What is the difference between 4wd and 2wd? Does it help to have either?

Answer 1

2 Wheel Drive means only two wheels are powered. The other two wheels are just along for the ride.

There are two types of 2WD...Front Wheel Drive, and Rear Wheel Drive.

In Front Wheel Drive, the front wheels pull the car along, AND do all the steering. The rear wheels just hold up the back end of the car. The advantage is that this layout is slightly lighter, and is cheaper to assemble. It also puts more weight at the front of the car, and its handling characteristics at the limits of traction are a little more forgiving for novice drivers. The disadvantage is that the front wheels have a lot more work to do, so those limits are oftentimes not quite as high.

In Rear Wheel Drive, the rear wheels push the car, the front wheels steer it. The advantages are that this layout makes the car easier to work on (everything is more accessible because it isn't all crammed under the hood...and the stuff that IS under the hood has more space so it is easier to reach), and the weight is more evenly distributed. Also the workload is divided between the front and rear tires, meaning the car tends to be more capable in terms of speed and handling. The problem is that it takes a lot more skill to control it near the limits, because when the rear wheels start to spin (as opposed to rolling along the ground with the rubber always rolling smoothly along and never rubbing faster than the car is moving) you are effectively steering with both the front and rear wheels at the same time. This allows a skilled driver in forgiving circumstances to do some cool stuff (like drifting, for instance, or power slides), but for most people it's a disadvantage.

4 Wheel Drive means all four wheels are powered.

There are two main types of 4WD. AWD, and old-fashioned 4WD.

Trucks tend to have rugged, mechanical differentials (gears which control how much torque goes to each side of the car, or between the front and back of the car), which can be set up to make sure all wheels always have power (locking differentials) and solid axles (where both wheels are connected together as a single rigid unit, as opposed to being able to bounce up and down independently of each other). These are very capable on rough, uneven surfaces, and can handle a lot of weight. These are not suited to driving on dry asphalt and so can be turned off. This is usually controlled by the driver. This is 4WD.

Cars tend to have systems which are either 4WD all the time, or shift back and forth automatically. The differentials are set up more for roads and loose surfaces, and less for rough, uneven terrain. This is All Wheel Drive, or Full Time 4WD.

It isn't really a clear-cut distinction, but that's basically it.

The advantage of 4WD is better traction in all conditions.

The disadvantage is that it is heavier (adding usually about 150-400 pounds over 2WD), more complex, more expensive, and uses more fuel.

Answer 2

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RE:
What is the difference between 4wd and 2wd? Does it help to have either?

Answer 3

4wd Vs 2wd

Answer 4

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It's not Four Wheel Drive when referring to a normal road car rather than an SUV. Four Wheel Drive in an SUV is switchable, by the user, between two wheel drive and four wheel drive high- and low-range. The Audi and Subarus as the examples are what's called all-wheel-drive, which essentially means either permanent four-wheel-drive, or the power is electronically controlled between all four wheels by something usually called a Variable Centre Differential rather than the user. And yes, it is possible to drift/powerslide in an all-wheel-drive car. It would actually be a lot easier to get the tail loose in an AWD than it would in the front-wheel-drive version of the Audi you're looking at. In terms of driving feel, depends on which wheels are doing the driving in the 2WD comparison. If we're using the Audi as an example, and I am assuming this is an A3 or an A4, the AWD car will feel a lot more stable at a high speed than the FWD version, and it won't understeer as much through the corners. You also get better wet-weather traction. However, it will hurt your wallet a bit more as adding an extra differential to the rear wheels adds weight which also numbs fuel consumption a bit. Many AWD systems are also costly to fix if they fail.

Answer 5

4wd has power going to all four wheels, 2wd (obviously) has power going to only two wheels. there are also two kinds of 2wd, fwd (front wheel drive) and rwd (rear wheel drive). for icy, snowy, or just plain slippery situations, rwd is the worst for keeping traction, fwd is slightly better, and 4wd is the best. if you run your vehicle in snow or sand a lot, 4wd is definitely the best, but if not, you are just wasting gas. 2wd vehicles have much better gas mileage than 4wd. hope that helped!

Answer 6

2WD means either the front or rear wheels have power applied to them. Most cars operate this way. 4WD means both the front and rear wheels have power. This can improve traction, especially in wet or slippery conditions. The downside of 4WD (and AWD, which is similar) is extra weight and extra mechanical drag on the engine, so performance often suffers as does fuel economy.

Answer 7

with 4wd all 4 wheels are pulling the vehicle forward instead of just 2. the only time I would reccomend 4wd is for a farmer, traction for snow or mud, or someone who likes to hunt so you don't get stuck in the woods. the maintenance costs are higher for 4wd

Answer 8

4 x 4 (4WD) - Describes a vehicle with four-wheel drive
(The first figure is the number of wheels. The second is the number of powered wheels. )
4 x 2 (2WD) - Refers to a two-wheel drive vehicle with four wheels. The first figure is the number of wheels. The second is the number of powered wheels. With a 4x2, engine power is transmitted to only two wheels, usually the rear.

Answer 9

4wd -engine power 4 wheels, 2wd engine powers 2 wheel. :D

Answer 10

Two wheels!
Everyone has 2WD, 4WD is an option, useful off road.