AWD VS 4x4 | How it Works | Donut Media

**The World of All-Wheel Drive: A Comprehensive Guide**

The term "all-wheel drive" (AWD) has become synonymous with four-wheel drive, but what's the difference between these two systems? In this article, we'll delve into the world of all-wheel drive and explore its various forms, advantages, and disadvantages.

**Permanent Multiple Wheel Drive**

Until the 1920s, all-wheel drive was associated with four-wheel drive. However, in recent years, the term "all-wheel drive" has taken on a new meaning. Permanent multiple wheel drive refers to a system where power is sent to all four wheels simultaneously. This design ensures that power reaches every corner of the vehicle, making it one of the safest options for driving on various surfaces. The downside of this system is that it's less desirable for extreme off-roading, as it requires more energy and can be heavier.

**Four-Wheel Drive: A Separate Entity**

Four-wheel drive, on the other hand, refers to a system where power can be switched between two or four wheels at will. This allows drivers to control which wheels receive power, making it ideal for off-road driving. Four-wheel drive systems are often used in high-performance vehicles and are typically associated with rock-crawling and extreme terrain. However, they can also be less efficient on paved roads, as the system is constantly switching between front and rear axles.

**Permanent All-Wheel Drive: A Modern Marvel**

In recent years, permanent all-wheel drive systems have become increasingly popular. These systems use a locking mechanism to send power to all four wheels simultaneously. When torque loss is detected, the system can adjust power distribution in real-time to optimize traction. Permanent all-wheel drive systems are often used in luxury vehicles and provide unparalleled stability and control on various surfaces.

**Individual Wheel Drive: A Different Breed**

A less common form of all-wheel drive is individual wheel drive (IWD). In this system, each wheel has its own motor, connected to the car's computer. This allows for precise torque control, with each wheel receiving a unique amount of power. IWD systems are often used in electric vehicles and provide exceptional performance and handling.

**Electric Motors: A New Frontier**

In recent years, electric motors have become a popular choice for all-wheel drive systems. Electric motors offer instant torque and precise control, making them ideal for high-performance applications. The SLS AMG electric and the six-wheeled Mars rover are just two examples of vehicles that use IWD systems.

**A Closer Look at Tesla's Approach**

Tesla's approach to all-wheel drive is unique in its own right. Their system uses a combination of electric motors and complex software to optimize power distribution. When torque loss is detected, the system can adjust power distribution in real-time to maintain optimal traction. While not as common as other forms of all-wheel drive, IWD systems have become increasingly popular in recent years.

**Phil Collins: The Accidental All-Wheel Drive Endorsement**

In a humorous aside, Phil Collins' music was mentioned during an episode of "Up to Speed." While not directly related to all-wheel drive, the mention highlights the fact that even celebrities can get caught up in the excitement of automotive technology. Who knew that Phil Collins could inadvertently endorse all-wheel drive systems?

**Clothing for All Occasions: Bombfell's Solution**

In a surprising turn of events, bombfell's clothing line was mentioned during an episode of "Up to Speed." The company offers customizable clothing with various designs and styles. Whether you're looking for a stylish outfit or a practical solution for your daily commute, bombfell has got you covered.

**Conclusion: A World of Options**

In conclusion, the world of all-wheel drive is vast and diverse. From permanent multiple wheel drive to individual wheel drive systems, each option offers its unique advantages and disadvantages. Whether you're looking for stability on various surfaces or precision control in high-performance applications, there's an all-wheel drive system out there for you.

