2wd vs 4wd
Hi all...time to open another can of worms...we r going to purchase a 2015 2500 denali duramax crew...just don't see the need for 4wd...how abt some non male ego driven opinions on the subject. ..thx....
Forum Discussion
wnjj wrote:
Prior to the days of ABS, 4x4 did improve braking. With all 4 wheels interconnected up you could not lock one wheel up without locking up all. This means you could apply more pressure to the pedal and maximize the braking from the wheel(s) with the most traction.
Unless you are adding locking differentials to tie all 4 wheels together, this isn't true.
It works the same as when you try to accelerate on ice. Once a wheel loses traction, that caps the traction for the other wheel on the axle. One wheel will continue to roll and the other will be locked up.
You have two axles providing engine braking but that's not neccessarily a good thing.
- With a 2wd PU, if the drive wheels lose traction while engine braking, the front wheels still have steering control.
- With 4wd, if the front axle loses traction, you lose steering control at the same time. Then you are just along for the ride. I always hated that about front wheel drive cars. I can usually recover if the back end of my PU kicks out but with a front wheel drive car, there's not much you can do.
