what's the benefit of the allwheel drive conversion?

[country705]

well title says it i was wondering what the benefit is to converting to all wheel drive. i have seen in alot of the other members signatures of an all wheel drive conversion or conversion pending. does it help or hurt off road performance.

[GasGuzzler]

Look at other topics. All depends on what you want and need. Weighs less than 4WD in many cases and is more adaptable to DD's without thought to switching back and forth. Weighs a lot more than 2WD and doesn't have an advantage at the strip to an optimized 2WD straight line system.

[cjriojas]

If you are looking to go muddin and rock crawling, dont get all wheel drive. All wheel drive was meant for better street traction. Most of the trucks here are racing trucks so they need that extra traction. All wheel drive is also on all the time while 4x4 mode can be switched off.

[zeake]

If you are looking to go muddin and rock crawling, dont get all wheel drive. All wheel drive was meant for better street traction. Most of the trucks here are racing trucks so they need that extra traction. All wheel drive is also on all the time while 4x4 mode can be switched off.

Well said.

[Botlfed]

with some decent power an AWD truck is domination on the street.

[567234ta]

If you are looking to go muddin and rock crawling, dont get all wheel drive. All wheel drive was meant for better street traction. Most of the trucks here are racing trucks so they need that extra traction. All wheel drive is also on all the time while 4x4 mode can be switched off.

I thought awd the front only engaged if the rear was slipping? That's how my AWD astro van is anyways.

[GasGuzzler]

^^ Yeah the Astro has the vicsous 65/35 T/C similar to the Sy/Ty.

[RnuovZ71]

If you plan on running you truck off raod at all do not run AWD!

[Humminnboatin]

If you plan on running you truck off raod at all do not run AWD!

I know I am a new guy and I dont meen to rub anyone in the wrong way in my first couple of posts. But..... I would have to completly dissagree with this if you use the H2 Trasfer case. The H2 uses a transfer case built by Borg-Warner. The 44-84 allows a 40/60 torque split to the front and rear axles. The 44-84 is a full-time 4WD transfer case with a planetary center differential. This case allows five different settings:
- 4HI Open (dry road surfaces
- 4HI Locked (semi-slippery surfaces)
- 4LO Locked (severe off-pavement use)
- 4LO Locked + Eaton electronic rear differential locker (climbing and steep grades)
- Neutral (flat towing), 4 Lo Lock.
Will the H2 crawl? Well, crawling is all relative. The H2's ratios add up like this: The 4L65-E 4-speed automatic transmission has a 1st gear of 3.06:1. The Borg-Warner 44-84 Transfer Case has a low range ratio of 2.64:1. The axle gearing is 4.10:1. Multiply these ratios together for a final crawl ratio of 33.12:1.

Ok so know that we know that if a AWD conversion is done with a H2 xfer case its just fine for offroad and onroad. In fact on the road it's a HUGE advantage in bad weather conditions. Think about it like this. Rally cars use AWD systems for a reason.

But there are some disadantages. The AWD causes a signifiant loss in gas mileage. If you are running a stock engine you are also looking at losses in acceleration. Also if you have a big HP set up and only running a 4l60e once you step up over 350 HP you are reaching the limits of the 4L60e. With the AWD drive train you have no oulet for the power to go when laid down (Tires will not spin, just hook up and go) So you will need to look into a 4L80e type upgrade.

One of the reasons I joined this forum was to learn about upgrading my pretty much stock drivetrain to a 500HP LQ4 with a trans that can handle it.

[zeake]

I know I am a new guy and I dont meen to rub anyone in the wrong way in my first couple of posts. But..... I would have to completly dissagree with this if you use the H2 Trasfer case. The H2 uses a transfer case built by Borg-Warner. The 44-84 allows a 40/60 torque split to the front and rear axles. The 44-84 is a full-time 4WD transfer case with a planetary center differential. This case allows five different settings:
- 4HI Open (dry road surfaces
- 4HI Locked (semi-slippery surfaces)
- 4LO Locked (severe off-pavement use)
- 4LO Locked + Eaton electronic rear differential locker (climbing and steep grades)
- Neutral (flat towing), 4 Lo Lock.
Will the H2 crawl? Well, crawling is all relative. The H2's ratios add up like this: The 4L65-E 4-speed automatic transmission has a 1st gear of 3.06:1. The Borg-Warner 44-84 Transfer Case has a low range ratio of 2.64:1. The axle gearing is 4.10:1. Multiply these ratios together for a final crawl ratio of 33.12:1.

Ok so know that we know that if a AWD conversion is done with a H2 xfer case its just fine for offroad and onroad. In fact on the road it's a HUGE advantage in bad weather conditions. Think about it like this. Rally cars use AWD systems for a reason.

But there are some disadantages. The AWD causes a signifiant loss in gas mileage. If you are running a stock engine you are also looking at losses in acceleration. Also if you have a big HP set up and only running a 4l60e once you step up over 350 HP you are reaching the limits of the 4L60e. With the AWD drive train you have no oulet for the power to go when laid down (Tires will not spin, just hook up and go) So you will need to look into a 4L80e type upgrade.

One of the reasons I joined this forum was to learn about upgrading my pretty much stock drivetrain to a 500HP LQ4 with a trans that can handle it.

That sounds like an interesting transfer case. However, the electronics that you would have to add or change would make this a very complicated swap vs a straight forward easy swap with the awd. Besides I swapped only for street traction. I do not offroad AT ALL. I don't wanna wash my truck.