Question???? Whats the difference between.......

[NocturnalPS]

Okay you guys I have a question that’s been bothering me. What is the difference between 4x4 and AWD? Is 4x4 only meant for trucks and SUV’s? And is AWD only meant for cars and wagons?

 

[Shannon]

I think 4WD you can switch between front wheel drive and rear wheel drive and AWD drive is well...um...all wheel drive.

I'm probably wrong.

 

[NocturnalPS]

Originally posted by eddy_2790
I think 4WD you can switch between front wheel drive and rear wheel drive and AWD drive is well...um...all wheel drive.

I'm probably wrong.

Well yeah i know that. Just is there really any other differences between the two. And i know that in a 4x4 it just about eats up the gas real fast.

 

[vat_man]

It's a 'marketing' difference, one I think Subaru might have been responsible for.

NocturnalPS, I think your summary's probably the best way to explain it - but I personally am inclined to take it as 4wd referring to a vehicle with a transfer case/hi & lo range, whilst AWD is a system run without adjustment by the driver (ie. system decides torque split.

That's a very simplistic description, though - I mean, that would categorise Honda's Real-Time 4wd system (where basically you'd need full throttle with the front wheels on ice to get the system to put any torque to the rears) with Subaru's AWD system which (in manual form at least) is 50/50 and can vary the torque split pretty much how it likes.

 

[NocturnalPS]

Originally posted by vat_man
It's a 'marketing' difference, one I think Subaru might have been responsible for.

NocturnalPS, I think your summary's probably the best way to explain it - but I personally am inclined to take it as 4wd referring to a vehicle with a transfer case/hi & lo range, whilst AWD is a system run without adjustment by the driver (ie. system decides torque split.

That's a very simplistic description, though - I mean, that would categorise Honda's Real-Time 4wd system (where basically you'd need full throttle with the front wheels on ice to get the system to put any torque to the rears) with Subaru's AWD system which (in manual form at least) is 50/50 and can vary the torque split pretty much how it likes.

So it was Subaru who introduced the first AWD car? And is/are there any 4x4 cars? And/or are there any AWD trucks? Can it be switched like that? I dont know why anyone would do that but was there any vehicles made like that?

 

[Dudebusta]

hondas so called 4 wheel drive is a joke. i drove one on frazer island and all i got was sand roosts from the fronts, the backs were just ploughing and it was terribly underpowered. honda needs to stick with street rice and not sandy rice.

 

[alex_gt]

The way I always thought of it was that 4x4 was exclusively off road and hence all four wheels are constantly powered. :gcar:

The way I thought of AWD was that all wheels had potential to be driven.... i.e only all four wheels were driven in awkward conditions to maintain grip...:burnout:

Think of :jeep: as 4x4 and :volvo: V70 Cross Country as AWD......

Cause my interpretations could be wrong I'll go and investigate online to get the facts.....

 

[vat_man]

I think the late 80 series LandCruiser was constant 4wd (i.e. no transfer case, but with hi-lo range) - it was notorious for scrubbing out tyres, to the point that ARB released a kit to reconvert them back to switchable 4wd.

Dudebusta - totally agree with you, that Honda 'Real-Time' 4wd is almost fraudulent. They should just call it a Civic wagon and be done with it.

Alexy2k - that's probably a fair assessment, but a better guide is probably whether the vehicle has a centre differential or not. Then the vehicle is able to distribute drive between the axles, and drive is constant to all wheels.

 

[vat_man]

I had a bit of a trawl and this is by far the best article I've found - it's a little technical but pretty readable.

http://home.attbi.com/~eliot_www/awd.html

 

[Oschino]

the car expert is here and I Have your answer......... 4wd means it can be turned on or off and awd means that its full time 4wd

 

[Sage]

Here's an article I scanned from the March 2001 issue of Automobile. Hoefully, this will help clear up some confusion.

 

[Dudebusta]

Originally posted by vat_man
I think the late 80 series LandCruiser was constant 4wd (i.e. no transfer case, but with hi-lo range) - it was notorious for scrubbing out tyres, to the point that ARB released a kit to reconvert them back to switchable 4wd.

yeah you are absolutly right. because the common joe bloggs couldnt afford one, all these rich poofs just drove them as town cars. because all 4 wheels rotated exactly the same amount, turning corners produced wheelspin at any speed. tyre wear was uneven and yes it just killed them. i was really surprised toyota didnt think of it.

its funny to see newbie sand drivers on frazer island. theres always signs when you come to bitumin to put it back into hi4 but these newbies dont. when they come to park they make these huge schreeching noises and everyone laughs their arses off at them.

dumbest thing ive ever seen was a VC SL/E commodore wagon on the beach (underpowered 1.5tonne rear wheel drive). towed him back to the ferry because i felt pitty for the ****head.