Awd Vs. 4x4 - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

Ferarri · 05-31-2008, 09:11 PM

Well its about time I start looking for a new car. I'm currently driving a 94 ford explorer with over 300 000km on it. Lets just say the car has seen better days.

I've been looking at AWD as an option, Subaru in praticular, but I was just wondering if there is a major difference between 4 wheel drive and AWD. Are they equivalent when it comes to safety or is one better than the other?

Also any thoughts on subaru would be greatly aprreciated. I've never owned a subaru before and I've been looking at the 08 Impreza and I've been impressed with what I've seen so far. I realize there are probably better cars out there but financial concerns sort of restricts my mobility.

Fozzie_DeBear · 05-31-2008, 10:47 PM

As far as I can tell the only difference between AWD and 4wd is that you can turn 4wd off and AWD is on all the time...

And Subies are great cars...resale, reliability etc are fantastic...styling is hit and miss though and gas milage is average...

henriksedin33 · 06-01-2008, 12:16 AM

AWD is much more useful in a daily driver, imo. Assuming you're not into hardcore offroading.

BlackArcher101 · 06-01-2008, 12:36 AM

Interesting thread... I just bought a Subaru and am now selling my 4x4 S10.
I actually can't say what the difference is, but on my research of the subaru awd system vs other manufacturers, it seems to be superior.

PIMking · 06-01-2008, 12:40 AM

There is a big difference. awd like on a subi has a different power amount sent to each wheel. lets say drivers front tire isnt getting traction it will send power to another wheel. 4x4 no.

I sold subies for a long time and the only complaint that I had about em is piston slap and alot of it.

I also have had numerous awd cars audi to my awd talon that im running low 13's in 1/4 mile times.

what kind of subie you thinking of getting? may I suggest a legacy! great body lines awd with a 2.5L 4cyl good mpg and all the saftey features of all the others. plus it dont look like a fast and the furious wrx or a tree hugging forrester

EDIT: now that I re read your post I saw that you were looking at an Impreza. good car dont like the redesign. Here in Iowa its illegal to sell cars on sundays so I use to tell people on saturday to take the car for the weekend to make sure that they liked it for sure. Most people really liked that because you didnt have a salesman to pressure you into buying a car and that you and your loved ones can talk about it with out the salesperson around. If you need help getting a better price just ask I have all kinds of tricks up my sleaves that can help you.

chid · 06-01-2008, 01:07 AM

I drive a legacy and love love love it. Ive mentioned this before but my entire family drives them, and we're hooked. Love the drive, the engines last longer than the cars body does and although yes some of the more recent designs are quite odd, they are still great.

tussery · 06-01-2008, 11:19 AM

In the simplest terms.

A part time 4wd splits the engine torque evenly between the front and rear axles. You should not drive a 4x4 engaged in 4wd on pavement as it could cause drivetrain binding and damage your transfer case.

Full time AWD the transfer case has a differential in the case which allows the engine torque to be distributed between the front and rear axles accordingly. The differential in the transfer case allows the you to safely run on pavement.

The traction control system is what keeps all tires getting traction. Without a traction control system a AWD vehicle will apply all torque to the tire with the least resistance.

FurnaceFace · 06-01-2008, 08:45 PM

I have a 10 year old Outback that I've done nothing to other than oil changes. I do need to take it in for check on the front diff, but that's the best longevity I've gotten out of a car. I expect to buy another one when the current car dies.

Bill Bumface · 06-01-2008, 10:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tussery

The traction control system is what keeps all tires getting traction. Without a traction control system a AWD vehicle will apply all torque to the tire with the least resistance.

Only in the crappy systems. The good ones at the very least use a Torsen or Haldex center differential to distribute torque away from slipping wheels. The only way traction control is required in these systems is if one wheel is not contacting the road surface at all, so it is applying zero torque and is free spinning. Otherwise it's 100% mechanical.

PIMking · 06-01-2008, 11:04 PM

also subies have timing belts which need to be changed every 60k miles. Im not sure what that is in kilometers but if that breaks your in for some serious money in the motor fixing valves and possible pistons.

Bean · 06-02-2008, 10:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PIMking

also subies have timing belts which need to be changed every 60k miles. Im not sure what that is in kilometers but if that breaks your in for some serious money in the motor fixing valves and possible pistons.

