Re: locking diffs? was: Boating with an S4

[ti@amb.org (Ti Kan)]

Damon Cassell writes:
> hey, this brings up a question for me.  please excuse my ignorance -- i
> don't own an audi quattro, but i'm thinking of getting one.  can you lock
> the diff on an A4 quattro to power only the front or rear wheels when you
> desire?  this might seem like a silly question, but i'm unsure.

No.  The A4's quattro system is all wheel drive, all the time.
It is the 4th generation Audi quattro system and there are no user
controls for this system.   The car has a Torsen (torque-sensing)
differential that will automatically vary the engine torque split
between the front and the rear axles based on which axle has more traction.
There are open differentials in the front and rear, with "EDL" (electronic
differential lock).  This uses the ABS system to automatically brake
a spinning, non-tractive wheel so that torque is transferred to the
opposite, tractive side.  This is all dynamic, adaptive and quick
responding; the car does it all without the need for the driver to flip
a switch or somesuch.

-Ti
96 A4 2.8 quattro
84 5000S 2.1 turbo
80 4000 2.0
-- 
    ///  Ti Kan                Vorsprung durch Technik
   ///   AMB Research Laboratories, Sunnyvale, CA. USA
  ///    ti@amb.org
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