Quote:
Originally Posted by gsrthomas
So which one is it? People are giving 2 different answers on this. Some have said each wheel gets 25% of power regardless if it has traction or not. Others said that if 3 wheels are off the ground then the wheel with traction get 100% of the power which is hard to believe. Because why would they have offered a TE for 2009 with ATRAC.
If each wheel gets 25% of the power than this is not enough power to pull the rig up hill with just on wheel.
|
Part of the confusion is because the word power gets used in two different ways.
Grab a pencil. The pencil shaft is the axle and the eraser is a wheel. If there were an eraser (wheel) on the other end they would have to rotate together like two wheels on a locked axle. Press the eraser end into a surface while keeping the pencil almost parallel but keep the other end up. Twist. The eraser end is the only point of resistance and gets 100 percent (virtually) of the twisting force (torque). The other end is rotating, ready to receive power when traction appears.
So, in every day speak, the raised end is receiving power. In a physics sense, it's not, because there is no resistance.
ATRAC adds resistance to make open diffs start to act like locked diffs but since it uses the brakes, it subtracts some overall engine power. With low ranges gears, though, it's probably nearly impossible to be in a situation without enough overall vehicle power.
