low range 2wd??

[75subie]

you remember the old Dodge colts with d/r fwd?

 

i was just thinking, would it be possible to put a d/r tranny in a fwd sube leave the rear diff out, and just run it in hi-lo 2wd? that would really be pretty sweet, like for a fast take off, or if you are towing a trailer, and for those long, steep, drawn out hills where you have to shift down into 3rd. or even if you had a 4wd and just drop the drive shaft going to the rear, just when you might need the extra power for dry pavement or a hilly road trip. i have never ran the brat past 3rd in low range, so i am not sure what the final gearing is, but it seems to be alot jumpier in low range for low speed torque

[MSSLGECKO]

You're right - D/R 2WD is really nice for driving around and on the highway climbing hills, etc - basically anytime you need more gearing. I learned this during the summer/fall when I converted my Brat to RWD. Shift on the fly from 4Lo to 4Hi is very nice - 8 forward gears and 2 reverse - can't beat that. Guys w/ 5SPD FT4WD D/R's will tell you that it's fun as well, but they have less reduction in Lo range and a 3.7 diff. ratio as opposed to 4WD D/R's 3.9.

[Phizinza]

Ummm.... whats wrong with having the 4WD? On a highway it doesn't really matter if your in 4WD. Someone here in Australia drove over 2000km on a highway stuck in 4WD, he still uses that trans I think. If you want to get more grunt off from the line, just use 4WD low range. It shouldn't harm the trans (unless you have weird sized tires.) Just don't to city traffic cornering while in 4WD. Plus, If I had front wheel drive only in low range I'd burn out my tires in no time...

 

Am I missing something here? Why do you want FWD more then 4WD? You can always take off from the lights in 4WD low range then throw it in 2WD after going the 2nd gear.

[75subie]

i always thought that it tears up your diff and tranny if you run 4wd on dry pavement. the wheels are conflicting eachother.

[dave valiant]

I had one of those Colts. What a POS that thing was,but it was a lot of fun trying to shift all 8 forward gears without missing one.

 

If you could keep the gear oil from leaking out the tailshaft, why not.

[75subie]

the colts were pos's but i think the same idea with a subaru would be cool.

[Subarian]

The 5sp d/r is 3.9:1 in non-turbo cars. It's 3.7:1 in turbos.

[NoahDL88]

if you seperate the shifter, you should be able to do it, 4WD is at the rear of the transmission, and the low range is at the front, if you have a sperate lever for both, you could have high and low in both 2 and 4.

[MSSLGECKO]

I don't see the point myself. If it is to have 8 gears, then I'm with you - RWD is the ticket. But if it's just to remove the 4WD function and burn out in FWD, I don't get it cause FWD = 0-Fun.

 

As far as gearing in Lo range, each Lo gear is just below the same gear in Hi and above the one below it in Hi. --> 1Hi<2Lo<2Hi, etc. Oh, and in RWD, you can totally burn while shifting w/ closer gears.

 

(Forgot about the Turbo D/R's w/ 3.7 ratios)

[ballitch]

when i get my 5-lug swap done, ima go RWD for a little bit for the hell of it.........for summer and spring would be nice, then swap in the front axles and have 4WD for the fall and winter. whe you run 4WD, as long as your tires are close to the same circumfrence, it really wont hurt it. but try to only use 4WD on surfaces that have at least 10-20% slippage factor , i.e. rainy roads, ice, snow, mud, you get the picture.

 

 

 

 

~Josh~

[mudduck]

2wd low range would be good when having to turn tight on the trail, especially with a locked diff. Having a seperate lever for the 4ws and the low range would be a great idea.

[WoodsWagon]

It would be fairly easy as the actuating rod for the low range is on the outside of the tranny. 2wd low would help out for those of us running 30" tires.

[Phizinza]

I agree, it does seem like a easy thing to do.

But like I said before, I don't see the point. Unless your turning (past 45 degrees or so on the wheel,) or have odd sized tyres. I wouldn't think much would happen t the trans or diff. I have no experience in this, I am only going by what I've heard from other subie drivers. Well, I have driven my ute in 4WD a fair bit on pavement (because I forgot to take it out) and I only notice it when pulling inthe drive ways or car parks. Other wise it feels fine. But I do run all the same tyres and move them around on the car to ware them evenly.

 

Any one here had bad experience with 4WD on pavement?

[Ross]

I agree, it does seem like a easy thing to do.

But like I said before, I don't see the point. Unless your turning (past 45 degrees or so on the wheel,) or have odd sized tyres. I wouldn't think much would happen t the trans or diff. I have no experience in this, I am only going by what I've heard from other subie drivers. Well, I have driven my ute in 4WD a fair bit on pavement (because I forgot to take it out) and I only notice it when pulling inthe drive ways or car parks. Other wise it feels fine. But I do run all the same tyres and move them around on the car to ware them evenly.

 

Any one here had bad experience with 4WD on pavement?

