AWD Part Time?

[Newsy]

Was chatting with an Audi salesman in Adelaide.
He kept trying to tell me that unlike the Subaru part time AWD, the Audi had
full time AWD, and was therefore safer.
w.t.f...?

I was looking at an Allroad 2.7 twin turbo - $90K!!!

Rod

 

[Edward Hayes]

The salesman is wrong Subaru IS AWD.

 

[PSennett]

Imagine that. A salesperson either lies or is just wrong about a competitor.

 

[Dan Duncan]

Imagine that. A salesperson either lies or is just wrong about a competitor.

This is sometimes true of their OWN product as well.

-DanD

 

[Charles]

Go to Eblen's.
I just bought a Demo MY03 WRX in Nov from them. Good service, GREAT car.
If you read the Advertiser thoroughly (why?) you may remember a nice bright
red WRX wagon with body kit reviewed in the "women in motoring" or whatever
they call it. Idiot reveiwer complaining how hard it was to enter the code
with her long nails: "I had to use a pencil to press the numbers on the
keypad"

Charlie

 

[345ARC]

Autotrans Imprezas are FWD only until you need it, when the centre clutch is applied by the Transmission Control Unit to give a variable amount of power to the rear wheels. Manual trans cars are full-time 4WD, with a viscous damped centre diff. Most of the time, you wouldn't notice the difference. (no pun intended)

Iain.

 

[ed]

Maybe the salesperson was only familiar with the older Subarus, (Loyale,
Justy etc), which were only part time FWD, but that's going back some, last
Loyale was 1994. AWD Subarus have been around since the late 80's (XT 6),
the Legacy came out in 1990.

Ed B.

 

[Archie]

Was chatting with an Audi salesman in Adelaide.
He kept trying to tell me that unlike the Subaru part time AWD, the Audi had
full time AWD, and was therefore safer.
w.t.f...?

I was looking at an Allroad 2.7 twin turbo - $90K!!!

Rod

Any brand new Subaru is all wheel drive all the time. The Audi
salesman was incorrect. He probably also told you Audi makes a
reliable car. I can tell you from experience he was wrong about that
too.

 

[Aaron M]

The last time I checked Subaru automatics, when I test drove a Baja this
fall, the split was currently 55 front/45 rear until it needs to adjust the
power split. I believe the last year for the 90/10 split was US MY 2000. I
have a 2000 Impreza RS Automatic with the 90/10 split with the limited slip
rear differential.

Nothing wakes you up more during early winter than having all the power
suddenly go from the front to the rear and then only to one tire.

Autotrans Imprezas are FWD only until you need it, when the centre clutch

is applied by the Transmission Control Unit to give a variable amount of
power to the rear wheels. Manual trans cars are full-time 4WD, with a
viscous damped centre diff. Most of the time, you wouldn't notice the
difference. (no pun intended)

 

[WRXtreme]

Autotrans Imprezas are FWD only until you need it, when the centre clutch

is applied by the Transmission Control Unit to give a variable amount of
power to the rear wheels. Manual trans cars are full-time 4WD, with a
viscous damped centre diff. Most of the time, you wouldn't notice the
difference. (no pun intended)

Iain.

I could be wrong, but I don't think this is the case at all with the auto
wrx. From a dead stop with normal acceleration on ice the rear tires both
spin and one of the fronts spins a bit as well (this is SLICK ice I'm
talking about here). If anything my car seems like it's RWD until you need
AWD. Maybe it's just the WRX, but I don't think it's fair to say they are
ALL FWD until you need the AWD. Also, if this truly were the case I
wouldn't be able to take it to track days and hit the drift course (not very
well, but I have managed 30 seconds of drift as a personal best....that sure
makes the SR20DET 240SX guys look at you weird like when you drift an
AWD...albeit ackwardly)

 

[Paul Pedersen]

All Impreza and Legacy automatics with multiplate transfer
clutches are FWD vehicles under normal conditions. Don't
believe anyone from Subaru that tells you otherwise (I've
had several try).

The ones with a center differential (WRX,H6) are full time
AWDs.

I really can't believe the confusion around this issue.

 

[Carl 1 Lucky Texan]

What is the duty solenoid 'C' doing in the 4EAT when it is in 1st gear?
or reverse?

Carl
1 Lucky Texan

 

[JDC]

Current edition Outback automatics are 90front/10rear unless there is
slippage.

 

[Stu Hedith]

All Impreza and Legacy automatics with multiplate transfer
clutches are FWD vehicles under normal conditions. Don't
believe anyone from Subaru that tells you otherwise (I've
had several try).

The ones with a center differential (WRX,H6) are full time
AWDs.

I really can't believe the confusion around this issue.

I think the confusion is your own. What is your definition of normal
conditions? Sunny, 70 degrees? Constant speed, 30mph, 50mph? It
doesn't matter. At no time is the car capable of putting 100% power to
the front wheels. At constant cruising speed on the highway it comes
closest to a FWD which would be most efficient, but even that changes in
a fraction of a second if you speed up or down.

Stu

 

[Edward Hayes]

Paul: you are miss-informed. See the comments in AWD by Edward Hayes (that's
me and my sources)

 

[Paul Pedersen]

JDC a écrit :

Current edition Outback automatics are 90front/10rear unless
there is slippage.

Yeah ? Says who ?