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enwe drive part-time Paul wheel-drive who is Paul grab the wheel we're talking about all wheel and four-wheel drive like Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel four-wheel drive and all-wheel drive seem like they could be the same thing but if you look closer you'll find out they're different sure one of them might be more versatile but they both have hips and without a doubt they've gained traction in their industry four wheel drive four wheels they all drive pretty simple there are a few common types of this drivetrain all-wheel drive and four-wheel drive four-wheel drive is divided into part-time four-wheel-drive and full-time four-wheel drive and unlike full-time employees of donut they all have benefits the first four and 4x4 signifies how many wheels are on the vehicle and the second number signifies how many wheels are powered 4x4 so using that system er rear or a front wheel drives technically a 4x2 I know that's hard concept to grasp but don't give up all-wheel drive systems have been developed for years different markets and implemented in many vehicle platforms under it but tons of different names there's no standardized system put in place to designate proper terminology so I'm gonna do my best to get everything right oftentimes designations like four by fours they're developed as a way to market the car rather than accurately describe the functionality of the drivetrain which makes it even more confusing and luckily I'm here to help you understand them a little better shouldn't be living in a land of confusion when it comes to drivetrain all-wheel drive systems have some advantages over two wheel drive trains primarily traction cars and trucks that have power going all four wheels inherently have more traction than vehicles that just use two powered wheels their rear wheel car if you find yourself safe stuck in mud as I often do the rear wheels lose traction rear wheel drive cars use open differentials which means that power is transferred to the wheel with the least resistance so the wheels that are slipping are gonna get all the power and additionally the weight of the engines on the opposite side of the car means those wheels are going anywhere you're gonna need a tow buddy a front-wheel drive car there's a little bit better traction than rear-wheel because it pulls the car instead of pushing it the weight of the engines right over the powered wheels give it a more grip might be able to wriggle out of that mud in a front-wheel drive car but not as easily as you would in a wheel drive power going to all four wheels more even weight distribution and a heavier body no wheel drive vehicles a Tough Mudder literally that reminds me I'm gonna call my Mudder also we know that putting power through wheels creates more friction so if you're getting power to four wheels when you accelerate you're actually producing more grit on every wheel so it makes sense even if you're not in the mud but when all four wheels are going at the same time it can produce some unwanted side effects mainly binding when power is distributed evenly among the four wheels they spin at the same speed and that's not a problem if you drive in a straight line we're on some slippery surfaces but when you turn the front wheels spin faster because they're traveling a greater distance additionally the outside wheels travel at a greater distance than the inside wheels which means all the wheels are spinning at different speeds it's like if Phil Collins was drumming faster than Peter Gabriel could play the flip it's just not gonna sound good the problem on high traction surfaces like roads are densely packed dirt where the slower wheels can't slip and catch up to the faster ones it causes a tension buildup known as binding or wind up and that can be bad for your car very bad so how's the problem wind up solved differentials differentials are mechanisms that allow one driveshaft to independently drive to output Jackson they can be mechanical or hydraulic and that prevents stress on the drive shaft that happens when one wheel spins slower than the other you want to know about about differentials check out our video now how about them all wheel drive train but before we get to them all wheel drive trains why don't you take a second and subscribe to our Channel that's how we get to make such cool stuff for you it's what keeps the lights on puts food on the table you gotta be quicker net known full-time four-wheel drive is the oldest of the all wheel drive train this system usually only refers to large trucks and SUVs full time means that all the wheels are spin all of the time with an inter axial differential the torque split of that differential could be fixed or variable depending on the type of center differential I'm kind of like the full time 4x4 drivetrain and doughnut cuz I'm here all the time I'm the oldest and in my spare time I like to drive trains four by fours have three differentials one between the front wheels one between the rear wheels and one to count for different tire rotations and speeds also known as the limited slip differential this boxy boy allows the wheels to keep spinning at different speeds eliminating winder full-time four-wheel-drive is the most reliable off-road driving but it's less desirable on surfaces with good traction the brother to this system is the part-time four-wheel drive train funny story my first part-time job