Riddle me this- front wheel drive

There must be a reason for this, because I am not some sort of genius or something... why are 4wd trucks not front wheel drive when they are in 2wd mode? Does this not make sense for driving in the snow? There must be a reason because front wheel drive is about 350 zillion times better than rear wheel drive in pretty much any scenario. This is why when it snows all the vehicles you see in the ditch are pickups and 4wd SUV's... they aren't in 4wd mode so they are in rear wheel drive.

 

the Ridgeline is FWD, so are most the small SUVs. Maybe even the new Pathfinder? With RWD you can fit a larger engine and its better to haul and tow. And 4WD doesn't cure bad driving.

 

I wondered if it was something about towing. Makes sense there, wouldn't want to tow in 4wd all the time.

 

i disagree with this statement. It all depends on driver and since most people are stupid this is the reason alot of cars are fwd

 

trucks are rear wheel drive because they are designed to have the weight of their load over the drive axle. Our 4x4 works by engaging the transfer case and directing power to the front wheels.

Some AWD vehicles can change between fwd and rear wheel drive or adjust the power-split because they have a center diff and the front drive-train is a transaxle.

 

I agree with this.

I don't agree with this.
Seems like all the front wheel drives do pretty well up here over the winter. Granted, not as well as 4wd's, but definitely better than rear wheel drives.

 

My wifes FWD Corolla is better in the snow than my TRD O/R in 2WD. And I can drive too, it's not the driver in this case, it's just a plain and simple fact.

 

^ driver error. we just went on a snow run in the mountains and we didnt even use 4x4 unless we were in the rocky parts.

 

i saw that run via IG

 

Well, that's it. I guess I can't drive for shit! Easy answer, thank you! I've only lived in the snow belt for 42 years, what do I know about driving in the snow...

 

The physics of how and where there is grip is fascinating to me. I have 2WD but I drive knowing that and have never had trouble. I also have a FWD and an AWD car, prefer the AWD, but the little yaris ain't bad.

 

you are also comparing apples to oranges of a front heavy/back light truck to a car that is going to have a better weight distribution.

 

I remember my favorite "snow" car was my 944. Trans-axle made the balance perfect and the LSD made slides super controllable. I miss that car.

 

The ability of a FWD vehicle to "pull" in the direction of steer is a big advantage in snowy conditions as opposed to a RWD. I'm in the same boat as you Jethro, been driving in this crap for 20 years... and prolly haven't learned a thing about it.

 

agree 100% the reason behind most cars being FWD is because the general public can handle understeer alot better than oversteer

 

Trucks are usually meant for towing therefore a RWD truck will perform better for towing purposes than a FWD truck, That is how I would look at it.

FWD is definitely better than RWD in the snow. I would take a FWD corolla over a 4x4 truck in snow most of the time.

Edit with studded tires haha

 

well, not many fwd race cars? It was truly better then more racing venues would use it. FWD is mainly a cheaper manufacturing advantage really. Not to mention towing with a fwd is and can be a bit dicey at times.

 

FWD is cheaper to build, plus, for the inexperienced, it helps with slippery driving...the only time FWD sucks is going up steep slippery hills, yank chains out for that....

also, Taco 2WD in these trucks suck for driving capabilities in ice and snow. Thus the two sack pack in the rear for the wintertime....weight when and where you need it....

I did love all the front wheel drive cars I owned, especially in slick weather....

 

It has to do with several factors why the 4WD trucks are not front wheel drive standard.

For one, most all of the FWD and AWD vehicles have a longitudinally mounted powertrain. This means that the engine is horizontal in the engine bay, with a FWD transmission, and a "adapter" or sorts to send power to the rear "differential". This allows the majority of the torque and hp to be available at the front wheels, with the rear only getting power when needed.

Now in a truck, the engine is longitudinally mounted, with a transmission directly behind it, and a transfer case next. This type of application is designed to apply the majority of the torque and power to the REAR differential, with the front wheels getting power by an offset transfer case. Because this is an offset transfer case, with a chain drive, it is not truly able to apply the maximum amount of power to the front wheels, as it can to the rear.

This is also important because as mentioned, most of the "payload" in a truck is in the bed. With a loaded truck, the power is most desired to be under the load, which is the rear axle.