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<<Okay, so I screwed up that last thing i wrote. I don't profess to
be a master of 4wd vehicles, jsut what I thought was right.>>
No problem Brian... That's the great thing about the DML, you learn
something new every day... even things you didn't want to know:-)
<<I wil disagree on the Mercedes part. I would rather have anything
but the ABS system to be used as traction control. Do you really want
to be on the brakes while going through mud, or any other off road
terrain?>>
I should have been more clear... The reason most 4x4 come with open
differentials is because they are cheaper, easier to
manufacture/assemble, better mannered on the highway, more durable and
will get you through most off-road situations... The problem with open
diffs is power going to the wheels takes the path of least resistance.
So if you have one wheel up in the air or in some soft mud and the
other one on solid ground -- the wheel up in the air or in the mud
spins freely... The wheel that's on solid ground gets the same amount
of power that it takes to spin the tire up in the air and, therefore,
you be stuck!
To counter this problem you can do a couple of things... You can get
a LSD which uses clutches in the differential to distribute power more
evenly or you can get some sort of locking device that that
effectively binds the two wheels together so they get exactly the same
amount of power... Both have there pros and cons and my point about
the ABS system is that it is yet another technique that's been
developed... From what I understand, the brake is applied
(automatically) only to the wheel that is slipping which forces more
power to be applied which in turn will provide more power to the wheel
that's on solid ground and hopefully keep you going or get you moving
again.
What I like about the ABS technique is that most vehicles manufactured
today come with ABS and it should therefore be cost effective to
incorporate this system in production vehicles. Moreover, it seems
like an easier system to maintain. I mean when the clutches in your
limited slip wear out you got to rip the diff apart... With the ABS
system what would you have to do? -- maybe turn the rotors and replace
the pads? Anyway, I just thought it was a pretty trick solution to the
problem.
<<Momentum is the key here.>>
Not necessarily... Unless you got ALOT of spare parts and perhaps a
new body waiting at home you want to crawl through some areas I've
been... Out west where these crazy dudes climb rocks and boulders
with their rigs, I would think 1 MPH is too fast! In the mud or goo,
yeah, keep it moving or you'll sink! -- Just make sure you checked
for rocks and stumps first!! DOH!!!
<<I don't like the independant rear suspension, either. It seems like
they could have come up with a better idea...Such as the new Jeep
Cherokee has - Quadra Track II.>>
No doubt about it, Jeeps are great off-road vehicles but if the Quadra
Track II uses open diffs your still back to square one.
T.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Jun 20 2003 - 12:09:56 EDT