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Old 11-19-2008, 05:25 PM   #5
wonderboy
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ok sorry they not exactly the same, but for less technical people they more or less are. I know 4wd are like you get on 4x4 with usualy individual gears and slip, and awd is like on subaru's etc, i just used both in my explanation coz sometimes not everyone knows what awd even stands for.
Im not so clued up bout 4wd but 4WD refers to vehicles that can opt for two- or four-wheel drive. These vehicles often have a 4WD "low" and "high" setting that can be switched using an interior lever. The "low" setting provides even greater torque for pulling or climbing in an off-road environment. The "high" is useful for slippery on-road situations like packed snow or ice. 4WD also uses a locking center differential to avoid unnecessary slippage between the right and left wheels while off-road.

AWD generally operates all the time with no "low" or "high" gearing options. While 4WD is basically an SUV term, associated with off-road use, AWD is a car/wagon/minivan term that means traction improvement for performance or bad weather reasons and also for performance purposes.
All-wheel drive is a bit misleading since the majority of AWD vehicles use the rear wheels primarily and only direct power to the front wheels when a sensor detects rear-wheel slip. Even with sufficient horsepower, a Porsche with only two-wheel drive would be traction-limited to high 4- or low 5-second zero-to-sixty times but because of awd electronic management it can ndo it in just 2.8 seconds by using all 4 whells. AWD also helps against sliding on wet or slippery roads by redirecting power from "the wheels that slip to the wheels that grip."

Last edited by wonderboy; 11-19-2008 at 05:52 PM.
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