What Does Wheel Drive in Cars?

lThe wheel receives torque from a powertrain which makes the car move on the road. The powered wheels are called as wheel drive. There are basically two wheel drive (2WD), four wheel drive (4WD) and all wheel drive (AWD) cars available at present. In this article, we discuss about them briefly.

Two wheel drive
Two wheel drive of the car will have the torque to move the car. In the two wheel drive there are of two types. They are:

• Front wheel drive: Front two wheels are connected with torque. They are easier to steer, smaller and better traction in mud and snow. The robust system is less stronger than the rear wheel.

• Rear wheel drive: Back two wheels are connected with torque. The robust system is stronger than the front wheel system. They are tend to be larger. Service to the individual components is easy. With the addition of the locking differential system drive wheel traction can improve. These can accelerate more quickly, offer a smoother drive and stop more easily.

Advantages of two wheel drive

• The maintenance costs are lower than the four wheel drive cars because of fewer powertrain parts.
• The power usage is lower so the fuel consumption is lower.
• Purchase cost is less than the four wheel drive.
• The curb weight is less and can carry more payload.

Four wheel drive and all wheel drive
Driver controlled part time four wheel drive is called as four wheel drive (4WD) within in the truck industry. If it is full time and automatically controlled system it is called as all wheel drive (AWD). It has the ability to control slippery or off road conditions.

Wheel drive determine steps

• Locate the engine in your car. Some cars have engine in front and some cars in rear. So check where is your car engine and locate it.
• Check the engine is mounted sideways or front to back. If the engine is mounted sideways or transverse with one side facing belts, it is most likely a front wheel car. If the engine is mounted front to back or longitudinally and belts facing to the front grille, it is likely a rear wheel car. So check how engine is mounted.

In all the wheel drives when the steering is used only front wheels turn. When stuck in snow or mud front wheel and four wheel drive can regain the traction by turning the steering slightly. The rear wheel will provide more traction.