How All-wheel Drive Cars Work

If you reside in a region which always has terrible rainfall or snowfall conditions, due to which the roads are forever icy, slippery or tricky, perhaps driving cars on such roads must be a big hassle during such times. Such are the times a man always desires to have a car which has an uncompromising grip in the tires and an impressive wheel performance to tackle those unfavorable roads. Well, let me tell you that not all vehicles manufactured today have the strength to match the idea of what an all-wheel drive system exhibits. There is an absolute distinct advantage to have this system, a.k.a., AWD in a vehicle, if you are seriously intending to have your car perform in its best fashion.

What are All-wheel Drive Cars

Many people often have this doubt about the difference between the two systems, i.e, the 4 wheel drive vehicles and the all-wheel drive vehicles. Oftentimes, they confuse both these technologies as one, which is absolutely incorrect. In short, let me tell you, a 4 wheel drive (4WD) has two groups: part-time 4WD and full-time 4WD. Within this category is a sub-category for part-time 4WD and they facilitate two different modes namely: rear wheel drive and four wheel drive. The 4WD is mainly expended in low traction road situations, mostly roads which are covered with snow and ice.

Now comes the all-wheel drive cars, which are also known as the full-time four wheel drive cars and these systems literally come handy on normal roads as well as off-road tracks.The AWD is almost similar to the 4WD system, but still, there are some slight differences in terms of components and working between the two. This technology doesn't contribute an option of shifting between the two modes, i.e., it has no 2WD switch option like the 4WD technology has. It always works in the 4WD mode throughout. Thus, with this advanced technology it is more convenient to choose similar settings like the 4WD exhibits, and can easily stay engaged on dry or wet pavements too! Therefore, people who are tired of shifting their car systems from 2WD to 4WD can stop doing that, because an all-wheel drive system is here to serve you with the same purpose, but in a compact form.

With the convenience of AWD system powering all the four wheels at the same time and all times, people are more than ready to invest their interest and money in vehicles which bear this technology. Initially, heavy duty vehicles, like cargo trucks and military vans used to use the AWD technology. But today, the all-wheel drive cars list is really lengthy. Even the small-sized cars like, luxury cars, SUVs, small trucks, muscle cars, etc, have entered the field bearing this same technology. There is no doubt with the technology offering an efficient torque, good control and unfathomable traction over the wheel.

So to grab your interest all the more and see how important is all-wheel drive in a car, let me brief you with some basic technical knowledge on the working of these cars in this modern age.

The Working of All-wheel Drive Cars

AWD systems operate on an active center differential whose function is to split an even power in between the rear and the front axles. It is situated on the rear of the transmission. When the road conditions are normal and dry, 100% torque is applied on one axle, this indicates that the vehicle is in a 2WD mode. Now, just a hypothetical case, consider the car is soon going to face an off-road track ahead. Well, that is the time when the car's (front or rear) driven axle loses traction control and there are high chances for the car to skid and face an accident. Now at such times, just before the car loses traction, the automatic AWD (all-wheel drive system) instantly compensates for the torque and brings the figure down to 50%. This only means that the torque is expended to the axle that is facing the traction. And once the traction control has been regained by the master axle, both the axles in the system gain the same rotation and speed and switches back to the 2WD mode effectively. The AWD is based on a sensor mechanism which helps to sense the traction of the car and react accordingly. On the contrary, in a 2WD vehicle, the mechanism takes a certain amount of time to react and by then the vehicle has probably met with an accident.

The all-wheel drive cars have acquired mainstream acceptance massively, in the car industry for over the last two decades now. It has exceptionally risen due to the popularity and purchase of the SUVs on a major scale. Remember, if you plan to buy a car, go for the one with AWD systems, because they are known for their efficient traction control on rugged terrains and slippery roads.