That’s the difference between all-wheel drive AWD and 4WD: the video Explanation
Again, the difference vehicles with AWD systems and 4WD
With the onset of winter it would be wonderful to find a trained rally racer with access to a bunch of four-wheel drive systems AWD and 4WD gathered in one place, helpful to explain all the difference between these two terms quite confusing. Well, here it is, in access, right here is Wyatt Knox from the famous rally school “Team O’neil Rally School”. You may remember this smiling guy on a number of videos related to various practical aspects of car use in everyday life, to extreme use:
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Today the pros will once again explain why older Subaru STI can be considered to be 4WD, whereas even the coolest Ford Focus RS cannot be, and by what criteria all pickups and Land Rovers. and the Jeep Cherokee can be attributed to the owners of the particular drive system.
All-wheel drive 4WD: 100% of the power transmitted to the front and rear axle of the car. This means that your machine is installed transfer case and locking center differential.
Snap-wheel drive (Part Time 4WD): this means that you can use the car as mode of monodrive – 2WD or you can enable typically the transfer case to lock the front and rear axles. After that, the front wheels on your car will begin to rotate at the same speed as the rear, which will make you a good support for the use of the car in mud and snow. For the same reason, the synchronous rotation of the wheels on both axles, better not forget to disable the AWD system on the road. This will save you fuel and in the longer term – on the rubber – it will not chew.
What vehicles fit the description: Jeep Cherokee XJ full-size pickups.
Permanent all-wheel drive 4WD: on the categorization of all-wheel drive, this system means that in the movement are all four wheels simply do not have the front and rear wheels “rigidly” locking together. However, the car will allow you to lock all wheels with a center differential. This differential is physically located at the center of the car, which locks the front and rear portions together, so that all drive mechanisms begin to rotate at the same speed, giving you this with a 4WD. Subaru STI system with lockable center differential, says Wyatt, will be a 4WD car, if you look at it from this side.
What are the cars that can be seen system: Land Rover Discovery, Audi square of the 1980-ies, Subaru STIs with differential shall be made.
All-wheel drive AWD (All-Wheel Drive). Main symptoms: no transfer case, no locking center differential. Power can be delivered to the front axle and the rear axle, but it is distributed to them is not hard, redistributing torque from the axle or wheels with less traction to the wheel with more that will not slide in turns like a real SUV.
With the ability to keep the wheels unlocked, it makes AWD vehicles are well managed in normal road conditions.
Non-permanent all-wheel drive AWD: power from the engine is usually either on the front or on the rear axle of the car, but the power can be transferred further to the second pair of wheels. This usually occurs if the electronics detect that the driven wheels slip. Thus, once the front or rear wheels begin to spin, the car automatically becomes all-wheel drive for a while.
What are the cars coming with the system AWD: Ford Focus RS all-wheel ALL4 Mini, the VW Synchros
The permanent all-wheel drive AWD: power will always go to the wheels on both axles, but it varies according to how much of it goes on what wheel. Yes, you have a Central differential, but his work is variable, for example, the Central differential viscous coupling or clutch pack with a clutch.
Where found: a large part of Subaru
Why do people get confused with all the terms associated with all-wheel drive systems? The fact is that for many years automobile companies have earned (and continue to make) big money selling all-wheel drive an increasing number of motorists, and that it was a pluckier, they created more and more new systems that were supposed to improve handling and safety. So intended, but in practice to achieve this was very difficult.
So, just because your car is 4WD doesn’t mean your car is invincible in all road conditions. Even if you lock the center differential of your car, but if your front and rear differentials are open, you can still eventually face a situation when two single wheels will start to slide on the surface and the car will get stuck.
Thus, many of these arguments are kind of academic and theoretical.