we all know on paper the freedom drive 2 patriot is far better in off road capability but how do they really compare not considering gear ratio etc. what have you got into with your jeeps ?
Click to expand...
Here's my trip thread. https://www.jeeppatriot.com/forum/78-adventure-threads/195778-sandstones-trails-stuff.html

In the first trip (level 5 trail), it definitely pushed the limits and there's no way I could have done as well as I did there without the FDII mode.

Not considering gearing (and things like skid plates,etc.), the FDI and FDII are basically identical; except for the BLD/Off-Road mode in the FDII. If you run an FDII with the selector in "D" and the 4x4 level pulled it's basically the same as the FDI. FDII BLD mode uses the ABS system to try to limit wheel spin like a mechanical locker so power goes to the wheel with traction.

When I first got the FDII, I tried an experiment on a rocky-creek bed section of trail (Argentine Pass for those who know Colorado) to test the difference between the two modes. With the stock FDII on factory SRA's and street pressure, I got about 50 feet down the trail in FDI mode before the wheels started spinning on the rocks bringing me to a stop. With the 4x4 engaged, I moved the selector level into "L Off-Road", and started pressing the accelerator. The wheels started to slip for an instant, but the BLD kicked in and applied the power to the wheels with traction and I was up and moving.
 
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silverflash
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