Interesting that you say that as my car is in the shop for something <I hope> very similar.

As the proud owner of a 05 Legacy GT; my only regret is that I should have waited to get a SpecB.

From all of the research that I did before buying my car; there always seemed to be an underlying tone from reviewers that although they had thought Subaru made a great car; it was never a winner of a specific category. I chalked it up as a great all around in every category sort of thing and haven't looked back. (2005 Legacy won Car of the Year in Japan)

As an added bonus, Subaru has released lower emmission type technology so that might be a little carrot for you if you're enviro concious.

I suppose another tip of the hat goes to Subaru in that I rarely see them sold in the used car market...I can only presume that those who own a Subaru just don't want to sell them??

I realize that you're looking to get an Impreza but I hope that I was able to offer help...One of my best friends owns a WRX and wouldn't want to drive anything other than more WRX's.

Good luck,

ernie · 06-02-2008, 10:41 AM

Best to enquire precisely how each individual system works.

Some salespeople will call an AWD vehicle a 4WD and vice versa.

It seems to me that most of the common 4WD capable vehicle have run as AWD unless you explicitly lock it to 4WD . In AWD the car will likely start out with a 50/50 front back split and if no slippage is detected then at a certain speed it will revert to FWD...though always being ready to direct power back to the rear wheels in a fraction of second. That's the simple form of AWD. Some more advanced systems target individual wheels I believe. That's my admittedly limited understanding of things.

I have a NIssan X-trail AWD. I only lock the 4WD when in my subdivision going through deep snow/slush, otherwise it's in AWD. Note: that even if I lock it in 4WD it reverts to AWD if it isn't necessary above a certain speed. Other cars may do the same. The reason I believe is the problem pointed out by someone above.

PIMking · 06-02-2008, 10:50 AM

Bean should of got the gt version. those turbo legacys are fun to drive

Bill Bumface · 06-03-2008, 01:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ernie

In AWD the car will likely start out with a 50/50 front back split and if no slippage is detected then at a certain speed it will revert to FWD...though always being ready to direct power back to the rear wheels in a fraction of second. That's the simple form of AWD. Some more advanced systems target individual wheels I believe.

Most actually start at 100 front 0 rear and throw power to the rear on slip. Those are the weaker systems though.

The good ones are 50/50, or more rear than front on more performance oriented cars. When slip happens, they never just throw to the front wheels, it depends where the slip is. If it's the rear wheels slipping, it goes front. If it's the front slipping, it goes rear (which makes snowy parking lots loads of fun in the winter, you can actually bust RWD donuts with the better AWD systems).

tussery · 06-03-2008, 07:17 AM

I guess you can conisder my jeep one of the good ones it splits torque evenly to all tires even if I have 2 tires in the air...

ernie · 06-03-2008, 07:28 AM

All I know is that when we were looking for our small SUV asking about the AWD system was a surefire way to separate the salespeople that knew about the cars they were selling and those that didn't. So many "look at all the pretty colours it comes in" salespeople.

Bill Bumface · 06-03-2008, 11:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tussery

I guess you can conisder my jeep one of the good ones it splits torque evenly to all tires even if I have 2 tires in the air...

Thats 4WD not AWD. You have a locking centre differential, great for offroading, useless for racing or daily driving on anything but a foot of snow.

tussery · 06-03-2008, 02:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hulkrogan

Thats 4WD not AWD. You have a locking centre differential, great for offroading, useless for racing or daily driving on anything but a foot of snow.

You would be surprised how many lockers are used in racing. It all boils down to driving skill and personal preference when it comes to racing.

Bill Bumface · 06-03-2008, 02:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tussery

You would be surprised how many lockers are used in racing. It all boils down to driving skill and personal preference when it comes to racing.

What type of racing? Definitely not road courses of any kind which is what I was referring to (should have been more specific). What I'm getting at, is you'll never see a Porsche with a locking diff.

tussery · 06-04-2008, 07:46 AM

You will see alot of spools and lockers on stock cars and drag racers. I also wouldn't say they are useless for daily driving. I daily drive my Jeep so I wouldn't say that my spools are useless on the road. They can be scary to an inexperienced driver in wet weather, but it is very nice to have all your power planted to two tires when all you have is a weak 4 cylinder engine.