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Differences between 2WD & 4WD

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I wondered if those experienced with running 4WD and 2WD r/c vehicles could share if there are any major differences in handling/feel etc?  Is one more fun than the other?  Are there advantages to one over the other?

Cheers.

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I do think If driving on the snow 4WD is a must. But the other times of year i can go either way. I like to drift on the sand that the town plow puts down on my cul de sac after all the snow is gone. I feel like since the 2Wd are a little sloppier it’s more fun around loose corners. But when it comes to tight turning under power / at speed and Percision 4WD is better. But really I think everyone needs the whole spectrum: 2Wd/4wd / wheelie, etc. 

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4WD is usually easiest to drive on most surfaces.  FWD has issues accelerating from a standstill, but once it gets going it can be a fast machine.  I'm not sure if there are any FWD off roaders that were more capable than RWD.. RWD is fun to drive and with some skill drifting is also fun in those more so than 4WD on or off road..especially pan cars are fun on high traction.   RWD can get stuck in slick surfaces if you're thinking off road. 

 

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Thanks for the replies.  These are my two bashers, a 4WD Maverick Strada SC and 2WD Tamiya Nissan Titan.

I haven't been running them long so not aware of all the differences between 2WD and 4WD and whether I need both.  So far the Titan gets stuck easier and the SC can cope with more challenging terrain.

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As mentioned, 4WD is easiest to drive. But it will still require proper set up for the suspension, CG, tires, etc. RWD buggies are so much fun too. It can be wild but can also be tamed depending on the set up and driving techniques.

26 minutes ago, Willy iine said:

4WD is usually easiest to drive on most surfaces.  FWD has issues accelerating from a standstill, but once it gets going it can be a fast machine.  I'm not sure if there are any FWD off roaders that were more capable than RWD.. RWD is fun to drive and with some skill drifting is also fun in those more so than 4WD on or off road..especially pan cars are fun on high traction.   RWD can get stuck in slick surfaces if you're thinking off road. 

 

 

FWD have great acceleration traction compared to a RWD. No fishtailing upon start up and with proper weight distribution and set up, it has a good grip and less wheel spin. I have 3 FWD kits and one of them is converted to a rally car with a good grip off road. For on-road, it's also good on the track but needs proper advanced braking techniques. Once you get the hang of the driving style, you'll enjoy it. 

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It's not really as simple as which wheels are driven, comparing the two. The way the chassis is set up and tuned, the type of tires it has, and the surfaces you're running on all are at least aas important, if not more so. Most "fun"-type 2WD cars are designed towards the safe side, with some understeer tuned in, to make them easier to drive. But you can easily tune a 2WD car to turn in sharper, and it's a simple matter of adding power to make the rear wheels break loose and oversteer. On the other hand, mechanically locking the front and rear wheels together through a 4WD system induces understeer anyway, so they're tuned a little more aggressively to counteract that. But by changing suspension settings and tires, you can make either one handle pretty much however you want.

It used to be that 2WD cars accelerated a lot quicker on hard surfaces, because they have half the number of spinning parts in the drivetrain, so they had less drag and less "flywheel" effect to overcome, but I'm not sure that it matters much anymore, with modern motors and more efficient designs. 4WD cars have (and always have had) the advantage on loose surfaces, just because they have twice the traction. It doesn't matter how much power you have, it only matters how much power you can control.

Which brings up another issue: differential type and setting. You've already discovered, it sounds like, that a "2WD" car with an open differential is actually only one-wheel-drive; if one rear wheel loses traction and starts spinning, the other sits there doing nothing. Both rear tires need traction in order to move the car forward. But if you have a "limited slip" differential (which you can easily turn your Titan's diff into), then both wheels always receive at least some power, and you'll get stuck a lot less often. And if you're running on really slippery surfaces, you can lock both rear wheels together for no differential action at all, but that tends to make the handling squirelly on anything but loose dirt, sand, or snow.

As to your question of whether you "need" both: if you're really curious about digging in to the science of tuning these things, and want to learn about the engineering that goes into them, then yes, you need as many different varieties of cars to mess around with and learn from as possible. If that is your aim, then you should be taking them apart, learning what makes them work, experimenting with different suspension settings and tires, and keeping a detailed log of what changes you make and how it affects the car. It's a deep dive, but one well worth taking if the subject really interests you. I have learned so much about how "real" cars handle from messing around with RC cars, and that knowledge has helped me out on more than one occasion.

On the other hand, if you just want to drive around an RC vehicle and have fun with it (and there's nothing wrong with that either), then you'll probably be happier with the 4WD truck, just because it's more capable in more places.

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I think both are great fun on the right terrain.

2WD Buggies are a lot of Fun

4wd Buggies are a bit boring for my taste, they easily get over everyting in my Driving area, they drive like the ground is a "traintrack" and the car rolls savely on the Rails of the Track.

On verry loose Ground a 4 WD Car is great fun. I love dusty/sandy roads and bash around with a 4wd rally car.

I love 4WD Monstertrucks for the "realistic" feel, but a Monster Beetle is great fun.

 

 

Overall, i think 2WDs are overall i bit more fun on slower speeds because they are nos as predictible.

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Cheers all for the input and markbt73 for such an in-depth reply. 

I think I will just carry on  running them and learning about their similarities/differences and keep both.

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I find swapping from 2wd to 4wd, at a track really hard work, as they're different animals. Braking points, turn in, power etc are all different.

4wd, as above, are generally easier. The brakes are so much better ,you can get on the power much earlier out of corners, and you can not only control the nose in the air, but also steer it. The downside being, they're more expensive, more things to set up, and more to go wrong.

2wd are a better car to have fun imo. You need to brake earlier (plus ,you're essentially handbrake turning into each corner), you can't get on the power as hard or early, but with less moving parts to worry about ,easier to look after. 

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Cheers Wooders28, had lots of fun with the Titan but wasn't sure if it was due to the 2WD but may have been.  A few more bashing sessions will help me to know each better.  From the replies, I will definitely keep both as they will have their enjoyable factors.

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