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4WD: operator has option of using 2-rear wheel, 2-front wheels, or all 4 wheels.
AWD: Drive train is permanently 4 wheel.
If this is so, is 4WD better than AWD in snow?
Have a 4WD pickup that has been great in negotiating my steep driveway in snow. I no longer need a truck and am wondering if a car with AWD would be just as efficient in getting up my hill.
In the heaviest and worst conditions 4WD is superior due to the locked center diff. In plowed snow where 4x4 should not be engaged AWD is likely superior. If you do not have wheel slippage 4x4 should not be engaged.
Some AWD closely mimic the efficiency of a locked center diff some do not.
A FWD car with snow tires will outperform a AWD or 4x4 car with all seasons.
No easy answer to this because there are different types of 4WD systems, and there are different types of AWD systems. They all work slightly different than each other, and some are better than others.
For example, my Infiniti uses an AWD system that can be set in SNOW mode that locks the center diff and enables it to act like a part-time 4WD system. When in normal mode, it's AWD up to 20MPH, and then reverts to RWD unless slip is detected. Personally, I love the system and have driven it through deep snow. Ground clearance has been the only limiting factor for me
No.
4WD does not allow you to use front OR rear selectively. Normally you have RWD HI, 4WD HI, 4WD LO, 4WD AUTO. Trucks normally drive in 2HI which is RWD HI. But what you do have is mechanically locking transfer case of various design, more or less advanced, that you do not have in AWD car.
AWD normally drives in 2WD mode, that being FWD. Transfer case is usually a modified automatic transmission type thing that kicks in when front wheels slip and it engages rear wheels. From that on you have various variations and designs of that transfer case, including more lately popular locking option, similar to mechanical transfer case in 4WD type cars. Only Subaru has permanent AWD and then some SUVs, like 4Runner, FJ Cruiser or Landcruiser.
Advantage to 4WD is exactly that mechanical transfer case as in basic version you have torque evenly distributed to all 4 wheels, while in AWD case, wheels tend to slip and spin at various speeds.
Unless you are hard core off roader or get stuck in deep snow and mud all the time, AWD will get you through just fine. I know, done it many times.
Tires > 4WD or AWD unless the car is bottoming out. Winter driving accidents are typically caused by poor traction braking and cornering. 4WD/AWD is just about useless as soon as you need to hit the brakes and it's only mildly useful cornering.
In deep snow, a locking differential 4WD system which always drives all 4 wheels equally combined with some ground clearance works better than the part-time systems found in most crossovers. That is not the typical winter driving condition most people encounter. Some AWD systems like Subaru do a pretty good job simulating it.
My 2015 6-cylinder Outback with Nokian Hakkapilliitta R2 snow tires can deal with 2 feet of slop on an unplowed ski resort parking lot. The body on frame SUVs I've owned in the past with good tires did a bit better. In any other winter driving situation, a lighter AWD car with good snow tires will perform better than a heavy body on frame car. My SUVs were white-knuckle frightening on black ice with stock tires. With all that weight, they wanted to go straight no matter what you did for braking and steering inputs. In most conditions, it's tires, tires, tires.
Tires > 4WD or AWD unless the car is bottoming out. Winter driving accidents are typically caused by poor traction braking and cornering. 4WD/AWD is just about useless as soon as you need to hit the brakes and it's only mildly useful cornering.
In deep snow, a locking differential 4WD system which always drives all 4 wheels equally combined with some ground clearance works better than the part-time systems found in most crossovers. That is not the typical winter driving condition most people encounter. Some AWD systems like Subaru do a pretty good job simulating it.
My 2015 6-cylinder Outback with Nokian Hakkapilliitta R2 snow tires can deal with 2 feet of slop on an unplowed ski resort parking lot. The body on frame SUVs I've owned in the past with good tires did a bit better. In any other winter driving situation, a lighter AWD car with good snow tires will perform better than a heavy body on frame car. My SUVs were white-knuckle frightening on black ice with stock tires. With all that weight, they wanted to go straight no matter what you did for braking and steering inputs. In most conditions, it's tires, tires, tires.
Pretty much this.
I would only change " 4WD/AWD is just about useless as soon as you need to hit the brakes and it's only mildly useful cornering" if you are accelerating while turning in snow in an unwise fashion.
How do you define efficiency? That's a separate question vs outright performance in snow.
Personally, I much prefer AWD. The better systems allow for a much wider range of traction conditions than 4WD can offer, and it does it automatically. The best AWD systems also incorporate a locked center and rear diffs, so they can do everything a 4WD system can do and more.
4WD: operator has option of using 2-rear wheel, 2-front wheels, or all 4 wheels.
AWD: Drive train is permanently 4 wheel.
If this is so, is 4WD better than AWD in snow?
Have a 4WD pickup that has been great in negotiating my steep driveway in snow. I no longer need a truck and am wondering if a car with AWD would be just as efficient in getting up my hill.
Depends,
Different manufactures have different types of systems, some better than others. Often 4WD systems have locking differential(s), that are capable of turning two wheels at the same time. This is always better for traction than an open differential that will only spin one wheel.
An AWD with open diffs will send the power to one wheel (normally the front) that may spin, whereupon it can route power rearward to a rear wheel (via an open diff). If that slips then you get stuck. Newer cars now can use the ABS system to monitor wheel slip and brake a slipping wheel in order to reroute power - this functions similar to having a locking diff. It is not quite as effective because such a system just uses available traction more effectively it does not create additional traction like locking diffs.
You won't really find many cars (except sports cars) with locking diffs because the are not needed. AWD and some ground clearance should give you everything you need to continue moving in snow. Keep in mind that having a dedicated set of snow tires is also a highly effective way to deal with the white stuff, especially if you live anywhere north of the Mason Dixon line.
How do you define efficiency? That's a separate question vs outright performance in snow.
Personally, I much prefer AWD. The better systems allow for a much wider range of traction conditions than 4WD can offer, and it does it automatically. The best AWD systems also incorporate a locked center and rear diffs, so they can do everything a 4WD system can do and more.
But in that case the debate is really 2WD vs AWD. Some CUVs have locking center diffs that make them 4x4. If you prefer 2WD in non inclement conditions to AWD than permanent AWD is a downer.
4WD: operator has option of using 2-rear wheel, 2-front wheels, or all 4 wheels.
AWD: Drive train is permanently 4 wheel.
If this is so, is 4WD better than AWD in snow?
Have a 4WD pickup that has been great in negotiating my steep driveway in snow. I no longer need a truck and am wondering if a car with AWD would be just as efficient in getting up my hill.
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