Directional Control of 4WD Passenger Cars - A Study by Computer Simulation

From the many four-wheel drive concepts which are possible, a few were chosen and compared with each other, with regard to the criteria of acceleration capability and directional stability under simultaneous traction. As well as the well-known concepts of permanent four-wheel drive (50 : 50), four- wheel drive with rigid axle connection (with and without rear axle differential lock), and a concept with central differential (33: 67) and visco-lock connected in parallel, this paper also deals with a new type of four- wheel concept, in which the drive to the rear axle is fed from the front axle via a visco-coupling as well as a free-wheel. mechanism.

The single axle drive forms, namely front-wheel drive and rear-wheel drive, serve as reference drive concepts. The comparison is based on computer- simulation for one chosen medium sized car with different drive-concepts.