re: Quattro vs Volvo V70 AWD

[Eliot Lim <eliot@u.washington.edu>]

linus toy <linust@mindspring.com> wrote:

>in theory.  in the upper realms of turbo power, the torsen shows some
>very odd behaviour.  try a tight 180 degree turn where you can break
>loose tire traction under engine power.  there's a bit of pitching back
>and forth as the torsen sends torque first to the front axle, then
> back to the rear, then front.  not particularly smooth.

this could be due to an inside front/rear wheel spinning, which leads
to a big change in the torque split.  i'd be curious to know if the A4
(with 4 wheel traction control) will do this.  

speaking of torsens, i have a miata with a rear torsen which i enjoy
breaking loose often.. :)  there is definitely no "unsmooth" effects in
its operation.  i.e. when i pop the clutch on damp pavement, i simply spin
both rear wheels.  pretty smooth here.  if i'm powering out of the turn i
can feel the worm gears at work transferring the power to the outside
wheel.  yes, there is some discrete gear grinding steps that can be felt,
but the acceleration is nice and smooth.

my 2 cents.


eliot