Re: [

[Joe Rae <audi-quattro@usa.net>]

YES We love our cars therefore they are far better then anything else made!
Joe


owner-quattro@coimbra.ans.net wrote:
> 
> One thing I have noticed on this list and in talkingto other Audi owners
> are references to Audi's all wheel drive system as simply "quattro."
> Yeah, that's what it is called, hmm, I know there's a name for this....ok,
> statements like...
> 
> "if you lock the rear differential, then it is not quattro, it is just
> four wheel drive. If you leave the rear open, it is quattro, transferring
> power where it needs it."
> 
> 
> As if quattro is something different than four wheel drive with the center
> diff locked - as far as I can tell, there's no difference, open axle
> differentials, 50% split at the center.  I don't doubt that Audi went
> about getting 4wd differently than most manufacturers, but it seems to me
> that the end result is 4wd(center locked).  Am I wrong?  I can't see a
> difference looking through the manual, am I missing something?  
> 
> I guess what it boils down to is this - many people specify "quattro" and
> imply that it is somehow better than 4wd(say, an older Subaru wagon or
> Mazda 323GTX) - somehow better than a locked center diff and open axles.  
> 
> "a speed which should only be attempted in a quattro." 
> 
> Why?  I saw that in reference to hydroplaning, no idea who said it.  I
> can't figure out for the life of me why it is that "quattro" might be
> better than a "normal" 4wd.  Not the whole car, mind you, but the 4wd
> system - is it correct to imply that "quattro," the awd/4wd system in,
> say, my 4000S, does something differently than a Mazda?  It (AFAIK, and
> not including the Torsen V8s) is no different, as far as I can see.
> 
> Bottom line - am I missing something big?
> 
> 
> I.Mannix
> 


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