Would anyone like to see an "All wheel-drive" Tacoma option?

Yeah, it would be very nice to have a viscous coupling center-LSD in there, if it were selectable.

 

Ok, so here is the thing, you will either need to prove this, or what you say will be summarily dismissed for the level of absurdity.
Fact is that cars are required to have brakes on ALL OF THEIR WHEELS.
If you look at how the brakes are set up, you will notice that the front and rear brakes are balanced. That means that more braking is applied to the front than the rear. If you apply your braking through the drivetrain, it means that you end up with EQUAL braking, which means that your back brakes will be stopped as hard as the front, so the problem you run into, is a CASCADING loss of traction. In 2wd, braking is applied to each wheel as hard as it can hold, with the ABS (hopefully, and lets not go into bad ABS / good ABS arguments, they are a different discussion) maintaining and balancing braking on all 4 wheels individually. Tying it together front-to-back means that your brakes can't balance out nearly as dynamically, which means that if you start losing traction, it can actually take LONGER to stop, and increases the chances of spinning out.

 

Right on there!! Problem with 4wd is that it gives people a false impression of what their vehicle is capable of in those conditions. In fact, being *IN* 4WD can be a major problem for control in bad conditions -- because it binds front and rear, if you start slipping on one axle, you start slipping on the other as well. The best way to maintain control when you're slipping (well at least while you are still pointing forward, if you're sideways, you're going to need some fancy moves to recover), is to be in TWO wheel drive with the clutch pressed in, and NO braking. This allows all of the wheels to turn without applying forces that might contribute to breaking traction. The more wheels are bound to the road surface, the better you can steer in order to maintain a forward orientation in line with the road.

Of course, if there is someone in front of you that you need to avoid crashing into, brakes could be useful, but the same thing goes in that maintaining rotational independence between the wheels will allow you to maintain greater traction when one breaks free.

If two wheel drive doesn't yield enough traction to accelerate quickly to a high speed, then you'll also probably be going slower if you do crash. The faster you're travelling when you crash, the more likely the crash is to be fatal.

4WD should be used with extreme caution and only at lower speeds. If you don't feel confident driving 50 kph in 2wd, then you shouldn't be going that fast in 4wd either.

 

Not the same, because the AWD system provides a yield between the front and rear axles.

 

Hey GeneC, I know you don't have any problem with front brakes locking up on that ! lol, 26 or 27 ?

 

Just a short FYI; Model A Fords didn't come out until 1929. And yes, they actually DO have front brakes.

 

Hi Mike

No, not me (though I am that old)...

 

I am surprised you are the only one that knows about this, I have a 99 4Runner and kinda want the AWD T-case but having the J-Shift is nice too.

 

tgear.shead

Thanks for the clear insight. I see you understand AWD vs part-time 4WD. My whole point in the OP, to improve winter driving. I was out today on snow packed back road with bare spots and a steep hill with packed snow. Had to flick over to 4wd, not a big issue, but how many have forgotten they were in 4wd when on a clear road again. Almost embarrassed to say, I sure have.

 

Sig check!

 

Could be worse...you could STILL have to get out to manually lock the front hubs in and out of 4WD...

 

The very key to the idea of adding awd to something like a Tacoma, is that you aren't forced into it full time. As long as you still have access to 2 and 4wd options, then it becomes an extra option that helps in those circumstances where it is beneficial. The thing with a truck though, is that sometimes you put it to work, and AWD is pretty bad for hard work. I.e., if you're stuck with only AWD while you're trying to drag a heavy trailer up a steep gravel road (2wd work), you could blow out the center diff. Or plowing snow (4wd work)... same problem.

 

Skrain

I remember that well enough.. My first was a 1981 Toyota 4x4 with manual hubs. What a pain when they are clogged with ice..

 

Hi Gene, I was using my phone when I saw the pic the first time and hard to see screen very well outside in snow. Looked 2nd time and saw it was an A, forgot they still used a crank on the A. Got 4 T's and a T with a tractor conv kit on it. They were my pops but he passed a cpl years ago. At one time he had a T with a snowmobile conversion kit on it. They are alot of fun but I'm not really into them.

 

I would actually like to still have that option. Not *instead* of a selectable transfer case and ADD, but in addition to it. The reason being, is that in the summer when you're always using 2wd only, it would be nice to disconnect the hubs and keep all those extra parts from spinning (spinning consumes energy, energy = fuel).

 

Yep. Its why i mention the Jeep type Selec- Trac with ALL options.. I think some of the folks in earlier posts missed that..
I would not like AWD only...

 

My uncle was a collector and had a "T". Nice, but what weird controls...

 

Not familiar with the Jeep product but, is it similar or essentially the same AWD, 4hi & 4lo setting offered on certain Toyota 4Runners? I believe the 4x4 Limited T4R offers AWD with selectable transfer case adding 4hi & 4lo. If that's the case, seems moving over to the Tacoma would be easy.

 

You aren't kidding !! I started driving them when I was 12 or so (private roads) so kinda used to it but when you take someone for a ride they look at you like your crazy between left pedal in low or high while adj spark advance and throttle, then for a real circus one has a Ruxtell and one a Warford gearbox. One the bright side my pops used to say it was the only thing I drove I didn't get a speeding ticket with.lol

 

Never have seen that version, only the Jeep, but yes it sounds very similar. I'd bet if we ever see it, it would be on the "Limited" first.. It came standard on my Cherokee Limited.