Methods of transferring motion to the wheels with 2 wheel drive, front wheel drive and 4 wheel drive?

What methods do 2 wheel drive, 4 wheel drive and front wheel drive cars use to transfer motion to the wheels, what are the advantages and disadvantages of each.Methods of transferring motion to the wheels with 2 wheel drive, front wheel drive and 4 wheel drive?Taking automotive classes I see, and not wanting to read the book? Well, even though this question would fit better in homework help than here...



2 wheel drive refers to a vehicle where only 2 of the wheels are driven. This can refer to both front wheel drive, and rear wheel drive and only means 2 wheels are powered.



In the case of rear wheel drive (as in most pickup trucks) there is a drive shaft that comes from the transmission to the rear end which goes through a ring gear to drive the rear tires.



Front wheel drive uses a trans-axle system with two axles to drive the front tires.



4 wheel drive is just that, all four tires are driven. Sometimes by means of 2 drive shafts with a system to switch between 2 and 4 wheel drive, although some cars are always on, on demand type systems which typically put power to a wheel that is not slipping.



Advantages of all wheel drive, chances are you won't get stuck. For the differences between front and rear wheel drive, just go look here: http://www.all-about-car-selection.com/r鈥?/a>



Disadvantages: Cost and maintenance. The more you add, the more that go wrong and needs to be maintained.Methods of transferring motion to the wheels with 2 wheel drive, front wheel drive and 4 wheel drive?Rear wheel drive= drives rear wheels from transmissions via drive shaft and rear differential. The pluses are better handling in dry weather due to better weight dstribution and maximum towing capacity. The minuses are that you have less control in bad weather, power transfer is somewhat less due to loss of it while being transferred through the drivehshaft and differential before reaching the rear wheels, less interior space due to driveshaft.



Front wheel drive= Drive wheels are directly connected through transmission through axles. The pluses are better control in bad weather than rear wheel drive (since the drive wheels are the steering wheels), improved fuel economy, space efficient due to lack of drive shaft and rear differential. that makes it easier to add more interior and storage space. The minuses are less than stellar handling since the car the car is front heavy, traction suffers also since engine and transmission both rest on drive axles/wheels, not always easy to service since engine is mounted sideways.



Four wheel drive= All four wheels are driven via drive shafts front and rear differentials, and center differential. The pluses are superior traction in all weather, great weight balance, awesome handling (depending on system). The minuses are lower fuel economy, higher maintenance/repair costs, not always easy to service. Also, consider that there are different types of four wheel drive systems. There is the standard four wheel drive system- which can also have manual or automatic locking wheel hubs; Electronic 4 wheel drive that can be switched into four wheel drive at the push of a button; And All Wheel Drive which is a system that generally runs in front or rear wheel drive and automatically switches into four wheel drive when the system detects that there is traction lost in the drive wheels. There are also All Wheel Drive systems that stay in 4 wheel drive all of the time. The main difference between All Wheel Drive and the other 4 Wheel Drive systems is that All Wheel drive generally does not offer a low Four Wheel Drive range. It is suited more for bad weather pavement driving than off-road traction, yet it still can be used on light off-road terrain. I hope this helps.