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4X4 wheel drive
AWD is when all 4 tires are 4 wheel drive all the time 24/7, 4 wheel drive is where its in 2 wheel drive for normal driving and you have to put it in 4 wheel drive yourself.
An AWD vehicle may similar when compared to the exact same vehicle except its 2wd or 4x4 that the gas mileage on the AWD is worse since the engine as to drive all 4 wheel
Typically a 4WD vehicle is a part time system and only to be used in low traction situations such as snow, ice, sand, mud.
An AWD vehicle for the most part is in 4WD all the time due to some components in the system that allows the front and rear axles to spin at different speeds while turning.
A conventional 4WD part time system will be damaged if its used on dry pavement for long periods of time because the system mechanically locks both front and rear axles together which does not allow for different axle speeds when turning.
AWD is most certainly NOT four wheel drive. AWD is mainly two wheel drive. When the computer senses wheel slippage, it will instantly send power to the wheels that are not slipping. Once the computer senses that there is no more slippage, it reverts back to 2 wheel drive. This all happens very quickly without the driver noticing. The car constantly monitors each wheel and makes corrections to each wheel while driving.
4 wheel drive as mainly mechanical. A vehicle must have a transfer case to be 4wd. A T-case is mated to the rear of the transmission and the front and rear drivelines come out and go to the axles. A T-case has several options, 2 hi, 2 lo, 4 hi, and 4 lo. You usually shift the T-case with a lever, there are some that are push button. A T-case does NOT lock your axles together. The difference between hi and lo is the amount of torque you will get. In high, you can drive all day at any speed. In low, you are getting maximum torque but can only go about 20-25 MPH at the max.
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