Doing some work with VIN decoding and want opinions on the difference between the terms AWD and 4WD (and a few other terms). See below for my opinion and see if you agree.

AWD - Permanent drive to all wheels
4WD - 4 wheel drive, switchable to 2 wheel drive
4x4 - Permanent drive to 4 wheels
4x2 - 4 wheel drive, switchable to 2 wheel drive
6x2 - 6 wheel drive, switchable to 2 wheel drive

Any comments ?

Dave

 

AWD=4WD=4 Wheel Drive (can be part-time or full-time)
4x4=Four wheels in total, with drive to all 4 wheels
4x2=Four wheels in total, with drive to 2 wheels only
6x2=Six wheels in total, with drive to 2 wheels only

 

Where does Haldex come in to this? E.g. quattro, 4motion...

 

Clarence is correct...

and 4x4x4 is 4wheels, 4wheels driven, and 4wheels steered...

(or so Bob Chandler reckoned )

 

So are ours full time or part time drive?

 

Permanent All Wheel Drive. The new 05 STI's have a driver controlled centre differential (A button) that allows you to choose the power split between front and back. This is an option that has been available on JDM (japanese imports) for quite a while now. But all 4 wheels are permanantly engaged.

 

The only difference between AWD and 4WD is if you have more than 4 wheels - e.g. a 6 wheel vehicle is only AWD if it's 6WD.

And whilst 4x4 these days generally refers to off-roaders, it is technically the same as 4WD

 

Depends on torque split. If it starts off as 100:0 or 0:100 (as in Skyline GT-R) in normal conditions, then it's part-time 4wd (or AWD).
There are 2 types of Quattro, one uses Torsen diffs & the other one's Haldex. Not sure abt Haldex (the Volvo version has 100:0 split), but the Torsen version has I think 75:25 split.

 

the haldex system as in 4motion golf is 90 front:10 rear with up to 50 directed to rear wheels should it detect slip from the front. In effect in normal driving the golf is a front driver. The passat 4 motion and audi have a different system again (**** this is complecated)

 

Don't forget you've got things like active yaw control which can independently send more power to any wheel on the car.