4x4 or 4x2

[coulter]

Hey ya'll,
This is my first post on the forum. I've been really thinkin of buying a Nitro, I love the looks of it, and the room it has!! I'm torn between getting the 4x4 or the 4x2. I've never owned a 4wheel drive before, but i'm thinkin for snow and ice that we occasionally get here that the 4 wheel drive would come in handy!! I travel alot so i dont wanna get stuck in snow or ice. But then i was reading the the Traction System that comes on both the 2wheel drive and 4wheel drive may help with driving in snow and ice. I really dont know what to do. Any suggestions from anybody???

[David Louis Harter]

Originally Posted by coulter

Hey ya'll,
This is my first post on the forum. I've been really thinkin of buying a Nitro, I love the looks of it, and the room it has!! I'm torn between getting the 4x4 or the 4x2.

I recommend 4-wheel-drive. You will benefit from the added stability and traction in foul weather.

We have no foul weather here, to speak of, but the 4-wheel-drive is great on the beach and on unpaved trails.

[Rockfish]

coulter,
Did you realize the 4X4 is part time 4 wheel drive. It must not be used full time and should only be used for short periods moving in a straight line such as pulling your boat out of the water while on a boat ramp.

If real 4WD is needed try the Jeep line.

[David Louis Harter]

Originally Posted by Rockfish

coulter,
Did you realize the 4X4 is part time 4 wheel drive. It must not be used full time and should only be used for short periods moving in a straight line such as pulling your boat out of the water while on a boat ramp.

There is no apparent difference in efficacy between full-time 4-wheel-drive and part-time 4-wheel-drive. The only difference is part-time 4-wheel-drive requires engaging the front drive system (in the case of Nitros and other rear-wheel-drive vehicles). When in 4-wheel-drive, the Nitro's drive system is not effectually variant from that of an AWD Jeep. The Nitro may be driven in 4-wheel-drive at maintained speeds for long periods of time on wet roads, in snow, on dirt, on sand, in mud, etc. The only caution is that the vehicle should not be driven on dry pavement in 4-wheel-drive.

My previous vehicle was a Dodge Ramcharger. It featured a 4-wheel-drive system that required shifting the transfer case into 4-wheel-drive. The only significant difference between the performance of the 4-wheel-drive systems of the Ramcharger and Nitro is the Ramcharger offered low-range 4-wheel-drive, whereas the Nitro offers only high-range 4-wheel-drive. Since I never found use for low-range 4-wheel-drive in the Ramcharger (and I traveled in some very demanding conditions), I seriously doubt I shall find its lack a serious issue with the Nitro.

Personally, I greatly prefer a part-time 4-wheel-drive system over a full-time 4-wheel-drive system--both from the standpoint of driver control and fuel economy.

[Rockfish]

Here is an extract from
http://www.4x4abc.com/4WD101/def_turnpart.html
which is a site where you can obtain info on 4X4's. The following is an excerpt on part time 4wd.
When starting from a standstill with sharply turned wheels: The need for higher rpm in the front will most likely prevent you from getting started at all. If you step on the gas really hard (plus slipping your clutch) you might get the vehicle moving with spinning rear wheels but stress on all driveline components will be dangerously high. Chance is that you will break something.

When traveling with part time 4WD on high traction surfaces like asphalt, concrete, etc. handling of the vehicle will become unsafe (understeer) and the "driveline binding" will eventually cause component failures. Part time 4WD should not be used on high traction surfaces! Even when going straight most of the time, slight differences in tire pressure front to rear or vehicle load resulting in different axle speeds will cause "wind up" and eventually damage.


When traveling with part time 4WD on low traction surfaces like sand, gravel, mud, snow, etc. handling of the vehicle is unsafe (understeer) as well, but not as severe as on pavement. The slowed down front wheels simply skid a little on gravel, sand, snow, etc. during a turn. This in mind you should always approach difficult off-road obstacles in a straight line otherwise you might lose some of the much needed traction due to wheel slip on your front wheels.

Do not listen to guys who tell you it is OK to use part time 4WD on pavement! Severe damage will be the result.

Here is another important fact: Since front and rear axles are not able to rotate independently ABS will not work properly.

[rossb]

Part-Time 4WD can be used in low traction conditions. This includes ice, snow, mud, and sand. It should not be used in high traction situations, but its not needed when the traction is high anyway.

[sheppy335]

The guy said not to use it on dry pavement. I am a proponant of part time 4WD had it in my Dakota and in my Durango and let me tell you i never had a problem with it being ingaged for a long drive if it was needed. Plus with my Dakota i had to keep it in for 4 days once cause of snow and it never had a problem. Now in My Blazer i had the button was in a bad spot, my grandmother put me in 4wd and i drove a day with it on. I complained all day it was turning so bad and handleing bad. So there are some credence to what you say but not totally.

[danmac]

Ok *here* is the deal with part 4x4. I am going to dumb it down a lot, becaues honestly I don't know it any other way lol.

Your vehicle has 4 wheels, in the nitro the rear 2 wheels are your typical "drive" wheels. The power trail goes like so:

Rear two wheels, connected together through a differential. Thats a set of gears that basically spins whichever of the tire has least amount of traction(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Differential_(mechanics)#Loss_of_traction).

From the diff. it goes through a drive shaft to your transmission. Which is basically a box with various gears in it.

The transmission is hooked to your engine, which powers the entire setup.


*HOWEVER*, on the part time(and full time) 4x4 vehicles there is something called a transfer case. It sits between transmission and drive shaft. During normal(2x4) operation it is no different then NOT having a transfer case.

However, when set into 4x4 mode the t-case takes the power and splits it down the orginal drive shaft, and then also up a secondary drive shaft to the forward differential. The forward differential then powers the front two wheels.


So what does all of this mean in regards to this topic?

Your front wheels, and rear wheels are linked together VIA the transfer case. While driving straight, this is completly normal. HOWEVER, when you turn your front two wheels spin at different speeds. This is where issues occur. In a true AWD car(nitro RT even) the front differential is setup for this, it splits the power in a normal manner, like a FWD car would. Now, in a part time 4x4 vehicle the front tires spin at different rates.. which then causes the transfer-case to spin at a different rate.. which in turn causes both engine and rear tires to spin at different rates.

So now all 4 tires and the engine are having there speeds dictated to them by the one front wheel that is turning. Basically, if you use a part time 4x4 while turning.. you will go slowly and stress the living crap outta your drive line. Eventually breaking something.