I have an 04 Rubicon, and a 01 Wolverine. My uncle has a 360 prairie 4x4. I know that the 360 Prairie has locked 4x4, and my rubicon and wolverine dont. The other day when I got stuck in the snow on my rubicon, I noticed that all 4 tires were spinning. Every 1 said that only 3 tires spin and it transfers the spinning tire, to the one that is slipping. On my wolverine the other day, I was stuck, I gave it gas and then noticed that 4 tires were spinning ONLY SOME TIME. Another time I got stuck I only had 3 tires spinning. Whats up with that. And in limited slip, do all four tires spin? [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/img]

 

Did you ever ride a riding lawnmower in wet grass? Then you go up hill and it starts spinning and it comes to a stop. So you notice only one rear wheel is spinning. You move your butt over the wheel that is spinning. Then you notice the other wheel is spinning. That's limited slip. The differental diverts power back and forth to the wheel with less traction. On some brand ATVs like Honda, the power goes to the wheel with more traction. Now if you could lock both wheels together to spin together at the same time, that's a locked differential.

Did you ever notice when going up a LONG, STEEP hill, with loose dirt and rocks that your Wolverine feels like it is going from side to side? That's the limited slip front differential kicking back and forth to each front wheel. I hope you understand a little better how it works.

 

I know how it works, but some people told me it transfers the power to only 1 of the front wheels. And when I was stuck with the rubicon all 4 wheels were spining, Same with the wolverine at one point.

 

If all four were spinning then they must have had equal traction. Usually with limited slip diffs the tire that is on the hard surface (traction) sits there while the other in the mud or in the air (no traction) is the one that spins. It all depends on the situation. On the newer quads it is my understanding that the front diffs are a little more "intelligent" and send the power to where it's needed (torque sensative diffs).

 

If only one wheel loses traction then the power will go to that wheel. If you go up a loose hill in reverse your quad will actually climb better than it does going forward. It's harder for the front wheels to lose traction in reverse because the weight is transfered over them giving them more traction and the rear wheels are locked together anyway.
If you raise the quad off the ground, start it, put it in gear, all four wheels will spin. But when you grab one of the front wheels then it will stop and only 3 will spin.......By the way, don't try this!
Its hard to explain, but I gave it my best shot.

 

It has alot to do with symantics....the polaris crowd is fond of saying the others are 3 wheel drive, and only polaris has true 4wd. The truth is, if the front tires have equal traction, its 4wd even on honda and yamaha. If one looses traction, on a conventional diff, the one with the least amount of traction will get the power. These are referred to as speed sensing diffs.
Your honda has a torque sensing diff, where the tire with the most amount of traction will get some torque, transfer...as long as there is some torque to the other wheel. In other words, if your hanging one front tire in the air (going over a log), it will have no traction, so no torque, and it will spin, and the one touching the ground wont, this is where the 3wd comes in. But theres a way around that ...just jam on the front brakes, itll fool the tire in the air, into thinking it has traction, and the torque will then go to the one touching the ground...and 4wd.
There arent many websites which explain this well, heres one on trucks, which use some of the very same designs as atvs, and the explainations still apply.
http://www.difflock.com/offroad/4x4explained.shtml
Diff lock is an internal mechanism, and works to equal the torque split...regardless of tire traction. Some are mechanically operated, like the kawi, some are electric,like the kodiak and grizz, and some are air operated, and some use dog clutches, like a detroit. It basicly locks the two wheels together, and if one is spinning the other has to as well.

 

Sometimes in 4wheels drive only the rear wheels are spinning, and 1 front wheel moves slow, other times all 4 spin, its tricky, but diff lock is the way to go. You know all 4 tires are spinnin just right,

 

Other than complete diff lock option, the Outlanders seem to have the best fr. diff. in the "visco-lock". It send power to the wheel that has the LEAST traction. You can purchase an after-market gearless locker that is really effective-although a little pricey.

 

If u really want to see how your atvs 4x4 works go the polaris website and then go to videos and watch the all wheel drive video and that will show u everything you need to know.

 

all those polaris videos are the stupidest thing... It was saying kawasaki prairie has a bad 4x4 system... I like the honda rubicon 4x4 system. I dont know wat it is but its not limited slip. When im in a small snow pile n i puch the gass i knotice the front wheels are spinning alot like it was locked... any 1 got any info on an 04 honda rubicon 4x4?