<< So, the Honda &quot;3X4&quot; is superior to any unlocked or even a locked &quot;4X4&quot;. >>



Very interesting. Personally I'd rather have more rubber getting power.
Someone with a 650 or 660 should line up the rancher on a hill or mud or something to find out.

 

your explanation of honda's new differential made me think a little. your theory is kinda convincing but how many times are you gonna have one front wheel with tons of traction and the other wheel with none? hardly ever!! so if you have both tires spinning chances are both of those tires will give you at least some traction at all times. you arent gonna have any more power with just one tire (with traction) spinning than a quad with both front tires spinning! i have been through this many times out riding. i put a dirty howies www.dirtyhowies.com diff lock in my honda and it ia twice the quad it was before!!i keep up with kawi 650's with oversize mudtires on any terrain! if people are complaining about 3 wheel drives...with less than 70$ you can get a locker! the best quad improvement i have ever bought!!

 

I guess that answers the question. When you put on a locker, can you switch it off for regular riding?

 

<< Think about it, isn't a differential like the Hondas BETTER THAN A LOCKED DIFFERENTIAL?? With a locked dif., only 50% of the torque can ever go to either front wheel (whether it has traction or not). With a proper limited slip, (theoretically) you could be sending 100% of your power to the wheel with traction, and 0% to the wheel that is slipping. >>







<< ). So, the Honda &quot;3X4&quot; is superior to any unlocked or even a locked &quot;4X4&quot;. >>



Now if I didn't know any better, after reading these two replys, I would have to assume that my Polaris TrailBoss with a solid axle/swingarm that is chain driven must be superior to all of the 3X4/4X4's on the market. Think about it. if you have 3 wheels pulling you only have 33.3% torque going to each wheel. With mine I have 50% torque goin to each wheel! Hey it makes as much sense as the above![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

3x4??? Puleeze! The torque biased front end works fine if not great. It's twice the design and function of a standard limited slip and it almost always spins all four wheels. Today at finger lakes I got hung up in a mudhole(bottomed out my clearance), but not stuck, and at no point was I able to stall either front tire, they were all spinning all the time from first through third gears, making a great milkshake, eventually I was able to climb out without further problems. I can demonstrate a 4x4 hole made real easy if anyone cares... It is probable that when the design torque is exceeded from oversize tires such as 27-28&quot; tires there may more of an issue with lack of torque, but with stock size meat it(the rubi/rancher diff) spins em.

 

I was riding my friends '93 Kawi Bayou 400 4x4(w/ limited-slip) up steep short banks on the sides of a dry creek, no water or mud at all so good traction.

I went up it and got stuck half way and only 3 were spinning......so I tried again, and the same 3 were turning......so I went backwards up the bank and the same 3 were spinning again.....I GUESS one of front tires has the better traction, i guess its the one on the ring &amp; pinion side.

Can limited-slip diff clutch plates wear out??...because his doesnt even attempt or start to pull the other tire when you just begin to spin...even in mud.

 

Unless
very serious mudding is your bag of marbles,dont worry a whole lot about a so called 3wd ATV.I have a Polaris Xplorer 4x4,and while it is totally superiour to any other 3wd ATV in the serious,rutted up mud pits,my other buddies can go allmost every where I go with their 3wd units.I have been some very bad places that had STUCK them,but for the most part,a 3wd will conquer most terrain.

Bill

 

Thats true Bill...if you want to go everywhere your polaris buddies go, just get bigger tires and a lift-kit and you'll be fine.

 

I just got finished riding my friends 500 Quad runner with 3 wheel drive. One thing I noticed with this &quot;allways on&quot; 3 wheel drive system was a lot of tourque-steer. When I got on the gas with it, one front tire would pull and try to change your direction.

With my Polaris, I run in 2wd mode most of the time and only hit the &quot;magic button&quot; when things get bad. When the 4wd kicks in it can be a bear to steer, especially if a four tires are spinning. I've only done a couple of laps around the parking lot with Hondas so my question is, &quot;Does Honda have this same tourque steer effect?&quot;

 

the bottom line...you cant get better traction that true 4 wheel drive!! it might be harder to steer but as far as traction locked front and rear in the way to go. yeah hondas new front diff is better that the old ones but not as good as posi!! why do mud trucks put lockers in their diffs? same goes for pulling trucks!! also why are their diff locks on farm tractors?? as far as torque goes.. there possibly could be more torque going to an open diff but you lose torque too when it is alternating power back and forth to the opposite wheel. as far as torque goes after i put my locker in i didt notice any less!! my quad actually feels stronger now.