Part time or full time 4x4?

[Paul-JK]

Originally Posted by G.man

So full time 4wd systems don't have a 4Hi (locked) as part time 4wds do?

If that is correct... then essenetially the part time seems a tad better offroad as you can run in 4Hi locked rather than open or lo... I would assume negligible but at least on paper it seems like that.

No.

Full time 4WD is basically 4Hi (unlocked) all of the time, and then you have the option to lock the centre diff to give you 4Hi (locked) when you need it (when you get off the tarmac).

Part time 4WD is either 2WD on road, or 4Hi (locked) off road. You do not have the ability to run 4Hi (unlocked) because you just have a transfer case, not a centre diff.

The same is also true once you switch to low range. Part time 4WD will always be 4Lo (locked). Full time 4WD can run 4Lo (locked) for the difficult stuff off road, or 4Lo (unlocked) if you ever needed 4Lo on tarmac.

The exception to this rule for the JK is if you fit the 2Lo adapter to the JK transfer case (I think you can only fit them to the Rubicon transfer cases, not the Sport). This allows you to run 2WD low range, so in this case you can use low range on tarmac.

Originally Posted by G.man

In terms of handling I am not concerned, I mostly owned muscle cars with drum brakes.

In that case you should feel right at home with the handling off the JK

[G.man]

Right. So 4wd Hi locked or Lo locked is what wranglers have or 2wd everything else. A full time 4wd has high lovked and low locked but also 4hi unlocked due to its full time 4wd rather than 2wd.

A locker is not something that is added to a pre-existing differential?

I thought its like open diff and locker or LSD and locker, locker being addition to the diff in the vehicle.

Since it is not that... that would mean if I had an LSD for argument sake and wanted to put a detroit locker or something in it... i would have to get rid of the LSD anyway? Well in that case no need LSD then.

I think I am up to my last question...

Drive to northern territory from Sydney. This will all be done in 2WD mode. Once i get to Alice Springs... there is a road called Marinie Loop Rd which goes from alice to Kings canyon (short cut) and it is a corrogated dirt road that runs almost 100km or so, turns etc like a normal rd, it isnt just straight.

Using 4Hi on long drives off road and having to steer car around bends etc is fine?

Im also think gibbs river rd, theres 900km of off-road... you can do all that in 4 Hi without drama? As long as its not "concrete/motorway/etc" using 4Hi is fine and safe even driving 100s of km and turning 1000s of times in the proccess with 4Hi locked?

[Paul-JK]

You can use 4Hi once off tarmac. You can change into 4Hi at anything under 80km/hr, but once it is in 4Hi you can go at any speed you want for any length of time you want. No risk of damaging anything.

I would always use 4Hi as soon as I was on dirt. I always felt it was a lot more stable, particularly at higher speeds and when cornering. Having it in 4Hi may also change the ESP sensitivity to more appropriate levels for dirt driving, but you'd need to confirm that as I can't remember if it is the case. Either way, it always drive better in 4Hi when on dirt. If you want to disable the ESP further you can always do so using the button on the dash.

If you come to a small concrete causeway you will be OK to cross it in 4Hi. Short sections will not do any harm, especially if you are driving in a straight line. You only start to get driveline wind up when you need to turn.

You will notice that the car its more difficult to turn at slow speeds in 4Hi (or 4Lo). This is because the front wheels are forced to rotate at the same speed as the back wheels but they need to rotate at different speeds to be able to turn. This forces them to slip. It won't do any harm when you're on dirt as they can slip easily but it has the effect of pushing the car forwards instead of letting it turn easily. You only notice this at slower speeds when turning tightly though. You wouldn't really feel it at higher speeds when you're generally not turning as tightly.

[Banshee]

Just to clarify, in case no one else did, you don't want 4WD with transfer case on sealed road. This is because the front & rear describe different radius curves when cornering, just as the inside & outside wheels do. (But not as much of a difference.) You can see this if you look at the tracks left on dry surface after going through a puddle. You see all 4 tyre tracks.


If you lock the center diff, (AWD), or engage 4WD, ( high or low range), when you corner you get what is referred to as drive 'wind up'. This means that the transmission components, in particular axles & drive shafts start twisting until one of three things happen:
1. you turn the other way & unwind it; (best option)
2. a tyre breaks traction & releases the stored energy; (not too bad, occasionally)
3. something breaks... (generally considered 'BAD'. Unless you wanted an excuse to spend the money to replace it! )

[Tog]

If your transfer has fulltime 4wd (NV242) you can use it anytime

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