/Newbie 4WD Question

[dman]

Will keep it in 2WD here on out...

[BTW, I only had it in 4WD for a short while, except for the parking lot test to confirm it was 4WD related and not uturn related.]

As a side note, why would they even order part-time 4WD vehicles for their fleet... I'm pretty darn certain they aren't supposed to be driven off road. Yeah, perhaps there's a few situations where it's helpful, ie "part time" but I'm guessing I'm not the first person to think it'd be helpful in situations it's not intended for.

Live and learn. Thanks all.

 

[jlee]

You shouldn't be in 4wd on dry pavement- the front drivetrain is binding up. When you're in 2wd, you don't have that problem because the front wheels aren't engaged.

My Tundra doesn't feel like it's about to stall in 4wd, but I don't think I've ever tried a tight turn on dry pavement.

 

[Oceandevi]

Never drive in 4wd on dry pavement. You can lose control and die a horrible fiery death.

 

[Itchrelief]

Note to self: don't buy ex-rental cars.

 

[spidey07]

You are killing that thing by being in 4WD on pavement. RTFM. That's your differentials you are chewing up.

 

[finite automaton]

As others have stated, never use Part-Time 4WD on dry pavement or even in the rain. If you don't know if the vehicle has Part-Time or Full-Time, it has Part-Time. Full-Time 4WD can be used on dry pavement, thus the name, Full-Time. The difference is a Full-Time transfer case has a differential which allows the power to be variable front and rear, just like a rear differential on a vehicle. Part-Time transfer case does not have this, which means same power to the front and rear wheels all the time. When you turn, this jams up the drive train because your front wheels are trying to spin at a different speed than the rear wheels, but the transfer case won't let that happen. Hope this helps.

 

[dman]

OK, told you all I was a newbie. On the plus side, I turned it on because I was driving and it was snowing, night time, and I'm not used to driving in the North. Be afraid, heh. No, I drove extra careful, I only tried it out because it had the switch and assumed it wouldn't hurt. I already know it won't really help at all on ice, but the roads were a bit wet. Anyway, I'll keep it in 2WD, I don't have any reason to chew up the drive train.

 

[jlee]

Originally posted by: dman
OK, told you all I was a newbie. On the plus side, I turned it on because I was driving and it was snowing, night time, and I'm not used to driving in the North. Be afraid, heh. No, I drove extra careful, I only tried it out because it had the switch and assumed it wouldn't hurt. I already know it won't really help at all on ice, but the roads were a bit wet. Anyway, I'll keep it in 2WD, I don't have any reason to chew up the drive train.

If the roads are slippery at all, 4wd is fine- but if they're too dry to allow the wheels to slip when they need to, it can cause unnecessary wear.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: dman
OK, told you all I was a newbie. On the plus side, I turned it on because I was driving and it was snowing, night time, and I'm not used to driving in the North. Be afraid, heh. No, I drove extra careful, I only tried it out because it had the switch and assumed it wouldn't hurt. I already know it won't really help at all on ice, but the roads were a bit wet. Anyway, I'll keep it in 2WD, I don't have any reason to chew up the drive train.

You are the reason people cause accidents. By going 4WD you have much less control of your vehicle because you didn't read the freaking manual.

The behavior you described is typical and why many accidents are caused. Please read the fucking manual.

 

[IronWing]

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: dman
OK, told you all I was a newbie. On the plus side, I turned it on because I was driving and it was snowing, night time, and I'm not used to driving in the North. Be afraid, heh. No, I drove extra careful, I only tried it out because it had the switch and assumed it wouldn't hurt. I already know it won't really help at all on ice, but the roads were a bit wet. Anyway, I'll keep it in 2WD, I don't have any reason to chew up the drive train.

You are the reason people cause accidents. By going 4WD you have much less control of your vehicle because you didn't read the freaking manual.

The behavior you described is typical and why many accidents are caused. Please read the fucking manual.

Translated into polite, informative language =>
When you activate 4WD on many models, the vehicle stability control feature is turned off so that you actually lose ground safety-wise relative to 2WD with stability control.