Dad, how do I?
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Transcript provided by YouTube. Slightly edited with AI.
Intro
Hey kids, this video is sponsored by Firestone. Today I’m going to help you understand the different drivetrains, meaning rear-wheel drive, front-wheel drive, four-wheel drive, and all-wheel drive. I’ll help you feel more confident and informed while driving in winter conditions. But first, I have a dad joke for you. What does the Snowman take when he’s worried about melting? A chill pill. Anyway, let’s get started.
Rear Wheel Drive
So I made a short clip about rear-wheel drive, each drivetrain, and how basically each one works. So first, let’s start with rear-wheel drive. With rear-wheel drive, the rear wheels turn, which essentially pushes the vehicle. Since the weight of the engine is over the front wheels, this isn’t ideal for driving in wintry conditions, which is why some people will put weight over the back wheels when driving in the snow. Rear-wheel drive was the most common type of drivetrain until the end of the 20th century. You know, they were once standard for most vehicles. That was pretty much it out there at the time, and nowadays, you basically find them in pickup trucks, sport vehicles, and performance cars. Since the front wheels aren’t powered, this type of drivetrain can offer excellent steering and cornering in dry conditions. So it’s great for that. However, when things get rainy or slippery, rear-wheel drive vehicles can lose traction. And in winter conditions, rear-wheel drive cars can dig a hole for themselves and just keep spinning and get stuck spinning in the snow. Since there isn’t much weight over the wheels, they may have difficulty gaining traction in the snow. So some people will add weight to those rear wheels to try to get some traction. But really, it’s not ideal for driving in the snow.
Front Wheel Drive
Now I’m going to show you how front-wheel drive works. With front-wheel drive, the front wheels turn, which essentially pulls the vehicle. Since the weight of the engine is over those front wheels, it handles pretty well in the snow. Okay, let’s talk about front-wheel drive. Both of my vehicles are front-wheel drive. We don’t have extreme conditions where I live, so they’ve been adequate for our needs to get us around town. So compared to rear-wheel drive, front-wheel drive systems can offer better traction on snow or ice. Like we saw, rear-wheel drive vehicles push themselves down the road, whereas front-wheel drive cars pull themselves down the road. Front-wheel drive cars, with their engines in the front over the wheels that are turning, will give you better traction than rear-wheel drive. However, front-wheel drive vehicles may struggle in extreme winter conditions where power to all four wheels is essential.
Four Wheel Drive
Four-wheel drive. With four-wheel drive, the back wheels turn during normal driving conditions. