Small(ish) 4 wheel drive cars

I didn't say wheelspin, that's why I chose the word 'slip' very carefully.

As for the second thing, I was told that, I'll pass on the blame ;)
 
Lashout_UK said:
Still going to stove it into a fence, or not get up a hill, if you aren't committed or restrained enough to drive in snow.
Click to expand...

Wrong. Any 4x4 gives you instant snow immunity. 300mm wide road tyres don't mean jack because the 4x4 over rules everything.

...or at least thats what the school run crew seem to think :mad:
 
I'm following this thread with interest :).

Where I live it's not for the "3 snowy days a year", but for all the icy days too. Living at the top of a dead steep hill means that only the 4WD (or is it AWD :confused:) cars can get up it!
 
anything made by subaru, but small would be the justy.
there are a quite a few other little japanese hatchbacks that have 4wd

audi a3 quattro, vw golf 4 motion (afaik in RHD only in V6 form)
the leon 4 wasn't available in RHD

the original panda 4x4 was a great little car. i had some friends in wales literally who lived on the top of a cliff. the panda was the only car that could ever get them up the hill in winter
 
See a Blue e46 330xd regularly round my area. Nice enough, probably defeats the point of a 3'er a tad, but others will know more about that than me.
 
Witor said:
See a Blue e46 330xd regularly round my area. Nice enough, probably defeats the point of a 3'er a tad, but others will know more about that than me.
Click to expand...
they're basically designed for people who live in the alps :p
it's like the the 4-matic mercs. the 4wd is pretty useless until you need to drive in snow
 
I remember the same topics coming up when there was a couple of cm of snow last year... and they were greeted with pretty much the same responses.
 
You know what, I was about to ask that very same question in my post, but assumed that they did build RHD versions.

As far as I can tell from a quick GO10GLE, they are a tad slower, a tad heavier, a tad more "surefooted". Whatever that means.
 
Witor said:
You know what, I was about to ask that very same question in my post, but assumed that they did build RHD versions.

As far as I can tell from a quick GO10GLE, they are a tad slower, a tad heavier, a tad more "surefooted". Whatever that means.
Click to expand...
mine is heavier, has a transmission tunnel and a shallower boot than a 2wd leon
it therefore uses slightly more fuel and is slower to 60

however, the 4wd provides more traction in adverse weather conditions and in the dry too. surefooted would be a good way to describe it
and in snow, well.. it just pwns
 
Dandle said:
Thats not right. The term slip is the difference in torque between the front and rear axle not wheel spin like a lot of people think. Theres a torque difference even when driving at low throttle inputs due to the fact the front wheels are driven and the rears have some drag on the system, even this low amount of torque is enough for the haldex unit to be transfering power aft to make up for the slip its detecting. The unit constantly varies the power to the back wheels while power is being delivered. The HPP controller cannot send more power to the rear then the standard unit but what it does is act more aggressively and send more power to the rear faster than what the standard controller does, this gives the car a more balanced feel but the system is still FWD biased and it can never get away from that due to the fact the power for the rear is tapped of the front diff and the rear can only ever have a share of the front wheels power.
Click to expand...

the haldex controller is not like a torsen lsd, it can send all the power to the back if necessary.
 
Dolph said:
the haldex controller is not like a torsen lsd, it can send all the power to the back if necessary.
Click to expand...

No it cant because the prop shaft takes power from the front diff. The rear can only share what the front has. The car can have 100% torque transfer to the rear but for that to happen the front wheels have to have no grip. There is no centre diff on a haldex equiped car to distribute power around. The front gets fed the power and the haldex unit taps into that.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom