valdemarsvik
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- May 30, 2014
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Now it is winter in Scandinavia with snow and icy roads. Is there any reason NOT to press the "4WD Lock" every time you start the car?
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"4WD Lock" all the time?
- Thread starter valdemarsvik
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Marksuk said:
Actually, I don't think it makes much difference at speeds below 60km/h - under those circumstances the car is always in 4WD and the "Lock" button just equalises the power distribution between the front and rear axles. Somewhere around 60-70km/h, it switches to parallel hybrid mode and, if you watch the power monitor, you will see that its preferred configuration is 2WD with the petrol engine directly coupled to the front axle. Pressing the 4WD lock button forces the electric motors on and you then cruise in genuine parallel hybrid mode with both axles powered.
When your speed gets up much above 100km/h, the engine does not have a lot of spare capacity to drive the generator and the battery will deplete quickly, so I guess that you'll lose the 4WD before long...
jaapv
Well-known member
Even if the car seems to be on 2 WD by the display, power is constantly delivered to the rear motor to enable the anti-jaw system to function, making it an effective permanent 4WD.
The 4WD button delivers equal power to all four wheels (up to 40 KPH IIRC) and is comparable to a diff lock.
If I were you I would simply try out what works best for you. I guess you would only find a significant difference in deep snow.
The 4WD button delivers equal power to all four wheels (up to 40 KPH IIRC) and is comparable to a diff lock.
If I were you I would simply try out what works best for you. I guess you would only find a significant difference in deep snow.
jaapv said:
I've seen the Mitsubishi documents that refer to it as permanent 4WD, but all the evidence from real life indicates otherwise. Even if you ignore the power flow display, just watch the motor power meter... I've just driven home about 30 miles starting out with an almost fully charged battery, displaying the power flow on the small panel in front of the steering wheel and the energy monitor screen on the MMCS. I was driving on cruise control on reasonably flat and straight roads at about 50mph. It ran on pure EV until the battery went flat, showing between 10 and 20 kW on the motor power meter most if the time. On a couple of short down-hills, the motor power dropped to a few kW - proving that the meter is able to display low levels of usage. I kept an eye on the battery level and, as it dropped to empty the ICE kicked in and the energy flow display showed direct drive to the front wheels and some charge to the battery, but no drive from the battery to the wheels. At the same time, the motor power meter dropped to zero and stayed there. Pushing the accelerator hard would trigger power to the motors on the flow display and also kick up the reading on the motor power meter, but cruising on the flat between 50 and 60mph always showed no power flow to the motors on the display and zero on the motor power meter.
It would be interesting to try the same at higher speeds and higher levels of battery charge - is it possible to get it running in parallel hybrid for any significant time with charge in the battery? If so, how much power is routed to the motors? My point is that all the evidence that I can see indicates that a PHEV cruising at moderate speeds with a depleted battery naturally operates as a FWD petrol vehicle, not a permanent 4WD hybrid. This would be a perfectly reasonable design decision - since the rear axle drive is electric, the control systems can engage 4WD in milliseconds - once the ICE is directly coupled to the front axle, 4WD does not bring much to the party except on poor road surfaces.
maddogsetc
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- May 22, 2014
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It's some time now since I bought mine but I'm pretty confident that the Mitsi videos that I watched before buying made it clear that the car is front wheel drive as standard when running in parallel hybrid mode.maby said:
jaapv
Well-known member
Just try swinging it a bit at higher speeds The anti-jaw will power up the rear motor immediately, It has obviously no need to deliver any significant power to the rear wheels in a straight line.
jaapv said:
Which is exactly what I was suggesting above - but a long way off "permanent 4WD" as is understood by most 4WD owners. It's not a bad thing, but it is only possible because of the electric transmission. If you look at conventional cars, then there was a distinction between the permanent 4WD models like the Landrover and Landcruiser which have centre differentials and the cheaper models that do not. Without the centre diff, you could not leave drive engaged to the rear axle since you would break the transmission on a good road surface.
The evidence is that the Outlander switches to 2WD petrol mode for cruising on a depleted battery, using the ABS sensors to detect poor adhesion and switch rapidly to 4WD mode.
Ozukus
Well-known member
jaapv said:
This is an excerpt describing the Mitsibushi "4WD Lock" mode.
For driving in particularly challenging conditions, such as snow, the driver can select "4WD Lock" mode. In Lock mode, the system still apportions front and rear torque automatically, but enables greater power transfer to the rear wheels. For example, when accelerating on an upgrade, the coupling will transfer more torque to the rear wheels immediately, helping to ensure that all four wheels get traction. In contrast, an automatic on-demand part-time system would allow front wheel slippage before transferring power, which could hamper acceleration.
In dry conditions, 4WD Lock mode places priority on performance. More torque is directed to the rear wheels than in 4WD Auto mode to provide greater power off the line, better control when accelerating on snowy or loose surfaces, and enhanced stability at high speeds. Rear wheel torque transfer is increased by 50 percent over the amounts in 4WD Auto mode - meaning up to 60 percent of available torque is sent to the rear wheels under full-throttle acceleration on dry pavement. When in 4WD Lock mode, torque at the rear wheels is reduced by a smaller degree through corners than with 4WD Auto mode.
jaapv
Well-known member
Yes, that is probably the only sensible way. Very few users would drive a car at motorway speed in conditions that require a full 4WD.maby said:
Although
:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PVRL3yh4iA
Anyway, this solution is beyond simple stability control found on many cars, that will only brake a misbehaving wheel. Anti-jaw will power up the opposite side as well, which seems to me to be as much permanent 4WD as is needed at speed.
In general it might be better to compare the PHEV to cars like the Diesel Outlander, BMW X3, Volvo XC60, etc. and not to cars that are primarily designed for off-road use. In this context it will be interesting to see how Mitsubitshi will set up the Pajero PHEV.
greendwarf
Well-known member
jaapv said:Very few users would drive a car at motorway speed in conditions that require a full 4WD.
Although
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PVRL3yh4iA
Has anyone tried this yet in the "blizzard" we had overnight :lol:
Paddlepower
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- Oct 12, 2014
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greendwarf said:jaapv said:Very few users would drive a car at motorway speed in conditions that require a full 4WD.
Although
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PVRL3yh4iA
Has anyone tried this yet in the "blizzard" we had overnight :lol:
I would have but I've just cleaned mine
