hi, me again, since the gas price is hiking, I wonder if subaru impreza is capable driving on 2 front wheels? since 4WD will consume more gas, and since it's not winter yet, I didn't see 4WD is needed badly.
my question is: will it damage the driving system? will it cause any inheretent troubles? does it really save up gases?
THANK YOU
a 4WD car consume more gas because of friction and weight of transmission components. Disabling rear traction on legacy without stability control devices is documented for service purposes and is very simple, just unplugging a fuse, but you will still have transmission components with their weight and frictions so fuel consumption does not change
Actually, you plug a fuse IN to disable the rear drive, but only on an automatic. If the car has a manual transmission, the AWD system cannot be disabled. If the car has an automatic transmission, it's not driving the rear wheels anyway if traction is good. I doubt if disabling the AWD would save much gas.
If the car now gets 24 MPG, and disabling the AWD gets you 25 MPG, you'd get 12 miles more on a 12 gallon fillup. At $2.50 / gal, that's about $1.25 a _tank_.
You'd probably save more by making sure that any extra stuff (tools, trash, sporting goods...)are removed from the car, external drag like bike / ski / boat racks and ornamental spoilers are removed, the oil is changed regularly, all lubricants are replaced with synthetics, and the air filter is clean. You'd also have the AWD automatically available when it's needed, which is probably a reason you bought the car in the first place.
An additional very important gas mileage enhancer which is easily neglected is tire pressure.
I forgot that, but in reality it should be the first thing to check.
tho other is your right foot :-))
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