Sorry guys. another noob question here. What is the difference between the AWD (all wheel drive) and 4WD (4 Wheel drive)? is AWD on all the time? or is there this gear like the typical 4WD to activate it?

i belive 4wd has a second gear box and its not on all the time but i could be wrong

Mostly both mean the same thing but we usually call the big fuel guzzlers 4WD and the sedans cars AWD.

4WD ususally has a centre transfer case allowing different modes ie FWD, RWD, 4WD modes that u see on some of the 4WD fuel guzzlers.

AWD we see on the Evo's WRX's which have one mode which is constant all-wheel-drive, and these are set at one mode just the torque split can be altered and not much else.

Tom

awd have a center diff..... 1 at front 1 at rear 1 at gear box.... 4x4 has transfer box 1 rear diff 1 front diff ....awd will handel road better but 4x4 is better off road in boggy conditions

It's mostly marketing, I don't know who was the first to coin "AWD", but I remember Subaru doing it to highlight to people that their vehicles weren't meant for 4 wheel driving (4WD) over rough terrrain.

My Jeep Cherokee has a centre differential, as do many other "full time" capable 4WD's.

Ken

awd have a center diff..... 1 at front 1 at rear 1 at gear box.... 4x4 has transfer box 1 rear diff 1 front diff ....awd will handel road better but 4x4 is better off road in boggy conditions


except in nissan's case the gtr and gtir are both called 4wd by nissan and dont have a transfer case.

They mean the same thing AWD is just an advertising gimick. Brought about by subaru i do believe

Yeah the old TX3 lasers where called 4WD. But i dont seem them doing many swamp crossings!

To me they are the same thing just marketing.

Just remember, AWD doesnt mean that all 4 wheels are being driven all the time. You'll find in some of the new X-Overs and Mini 4wds e.t.cwhen drven normally, they will be switched in FWD or RWD mode, and when traction loss is sensored, it will engage the diffs and transfer power to the other wheels

Yeah Subaru marketed the term All Wheel Drive to differenciate their vehicles that do run 4WD constantly from those that don't.

Many vehicles called 4WD are actually only 2WD most of the time eg, Honda CRVs, Volvo XCs to name a few. What these vehicles do is drive 100% through their front wheels until the on board computer senses loss of traction. When this happens, they then engage some sort of centre differential to send some drive to the rear wheels. Under normal driving, they are therefore the same as front wheel drive cars just with extra weight.

Subaru on the other hand (along with some others) always aportion drive both front and back. As a previous Subaru owner, I can vouch that the AWD marketting is not hype. Try to push a 4WD (non permanent type) hard in the wet and the vehicle will be all over the place as drive is being turned on and off at the rear where in the Subaru you knew all 4 wheels were being driven and the Subaru took corners like it was on rails - even in the wet. The difference was very noticeable.

I hope this has helped explain it a bit.

Cheers.

Pete

I sort of sat in a toyota landcruiser before on rough terrain. it seems that the 4WD does not occur all the time and the speed is limited by the gear. (meaning it cant go very fast as opposed to the usual speed) Its probably just the driver driving slowly. lol. i wouldnt know for sure. pls correct me if i'm wrong there. haha.

but a AWD in a wrx of course is capable of an all time 4wheel drive in all speeds.

Magna AWD is constant as well. Very nice to drive in too, if a little underpowered compared to the FWD versions... Thirsty too :(

Cheers
Heath Young

most passenger car 4wd/awd have a proportioned centre diff the gtr skyline is constant drive to all wheels so is the gtir pulsar both are called 4wd. Same goes for laser tx3 wrx liberty and so on. it truly is an advertising gimick. The only difference between the above mentioned cars is some use viscous coupled centre diffs while the others use mechanical lsd's. Using landcruisers and other 4x4's really isnt a good comparison because they use a transfer case to engage/disengage there centre diff.