No problem, my thanks go to you. It is intelligent and rational people like you that make these forums so helpful.

Tyler

 

LOL tyler711. You are way too nice. Seems like too often I don't quite say what I intend to say! Glad I didn't say something about an F16 in my post. I would have been big time nailed for comparing an F16 to a quad. LOL
Have a great day[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]
BryceGTX

 

None taken, I dont mind the questions.
Yep, the kodiak is a 2004 and it has locking front diff. And actually it probably would hop and slide in corners if i had it locked, while trail riding. But thats not how i use it. The regular 4wd( non-locked) is 4wd, as long as the tires have equal traction. The 3wd part, that people referr to, is the ability of the differential in front to vary the torque, side to side, for ease of steering, and less damage to the envirionment. I rarely need to use the locking feature, because it works so well in normal 4wd. About the only time the normal 4wd doesnt work well, is climbing over logs, where one front tire goes in the air, then I use the locking feature.
You are correct that the binding and jumping only happen on locker front ends on high traction surfaces, like the polaris has. But the polaris wont jump and hop, because even though the awd switch is on...only the back two tires are getting power(2wd), going around a corner, in high traction situations. The hubs are disengaged, and the two front tires are freewheeling. So even though the front is a spool, the tires can rotate at different rates, due to the hubs diengageing and going into 2wd.

 

We need one clarification here. When in AWD, the front wheels on the Polaris (at least the older ones with hubs rather than one center Hilliard in front) are absolutely NOT locked together. The Hilliard is called an OVERRUN clutch. There is one in each hub. Two seperate clutches capable of engaging and disengaging individually. This means any time the front wheel speed exceeds the driveline speed (like the outside front wheel when turning) that wheel is no longer engaged with the axle. It is "overrunning". Now if you're on something slippery, all the wheels are probably spinning enough to keep the driveline speed up to what the outside front is turning or even more (all wheels spinning). But with good traction, the outside front wheel can disengage before the inside as it is turning faster than the driveline. This is why the Polaris has such easy steering in all conditions.

 

Hello hondabuster.
The binding occurs even if the locker is not engaged. The reason is that both front tires have to travel a further distance than the rear tires. This means both front tires want to run at a higher speed than the corresponding rear tires. Therefore, either both tires slip or torque is transfered from one front tire to the other and that tire slips even faster. So driveline windup occurs with or without a locker. The only way to solve this problem is to put a differential in the transfer case (like a Grand Cherokee) or use a 4WD system like a Polaris. Please don't again suggest that I am comparing a Grand Cherokee to the Polaris.

Yes 95sport400. I couldn't have said it better!!

BryceGTX

 

Hey 95sport400. Also the new quads with the hillards in the differential work the same way. There is still two clutches, they were just moved into the differential. The interesting point about this design is that it leaves open the possibility that the differential could be replaced with a more traditional differential for those so inclined.
BryceGTX

 

Thanks for the update Bryce. I wasn't sure if the new ones only had a single clutch in there, but I assumed there were still two.

 

Same thing explains why you can't put a Jeep Wrangler in 4wd on pavement, even if there are no lockers. The front is locked to the rear (part time 4WD). In the cherokee, the front and rear are not locked (full-time 4WD) so you can drive on high-traction surfaces with no drivetrain binding.

BryceGTX, I know that's what you said, but slow people like me prefer it in small words [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

Goodnight all
Tyler

 

Excellent point tyler711. LOL I didn't want to suggest that the 4wd on a Wrangler was like the competition, after the beating I took on the Grand Cherokee thing. Ha..Ha..
Have a great day [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]
BryceGTX

 

This is the piece of information I was missing. I wasnt aware the hubs could be overriden. I figured it was locked, side to side, and one couldnt go slower than the other,... but it can go faster. Thanks for straightening me out.
I think I owe you guys an apology, Brycegtx and tyle711, I was wrong and you were correct. Thanks for the friendly disagreement, you guys know your stuff.