I keep on hearing that honda Atvs are 3x4 is this true? And if true what other brands of atvs are 3x4?

 

Pretty much anything with a limited slip front end is a 3X4. I have seen limited slip equiped quads turn both front wheels on ocassion. The torque sensing limited slip is better than the conventional ones. Pretty much the only true 4X4's are the 650 Prairie and 660 Grizzly(when their diff lock is engaged), the Suzuki's with the lockable front end (which I believe can only be engaged in Low range) and by design Polaris is a true 4X4 also, but I have seen a few stuck with only one front wheel spinning and for their front wheels to engage the rears have to be spining about 20% faster. I may have missed something here and I'm sure some body will be quick to correct me[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] but I think I covered most of it.

 

The manufacturers should state that the front is an open differential and not limited slip. A limited slip is supposed to transfer power to the wheel that has the most resistance. I can tell you this is not the case with a Yamaha Kodiak and most others I have seen. If one of the front tires is on the ground and one is in the air then the tire in the air will get the power.

The quads already mentioned are the only ones that I think are truly locked.

 

thats crazy!! than why do they have 2 turning bars in the front??

 

2000 Mojave got it pretty close on the Polaris design. The rear tires must turn 1/8 of a rotation more than the fronts to engage the front hubs. They stay locked after that. If you've ever had just one hub lock, you know they stay loacked because you can hardly steer the thing.

The Bombardier Traxter and the Polaris Magnum 500 Rocky Mountain King both use a viscous-locking front differential that works off hydraulic pressure differences to lock the front end. I also think some of the Arctic Cats have a mechanical locking front diff but can't remember for sure.

 

The setup on a quad isn't much different than a Jeep Wrangler. A Jeep Wrangler has an option for a limited slip in the rear which sometimes allows both rear tires to spin but most of the time it is one or the other. A quad is better because because the rear wheels are locked together. By the way, this doesn't work well on pavement when going around turns since something has to give. In the case of a quad, you better hope it is the tires slipping on the pavement; otherwise, it will be the rear axle twisting.

The front differential on a Jeep is totally an open differential meaning that one wheel or the other gets power but never both. With an open differential, the tire with the least resistance gets the power. It is called a 4X4 because all four tires have the ability to get driven power (but not necessarily at the same time). What everyone really wants is a selectable AWD (all wheel drive) ATV. You get the best of both worlds, easier steering and less wear on the tires plus the the capability to drive power to all four wheels simultaneously. That is what Kawi and Yamaha did along with some others maybe.

 

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. Why lock your dif. and never be able to send more than 50% of your power to either wheel??

 

YZGUY,

Good idea, but it doesn't work like that. 100% of the torque goes to the wheel that turns the easiest (no traction) untill it turns too much more than the other (the one with traction) and then it is sent to the other which, at best, would act like a locked differential and split the torque between both front wheels.

While having an open or limited slip differential is a good thing most of the time (turning ease, less wear on tires and tie rod ends, etc.) it can also have unexpected results. If climbing a loose hill, the shifting of power from one wheel to the other can alter your course and make you have to correct. If you don't correct fast enough, you can end up going in a direction you don't want to go.

 

kevin-Have you researched the new Honda dif.? It sends power to the wheel with traction, not the one that is slipping. I have tried this myself, by hanging one wheel off in the air. THIS THING IS FOR REAL! The steering doesn't fight you at all (except at very low speed on hardpack). So, the Honda "3X4" is superior to any unlocked or even a locked "4X4".

 

I haven't researched it. I'm just going by the anectdotal evidence from my experiences watching Rubicons spin there "free" tire in the air while the other front tire stayed on the ground. If this is not normal for Honda, then I defer to your research.