was delivering horse meat to the school for blind children they paid me in bones best job I ever had part-time four-wheel drives the most common type of four-wheel drive on modern cars in a nutshell it gives you the option of switching between powering two wheels or all four hence the name part-time this makes it easy to go from street to trees and one quick shift another perfect anagram part-time systems use a transfer case that switches between the drive system an example of this is switching from two-wheel drive to four-wheel drive high lock to four-wheel drive low lock four-wheel drive high lock means that the torque is distributed evenly between the front axle in the rear 50% to the front 50% to the rear locked means that all the wheels are rotating at the same speed gears got a one-to-one torque ratio should only be used when you're off-roading not on densely packed ground because of what we learned earlier about wind up four-wheel drive low lock as a high torque ratio and is meant for slow off-road crawls up steep slippery Mountain Hills su-su-sudio we mentioned it's the transfer case where the power gets shared between the front back wheels in a system that can switch between four-wheel and rear-wheel drive there's some gears in the transfer case that make that happen when the drive chain is engaged it sends power to the front wheels sharing it with the rear when it's not engaged that power goes straight to either the rear differential or the front differential pending on the design but usually it's the rear because it's easier look it just goes straight back instead of having a reroute and car that run full-time all-wheel drive like an Audi or Subaru there's no locking mechanism instead there's a Torsen differential that shares power between front and back sending it where it's most effective the word tourism comes from torque sensing so using oil pressure if it senses torque loss and one of the output shaft it'll send more power somewhere else some cars like the Focus RS electronically control the power sharing so sometimes it can be a 50/50 front and back and sometimes like in drift mode so the follower your wheels the all-wheel drive designation has been synonymous with four-wheel drive since as early as the 1924 nowadays all-wheel drive basically means permanent multiple wheel drive these drive trains are the safest on all surfaces but less desirable for extreme off-roading permanent means that you couldn't switch the tool drive even if y'all wanted to one downside of this system is that powering all four wheels at the same time Oh means you're using a lot of gas some all-wheel drive vehicles use two motors one for each axle an example this is the Tesla Model S another drivetrain that's less common but still considered all-wheel Drive is IWD or individual wheel drive every wheels got its own motor that's connected to the cars computer an act can adjust individual torque levels in milliseconds this system is almost exclusively associated with electric motors examples include the SLS AMG electric and the six wheeled Mars rover heck I got to take a spin in a four-wheel one that could go all kinds of crazy directions why you'd want to roam around that dusty plane it's beyond me I'm fine with earth thank you very much we got horse meat here so if we've learned anything here today it's that Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel are not the same person and all-wheel drive systems are different than four-wheel drive systems next time you're off-roading a 4x4 remember these words I can't dance I can't sing I just stand here selling everything I'm Phil Collins thanks to bomb fell for sponsoring this episode bomb fell is an easier way for men to get better clothes and I know what you're thinking you're thinking farm you only wear one shirt and I'm pretty sure you're not wearing any pants under there well you be wrong Michael emailed Nia selections I gave my input and it shipped and Michaels got pretty good taste it could have made any changes if I wanted or even canceled all together oh they got a cool policy Cokie more get more where the morning keep more you safe when I got the clothes I had seven days to tell him what I thought what I wanted to keep and I could have sent the rest back the more you keep the more you say to keep four you get 20% off keep three you get 15% off keep two or more you get 10% on Bart we're in total control then when I got the clothes I got seven days to tell him what I want to keep and you could send the rest back god that sounds so convenient man I wonder what my life would be like if I didn't get in touch with bond it's up mark what I make my own clothes I don't have time to shop cuz I'm such a likable guy I convinced bomb fell to offer $25 off your first purchase if you had to bomb felt calm slash science garage guys it's totally flexible you get clothes when you want you can pause it or cancel it at any time they don't charge above retail price you get free shipping and returns home try on and you can preview your stylist pics before it even sends to you that's B OMP fel Elcom slash science garage Vonzell please subscribe click this button that shows us you love us it helps us keep making contact that hopefully you want to see follow us on twitter and instagram at donut media follow me at Pitts Bardot checking our new miracle whips we're really excited about it hey Byron and check out this episode of up to speed don't tell my wife how