what's the difference in all wheel drive and 4 wheel drive and is there a certain way to drive awd ?

Answer 1

awd is 4wd that you can't control it's operation.

awd is automatic where 4wd is usually an operator controlled.

generally, 4wd is on truck based suv's, trucks and older subaru's.

awd is like bad weather traction improvement where 4wd is for off-roading.

Answer 2

While the term "all wheel drive" often appears on cars that drive all four wheels all the time, and "four wheel drive" often appears on vehicles that switch off sending power to one set of wheels, this is not always the case. Manufacturers often use the terms interchangably, and there are several different ways you can set up a car to send power to all the wheels. Some of them can lock the front and rear wheel drive systems together so they turn at the same speed.

The only special thing to keep in mind when driving one in normal use is that if there is some switch or lever to engage four wheel drive, lock a center differential, or otherwise turn the system on, you shouldn't turn the system on while driving on pavement. The reason is that each wheel may need to turn at a slightly different speed when the tires have good traction. If you're on snow, gravel, or dirt, you can lock the wheels into turning at the same speed since they'll slip a little anyway.

Answer 3

awd and 4wd are basically the same thing. all four wheels are powered at the same time in different degrees.

there are no specific ways to driving awd or 4wd. you drive a car like you drive a car. it's really all in your head that there is much difference. the real difference is in traction control and acceleration. with all four wheels moving, you tend to have less slip on acceleration.

most awd cars are not a true 50/50 split, ie. front to rear wheel ratio, in driving. most are a higher percentage rwd and lower percentage fwd. for instance, volvo's are 95/5 split and can go to 50/50 split in their awd when needed. nissan murano's awd tends to be awd at the start of acceleration and splits to fwd, where as their pathfinder's 4wd mode starts in 4wd and switches to mostly rwd. realistically, the pathfinder almost becomes a true 50/50 split in 4wd mode where the murano is about 60/40. different manufacturers do different things.