4WD vs. AWD. What's the Difference?
Here are the key takeaways for me:<p>&quot;Thanks to that differential between your axles, an AWD car will send your engine’s power down the path of least resistance—the wheel with the least grip. Where a two-wheel drive car can only choose between two wheels, an AWD system looks for that least resistance across all four wheels.&quot;<p>&quot;4WD works by locking the front and rear axles together, splitting torque 50:50 between them. This provides great traction, but a vehicle locked in 4WD cannot safely be operated on dry pavement because its front and rear axles are forced to rotate at the same speeds.&quot;<p>I remember being scared when I bought my first 4wd vehicle, a &#x27;91 Toyota pickup. I knew I shouldn&#x27;t have the wheels locked in 4wd on dry pavement, and I was worried about going from snowy roads to dry pavement. When I moved on to an Outback (AWD, not 4wd) I wondered why I didn&#x27;t have to worry about transitioning between slippery roads and dry pavement. Now I understand.<p>There&#x27;s also a great video from 1937(!) that shows why we need differentials, and how they work. Here&#x27;s a direct link to the video if you&#x27;re going to skip the article:<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=yYAw79386WI" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=yYAw79386WI</a>