bad the mileage is on the STIwe drive part-time Paul wheel-drive who is Paul grab the wheel we're talking about all wheel and four-wheel drive like Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel four-wheel drive and all-wheel drive seem like they could be the same thing but if you look closer you'll find out they're different sure one of them might be more versatile but they both have hips and without a doubt they've gained traction in their industry four wheel drive four wheels they all drive pretty simple there are a few common types of this drivetrain all-wheel drive and four-wheel drive four-wheel drive is divided into part-time four-wheel-drive and full-time four-wheel drive and unlike full-time employees of donut they all have benefits the first four and 4x4 signifies how many wheels are on the vehicle and the second number signifies how many wheels are powered 4x4 so using that system er rear or a front wheel drives technically a 4x2 I know that's hard concept to grasp but don't give up all-wheel drive systems have been developed for years different markets and implemented in many vehicle platforms under it but tons of different names there's no standardized system put in place to designate proper terminology so I'm gonna do my best to get everything right oftentimes designations like four by fours they're developed as a way to market the car rather than accurately describe the functionality of the drivetrain which makes it even more confusing and luckily I'm here to help you understand them a little better shouldn't be living in a land of confusion when it comes to drivetrain all-wheel drive systems have some advantages over two wheel drive trains primarily traction cars and trucks that have power going all four wheels inherently have more traction than vehicles that just use two powered wheels their rear wheel car if you find yourself safe stuck in mud as I often do the rear wheels lose traction rear wheel drive cars use open differentials which means that power is transferred to the wheel with the least resistance so the wheels that are slipping are gonna get all the power and additionally the weight of the engines on the opposite side of the car means those wheels are going anywhere you're gonna need a tow buddy a front-wheel drive car there's a little bit better traction than rear-wheel because it pulls the car instead of pushing it the weight of the engines right over the powered wheels give it a more grip might be able to wriggle out of that mud in a front-wheel drive car but not as easily as you would in a wheel drive power going to all four wheels more even weight distribution and a heavier body no wheel drive vehicles a Tough Mudder literally that reminds me I'm gonna call my Mudder also we know that putting power through wheels creates more friction so if you're getting power to four wheels when you accelerate you're actually producing more grit on every wheel so it makes sense even if you're not in the mud but when all four wheels are going at the same time it can produce some unwanted side effects mainly binding when power is distributed evenly among the four wheels they spin at the same speed and that's not a problem if you drive in a straight line we're on some slippery surfaces but when you turn the front wheels spin faster because they're traveling a greater distance additionally the outside wheels travel at a greater distance than the inside wheels which means all the wheels are spinning at different speeds it's like if Phil Collins was drumming faster than Peter Gabriel could play the flip it's just not gonna sound good the problem on high traction surfaces like roads are densely packed dirt where the slower wheels can't slip and catch up to the faster ones it causes a tension buildup known as binding or wind up and that can be bad for your car very bad so how's the problem wind up solved differentials differentials are mechanisms that allow one driveshaft to independently drive to output Jackson they can be mechanical or hydraulic and that prevents stress on the drive shaft that happens when one wheel spins slower than the other you want to know about about differentials check out our video now how about them all wheel drive train but before we get to them all wheel drive trains why don't you take a second and subscribe to our Channel that's how we get to make such cool stuff for you it's what keeps the lights on puts food on the table you gotta be quicker net known full-time four-wheel drive is the oldest of the all wheel drive train this system usually only refers to large trucks and SUVs full time means that all the wheels are spin all of the time with an inter axial differential the torque split of that differential could be fixed or variable depending on the type of center differential I'm kind of like the full time 4x4 drivetrain and doughnut cuz I'm here all the time I'm the oldest and in my spare time I like to drive trains four by fours have three differentials one between the front wheels one between the rear wheels and one to count for different tire rotations and speeds also known as the limited slip differential this boxy boy allows the wheels to keep spinning at different speeds eliminating winder full-time four-wheel-drive is the most reliable off-road driving but it's less desirable on surfaces with good traction the brother to this system is the part-time four-wheel drive train funny story my first part-time job was delivering horse meat