The whole 9 yards of the 4wd/awd argument

must_go_faster

My car has the RT4wd, and I have looked on this forum as well as many others (plus various internet sources) and still can't seem to get my question answered. I am slowly but surely turning mine into a performance street car and I understand how the loss of traction works with kicking in the back tires. But that answer is a little too generic. In a launch situation, how odes the system work? When are all the tires under power? What power ratio is given to the front and back? When will it disengage? Is there a way to "drive it" to force the back wheels to engage? I know this sounds basic and redundant, but I feel that if I understood the system a bit better, I could get a better handle on how to go about my build.

arries289

The VC (viscous coupler) makes the car 4wd. It has an input from the engine/transmission and and output to the rear wheels. When the front wheels lose traction, the input shaft to the VC moves faster (more RPM), which causes a liquid in the VC to get thicker and clutches to lock up. That engages the output shaft to the rear wheels. Once the input and output shafts equalize in RPM, the clutches release and you are back to 2WD. Having said all that, the VC will burn up with too much power or extended hard use. Not designed at all for performance. So 'launches' are really out of the question.

must_go_faster

Thank you! Finally I got a break down of how it works. It makes sense how it cant take much abuse. I have seen where people have subbed out the stock drivetrain for either CR-V or Element. I cant imagine that those are any beefier systems. Can they take abuse or are they as useless as the stock? Im a diesel mechanic and work on huge 4x4 trucks all day. I understand we are talking about two HUGELY different set ups, but diesel pickups can have major transmission and transfer case upgrades to handle horsepower numbers over 2000. Im wondering if anyone has, or if companies do, retro fit the existing drivetrain with much more upgraded internals to make them more stout. I can see how the VC would burn up after 2-3 hard pulls. Just want to pick some brains on if there are other ways around it to get some more get up and go. Thanks again for the insight!

arries289

They might exist, but I have never seen a reliable performance RT civic using the standard components (or those off a CR-V or Element). The only 4WD/AWD system that I can think of that could take some power (and plausibly fit) would be a 90's Eclipse/Talon system. Those have been proven to take more HP and torque. But, of course, that is going to be a challenge to implement. But, hey, I'm sure all on this board would be game for guinea pig. We are always welcome an interesting build thread....:)

must_go_faster

Thanks for the idea. That system has been rolling around my head as well as the SH AWD system. Been trying to do my hw on all of them. Maybe implement a little of everything to see how it goes.