RT4WD-Would there be any benefit to
The_Head
familEE
...disengage the 4WD in the summertime, when the roads are good? I was wondering if this might give me slightly better fuel economy, and keep some miles off the drivetrain not being used.
Comments
I track every number on most of my cars. I have tracked every penny thus far with my new RT. I'll post these numbers in the future. I may have to spend a few tanks this summer with it disengaged.
and to Charb, I don't really keep track of the mileage closely anymore. I just do a quick cell phone calculation when I top off to see how it did. I used to keep detailed logs but now I just drive. It does pretty good for being a 20 year old car with almost 230k on it.
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/differential5.htm
Jaker's right, I don't think it'd make a noticeable difference.
I think what Jaker is saying, is the the driveshaft back through the axels is still going to continue to spin/drag. Because mechanically it's still all attached to the wheels/ground.
Jaker, is this what you're saying?
However, as you've alluded to above, the rear portion of the driveshaft is mechanically (through the diff gears - ring and pinion) attached to the wheels, so that part of the driveshaft will continue to turn as long as the back wheels are turning. In fact, due to the design of the viscous coupler, the rear part of the driveshaft will cause the front portion to turn right along with it.
The car rolls more freely in neutral when in 2WD mode. I don't have to give it gas to back out of my driveway. I can just roll it out like I do with my Integra.
Engine braking has a less pronounced effect. When in 4WD and you let off the gas, it's like releasing a parachute in these cars.
You can let the clutch out more quickly without getting that big slam.
I'm confident that any of you will agree with these observations. Once you've done it once, changing drive modes takes less than 10mins and doesn't require you to remove any parts. It just takes a long prybar and two extensions. Give it a shot.
MPG results look promising but I'm waiting until winter when I switch it back to 4WD before I give the verdict.
I was thinking about this thread the other day seeing as it's summer time and the price of gas is going through the roof it might be a good time to switch back to 2WD and see if I can gain a few mpg. What I started thinking about is could switching to 2WD mode actually cause excessive wear and tear on the VC since as Jaker mentions here it will actually be locking up and spinning the front drive shaft all the time. Under normal driving conditions with the 4wd engage the front and rear spin at generally the same speed and the VC only locks up when the wheels slip. If you disengage the front half the VC will always either be slipping or locked up so it seems that there is potential there for wear on the VC, whether or not it would ever cause any problems is probably debatable but I was wondering if anyone else had any thoughts on that. Particularly people who may have switched back and forth between 2wd and 4wd mode for a few years and if they noticed any loss in 4wd performance.
On a related pipe dream sort of note I wish there was a way we could adapt manual locking/unlocking hubs into the rear of the RT
like most 4WD have on the front. Then if you flipped the tranny switch and unlocked the hubs it would just be like carrying a bit of extra weight around when the RT was in 2WD. True 2WD economy with the RT...
Also, I had a friend break the stuck bolts when loosening it. So I just left it alone.
and what mileage did the car got ?
I'm really curious as to me it seems that this car is eating a lot of gas