car question

[NikPreviousAcct]

What's the difference between AWD and 4WD???

 

[Mill]

<< It is important to get the definitions down first, since for any four wheeled vehicle, all wheel drive and four wheel drive literally mean the same thing. Generally speaking &quot;all wheel drive&quot; implies permanently engaged or automatically engaging four wheel drive and &quot;four wheel drive&quot; implies manually engaging, part time four wheel drive. The auto industry usually abide by these definitions but not in all cases. The now departed &quot;all wheel drive&quot; Ford Tempo and Subaru Justy were really part time manually engaging systems, like the older Subaru GLs. The term on demand four wheel drive is quite ambiguous. It can either mean that it is a part time manually engaging system or a part time automatically engaging system!
The automotive media shares a lot of the responsibility for the confusion. Factual errors are common, so is the careless use of the various terms interchangebly. >>



http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:www.eskimo.com/~eliot/awd.html+&amp;hl=en


Even better explaination

 

[NikPreviousAcct]

gracias amigo.

el gusto es mio.

 

[Farbio]

as millenium stated, awd usually implies all the time 4 wheel mode, usually with either the front or back being the primary drive wheels, with a torque converter directing power in a loss of traction. these systems are almost always computer controlled and the driver has no real control over it.
4wd usually means part time engagement, but when engaged, it will drive all 4 wheels, many times w/ equal power to each wheel/axle, but in some more sophisticated systems, torque can be distributed to a single wheel with the most traction. these systems are not usually suitable for all the time use or use above a certain speed. almost all of these systems usually have a low range gearbox which allows the full torque of the engine to be used at low revs. this allows the best pulling and 4wheelin to be possible and allows crawling down a steep hill, all necessities for any true off road vehicle.

hope that helped and that i didn't mess too much up...i'm sure nfs4 will correct me if so

 

[Soybomb]

You can definatley 4 wheel with all wheel drive. (Best way to describe it I think as with all time there is a differential between teh front and front and rear axle, and with 4wd the 2 axles are directly mated.) Also all wheel drive is great for snow! The best are the jeeps with part time 4, 4 low, full time 4, and rear wheel drive!