 

If you take off in 4 low on sealed raod and go around even a small bend, chances are you wont be able to get it back into 2 without a lot of force, or going around an opposite corner. Certainly not something i'd be doing regularly, you'll wear out the dog clutch forcing it out like that.

 

2 low would be nice, especially for towing trailers, and even when your stuck in traffic it would be useful. Looks easy enough to separate the levers and put an extra selector in.

[bushbasher]

If you take off in 4 low on sealed raod and go around even a small bend, chances are you wont be able to get it back into 2 without a lot of force, or going around an opposite corner.

 

If you drive straight for a while or dip a tire into a loose surface then the bind is released and you can shift fine. Forcing it is a bad idea. I use 4wd on the pavement in my justy on occasion, on the highway, in the city even on sharp turns, have noticed no ill effects yet, and its locked front to rear just like an ea81/82.

 

The force of the binding cannot be any more than the force it takes to spin a tire, which, if you are like me, the car will see regularly anyways.

[75subie]

4wd on dry pavement is very hard on your drive train, maybe not after a couple times, but after long term, i bet you`ll notice it.

[Ross]

4wd on dry pavement is very hard on your drive train, maybe not after a couple times, but after long term, i bet you`ll notice it.

 

 

And it will be terrible for your gas mileage.

[zyewdall]

You are probably more likely to break axles with low range 2wd, because it's twice as much torque as any one axle will see otherwise. I know that on old landrovers and jeeps this was one idea behind only offering low range in 4wd, to keep from breaking axles.

 

That being said, I have my car in 4wd low sometimes when I don't need 4wd at all, but just want the lower crawling speed.

[fj401968]

The clutch is getting pretty weak in my '87 GL. I often start out in low when at a four way stop on an incline. I love that you can shift back to high on the fly. It works well.

 

My Landcruiser has a separate shifter for the low range and the 4-WD so you can choose 2-WD high, 2-WD low or 4-WD low. I really like the 2-WD low for slowly backing my 16' open bow ski boat down the ramp at the lake... no 4-WD binding as I jockey down the ramp.

 

For starting out in a straight line 4-WD low works fine in the Sooby but a 2-WD low option would be kinda nice.

 

BTW, my parents had an '81 Dodge Colt with the extra range. I drove it when I was in high school. I used to have fun 'split-shifting' through all 8 gears like I was driving a 'big rig'. It was a cute little car but it certainly wasn't engineered for longevity. It was wore out with only 150,000 miles on the odometer.

 

Tracy

[SUBARU3]

I had a 1980 Colt RS. It was a terrific car! It had those power mirrors, twin stick, AC, full guage set, sunroof, alloys and more....it was bright yellow!

 

That car ran 200K and was still running when I sold it to a neighbors kid! I would love to have it again! They are rare now, but occasionally one pops up on line. They are usually trashed by now though. Parts would be a bitc_ too.

 

I'm curious why some of you thought the car was so bad?

 

Todd

[Adam N.D.J.]

Having a T-case in my offroad rig, I have the option of runing low or high 2WD, I tell you what, it's very nice to have. When driving in town I use low, then switch to high for the open road. Makes people look at ya kinda funny when you shift 4 times to get up to 30 though. Helps save on gas too, cause when you not lugging the engine with the big tires and added weight (not that I have the problem), it tends to chug the go juice a little quicker. A second stick in a non-tcased lifted rig would be a good ting indeed.

[fj401968]

My parent's '81 Dodge Colt actually wasn't a bad car. They purchased it new and it was a great little economy car for quite a few years... then my sister got her driver's licence and pulled out in front of someone and got T-boned. It got fixed but slowly started getting trashed after that. Her boyfriend filled it up with regular (leaded) fuel from his dad's farm tanks and so my Dad by passed the catalytic converter because it got ruined. Eventually I got my license and I trashed it pretty good too. I thought it was an off-road vehicle. I managed to break the motor mounts and royally wear out the struts. It was always going through CVs too. By the time we sold it to a migrant worker, it ran but was missing the driver's side window (my cousin accidentally released the parking brake at a drive-in and the movie speaker tore out the window). The windshield was all shattered (no comment)... and the sunroof leaked. Also, at some point the hood release cable broke and the hood got pryed open (it opened backwards like a Corvette). The hood sort of floated as you drove the car after that.

 

As I look back I can't believe the car got so trashed. I am actually pretty careful about how I drive and maintain my cars. I think I won't be letting any of my kids drive the family cars. Teenagers can be hard on cars. I'd like to find a beat up Subaru with a 3 speed auto so they can't go too fast or do much damage and I can teach my kids how to do basic auto repairs on an easy-to-work-on car.

 

Tracy

 

 

I had a 1980 Colt RS. It was a terrific car! It had those power mirrors, twin stick, AC, full guage set, sunroof, alloys and more....it was bright yellow!

 

That car ran 200K and was still running when I sold it to a neighbors kid! I would love to have it again! They are rare now, but occasionally one pops up on line. They are usually trashed by now though. Parts would be a bitc_ too.

 

I'm curious why some of you thought the car was so bad?

 

Todd