4x4 vs. AWD

Have a Evo 8 does about 500hp at motor. AWD is awesome makes a bad Driver good. But for deep stuff I would take my taco for the ground clearance and aggressive tires. Also have a b9 audi a4 Quattro haven't tried it in snow yet but feels like it would perform well and a lot more refined than the Evo because of the traction aid and drive select.

 

With all the Subaru talk had to do it lol sorry nothing personal hate me if you want

 

My wife owns a Subaru and while it has the best AWD on the market I wouldn't say its better in snow than my Tacoma. The limitations of ground clearance and tire type really restrict the Subaru. As far as AWD vs 4WD, I honestly can't say one is better than the other, I've driven in every condition in both vehicles and they both work equally as well. If you had an AWD Tacoma and a 4WD Tacoma, they both will work, the AWD system may be a little more forgiving on the driver.

 

I venture a guess here -most Subaru owners would Not hate you for this, -- they would have a good laugh and enjoy their Subies. I think in2016 Subaru was the "most trusted" brand in the US, and Tacomas now have the highest resale value --taking that title from the Toyota FJ's

 

That's what I would guess would be my "test" results. Sadly for my "test" we are forcast for about 2-3" of snow tomorrow night-- I only have one of my test vehicles.

 

A Subaru with winter nokians laughs at bad weather
Your too busy throwing the Tacoma into and out of 4H, limited to 60 mph, watching the road to see if 2wd is going to get you into trouble.
No limitations on the Subaru

 

I never worry about throwing a vehicle in and out of 4hi because I dont. I just leave it in 4hi. This nonsense about binding is thrown out so much its crazy. You pretty much have to lock the steering wheel on dry pavement to cause a bind.

 

I have a 98 subaru 2.5rs coupe (the rally car..) and it does way better than my tacoma, even with weight in the bed, both have snow rated tires

 

This is apples to apples. My mountaineer was awd with 235 street tires. Now 4wd with lockers and 33 mt. Same truck, close to the same ground clearence. Awd hands down. Did better in snow and smooth sand as awd.

 

Haha... yeah...
Granted, the '02 WRX sat pretty low, and doesn't rally especially well in all-season tires. 1-4" of snow was a blast, but once it got up to the frame, ground clearance is king.

 

That's not true at all, most AWD systems have three open differentials and rely on the brakes TCS to control wheel spin. Ever seen a Subby stuck in the snow, and one wheel is spinning, I have.

Wait till you get a flat and a tire shop makes you install 4 new tires cause the tread depth is greater than 1/32".

And to the idiots that say that AWD cars handle better than RWD, last time I checked NASCAR, Indy, Formula 1, and almost all supercars are all RWD.

 

We pick up our '17 Tacoma OR this Thursday and I hope it drives half as well as our '10 Subaru Forester in the snow. 8.7 vs 9.4 inches of ground clearance isn't that much of a difference in snow on pavement. I've driven countless miles in various road conditions in the Subaru with dedicated winter tires (Michelin x-ice) and it's performance is shocking on how well it handles. I'm concerned how well the Good Year Wrangler's will perform on the Tacoma. I also have a '95 Bronco with new BFG's and it's horrible. Previous to that I had a '90 Land Cruiser with Michelin LTX M/S and it handled very well. If the Tacoma matches the performance of the Land Cruiser in snow I'll be happy, I have no expectation that it will be as good as the Subaru.

I've seen a lot of AWD vs 4WD conversations on here and it's important to note that the Subaru has a different type of setup with it's "Symmetrical AWD". Here is a vid (sponsored by Subaru so take it for what that's worth): https://youtu.be/3Ems8wl5hwk

Tires make a huge difference in snow performance and can't be understated.

 

NASCAR also runs carbs (except cup recently). Better convert my cars back. Lol

 

You must be kidding. Are those the only vehicles that race? Almost ALL new super cars are awd. Just google it. 4 tires driving is better than 2. STi has LSD in both diffs.

 

Just leave it in 4HI and drive as fast as you want (given the conditions). You can do 100mph in 4HI if you wanted to and it wouldn't matter. The difference in fuel economy between driving my truck in 2HI and 4HI is negligible under the same driving conditions.

 

265/70/17 KO2s, 4hi, I fly up steep hills with 3-4" of snow (usually from stopped - ie. no momentum) and use the hopelessly stuck & spinning cars as pylons for slalom practice. With proper snow tires the truck would probably turn the snow into wine.

 

Yeah have you seen how complicated they are, I want nothing to do with an AWD vehicle.

 

No not really, Lamborghini offers a few AWD models but most only have a single model. Performance cars and supercars are dominated by RWD. Even Le Mans cars are won by RWD and locked Rears, Ford GT, and Ferrari 488, Porsche 919. Lets look at Formula 3, Formula Ford, Formula Mazda, heck we can pull in the SCCA as well, dominated by RWD. The only racing that AWD performs better in, is rally.

You remove Lamborghini from the list and your AWD supercars can be counted on 1 hand.

No offense but, take your own advice and google...

 

Awd is 2wd until the computer senses slip in a tire, then it gives power to the other wheels. AWD is not 4x4. Dont confuse the two.

 

Yeah. The newer ones are 2wd with 4 wheel assist.