What is the Difference Between Full-Time Four-Wheel Drive and Part-Time Four-Wheel Drive?

[GarrettRose]

Here are the differences between full-time four-wheel drive and part-time four-wheel drive: 1. Different driving schemes: Full-time four-wheel drive: Cannot be turned off and is always in four-wheel drive mode. Part-time four-wheel drive: Allows control over turning the four-wheel drive mode on and off. 2. Different activation operations: Full-time four-wheel drive: No operation required. Part-time four-wheel drive: Has a dedicated switch to toggle between two-wheel drive and four-wheel drive modes. 3. Different transformation methods: Full-time four-wheel drive: Uses three differentials to achieve the driving force of four-wheel drive. Part-time four-wheel drive: The driver manually selects the driving force based on road conditions. Additional information: 1. Full-time four-wheel drive means that the vehicle is always independently propelled by all four wheels at any time. In English, "All-Wheel-Drive" is abbreviated as "AWD" to distinguish it from 2WD (which includes FWD and RWD). Full-time four-wheel drive distributes driving force to all four tires through a flexibly connected central differential and independent front and rear axle differentials. 2. Part-time four-wheel drive (PART-TIME-4WD) is a type of four-wheel drive system in vehicles, allowing the driver to switch between two-wheel drive and four-wheel drive modes by engaging or disengaging the transfer case based on road conditions, thus enabling free conversion between the two. Part-time four-wheel drive typically uses either the front or rear wheels for four-wheel drive during normal driving but can switch to four-wheel drive on snowy or gravel roads, also known as selectable four-wheel drive.