4x4 puzzle

To reduce tyre wear.

And transmission damaging wind up.

Dan was seen penning the following ode to ... whatever:

Probably because (a) you really don't need it and (b) if it doesn't have a centre diff the drivetrain won't like it either.

Because on a corner one pair of wheels travels slightly further than the other. This causes excessive tyre wear.

To get round this vehicles with permanent four wheel drive have an extra differential between front and back axles.

I'm curious, since you have to ask that question, what made you think that a 4X4 was the car for you?

Cheers,

Colin.

Because I live in a country area with some narrow and not very well maintained roads.

Because I wanted a high up driving position with good visibility

dan

Well even so, you don't want the 4x4 on when driving on a metalled roads, there's no center diff so the steering feels odd & you wear the tyres out quicker.

Sounds like you'll virtually never be using it in 4WD mode then. Like the others say, It'll be of no benefit unless you're in *big* wheelspin territory. Putting it in 2WD mode will help, but it'll still suffer a bit with increased tyre wear, increased component wear, increased fuel consumption and reduced performance over a proper 2WD car. Make sure you make the most of the off-roading abilities ;o)

Cheers,

Colin.