4WD Usage Ettiquette?

[Phaedras]

Maybe it's just me, but switching on the 4WD seems like I can tear away from stoplights and go into sharp turns a lot easier. I've heard it's not a good idea to keep the drive in all the time or it could spell trouble for tires and axle.

 

Any truth to this, or can I switch to 4WD at leisure? Does it also mean more fuel consumption and/or wear and tear on the rear differential? How often could/should I turn it on?

[jazzician]

Hey there. When I got my 89 GL10, I was told that being on anything other than dry pavement, you could turn on the 4wd whenever. There was some issue with going into a tight turn with the 4wd on was something that can cause damage.

In terms of long term damage with extended 4wd use and excess fuel consumption, I'm not really sure except for what I was told above.

 

Simon

 

Maybe it's just me, but switching on the 4WD seems like I can tear away from stoplights and go into sharp turns a lot easier. I've heard it's not a good idea to keep the drive in all the time or it could spell trouble for tires and axle.

 

Any truth to this, or can I switch to 4WD at leisure? Does it also mean more fuel consumption and/or wear and tear on the rear differential? How often could/should I turn it on?

[TheSubaruJunkie]

The rule of thumb is to never use it unless each tire has at least 10% slip. Like wet roads, gravel, ice, snow... anything but dry pavement. Making sharp turns will put more bind on the transmission. Driving in 4WD will use more gas, but probably not anything noticable unless you drive in 4WD for weeks at a time. It shouldnt put any extra wear on your rear diff, its an open diff and should never really bind up.

 

-Brian

[Qman]

Sounds more like you need an AWD vehicle instead of 4WD. Straight line in 4WD on the pavement won't cause bind. However, anything other than straight will! 4WD is designed for conditions that cause poor traction when 4WD is needed. Unless you have extensive mods launching in 4WD will do nothing but cause unneeded wear and damage to your drivetrain.

[Ratty2Austin]

I use 4wd all the time in my wagon on dry pavement and whatnot.. but thats because I DO have excessive mods including 27" BFG A/T tires, powered by an EJ22 with a 5spd D/R tranny at 3.9 diffs... i have actually dumped the clutch once with it in 4wdLo, and i peeled out all 4 on dry pavement trying to move out of the way of traffic

 

but in 2wd, the power in 1st and 2nd is to much for traction to handle, so i put it in 4wd, then once i reach 3rd gear shift, or need to corner (without wanting to slide the rear out using 4wd) i just push the lever back down to 2wd gently (it works without binding on mine!)

[swiftt]

In the user's manual for my '79 Brat, it says to use 4wd anytime there's a cargo load in the bed. I'm not really clear on what the problem would be since there's a differential in place to drive the rear wheels at any speed necessary without tire scrub or driveline feedback. From what I understand, it's virtually the same differential that Datsun/Nissan has used for years to drive their rear wheel drive cars.

 

Perhaps someone can explain the problem to me in detail?

[MorganM]

In the user's manual for my '79 Brat, it says to use 4wd anytime there's a cargo load in the bed. I'm not really clear on what the problem would be since there's a differential in place to drive the rear wheels at any speed necessary without tire scrub or driveline feedback. From what I understand, it's virtually the same differential that Datsun/Nissan has used for years to drive their rear wheel drive cars.

 

Perhaps someone can explain the problem to me in detail?

I don't think the rear diff is the problem but rather the transfer case with no center diff (like the FT4WD and AWD setups have)