to the school for blind children they paid me in bones best job I ever had part-time four-wheel drives the most common type of four-wheel drive on modern cars in a nutshell it gives you the option of switching between powering two wheels or all four hence the name part-time this makes it easy to go from street to trees and one quick shift another perfect anagram part-time systems use a transfer case that switches between the drive system an example of this is switching from two-wheel drive to four-wheel drive high lock to four-wheel drive low lock four-wheel drive high lock means that the torque is distributed evenly between the front axle in the rear 50% to the front 50% to the rear locked means that all the wheels are rotating at the same speed gears got a one-to-one torque ratio should only be used when you're off-roading not on densely packed ground because of what we learned earlier about wind up four-wheel drive low lock as a high torque ratio and is meant for slow off-road crawls up steep slippery Mountain Hills su-su-sudio we mentioned it's the transfer case where the power gets shared between the front back wheels in a system that can switch between four-wheel and rear-wheel drive there's some gears in the transfer case that make that happen when the drive chain is engaged it sends power to the front wheels sharing it with the rear when it's not engaged that power goes straight to either the rear differential or the front differential pending on the design but usually it's the rear because it's easier look it just goes straight back instead of having a reroute and car that run full-time all-wheel drive like an Audi or Subaru there's no locking mechanism instead there's a Torsen differential that shares power between front and back sending it where it's most effective the word tourism comes from torque sensing so using oil pressure if it senses torque loss and one of the output shaft it'll send more power somewhere else some cars like the Focus RS electronically control the power sharing so sometimes it can be a 50/50 front and back and sometimes like in drift mode so the follower your wheels the all-wheel drive designation has been synonymous with four-wheel drive since as early as the 1924 nowadays all-wheel drive basically means permanent multiple wheel drive these drive trains are the safest on all surfaces but less desirable for extreme off-roading permanent means that you couldn't switch the tool drive even if y'all wanted to one downside of this system is that powering all four wheels at the same time Oh means you're using a lot of gas some all-wheel drive vehicles use two motors one for each axle an example this is the Tesla Model S another drivetrain that's less common but still considered all-wheel Drive is IWD or individual wheel drive every wheels got its own motor that's connected to the cars computer an act can adjust individual torque levels in milliseconds this system is almost exclusively associated with electric motors examples include the SLS AMG electric and the six wheeled Mars rover heck I got to take a spin in a four-wheel one that could go all kinds of crazy directions why you'd want to roam around that dusty plane it's beyond me I'm fine with earth thank you very much we got horse meat here so if we've learned anything here today it's that Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel are not the same person and all-wheel drive systems are different than four-wheel drive systems next time you're off-roading a 4x4 remember these words I can't dance I can't sing I just stand here selling everything I'm Phil Collins thanks to bomb fell for sponsoring this episode bomb fell is an easier way for men to get better clothes and I know what you're thinking you're thinking farm you only wear one shirt and I'm pretty sure you're not wearing any pants under there well you be wrong Michael emailed Nia selections I gave my input and it shipped and Michaels got pretty good taste it could have made any changes if I wanted or even canceled all together oh they got a cool policy Cokie more get more where the morning keep more you safe when I got the clothes I had seven days to tell him what I thought what I wanted to keep and I could have sent the rest back the more you keep the more you say to keep four you get 20% off keep three you get 15% off keep two or more you get 10% on Bart we're in total control then when I got the clothes I got seven days to tell him what I want to keep and you could send the rest back god that sounds so convenient man I wonder what my life would be like if I didn't get in touch with bond it's up mark what I make my own clothes I don't have time to shop cuz I'm such a likable guy I convinced bomb fell to offer $25 off your first purchase if you had to bomb felt calm slash science garage guys it's totally flexible you get clothes when you want you can pause it or cancel it at any time they don't charge above retail price you get free shipping and returns home try on and you can preview your stylist pics before it even sends to you that's B OMP fel Elcom slash science garage Vonzell please subscribe click this button that shows us you love us it helps us keep making contact that hopefully you want to see follow us on twitter and instagram at donut media follow me at Pitts Bardot checking our new miracle whips we're really excited about it hey Byron and check out this episode of up to speed don't tell my wife how bad the mileage is on the STI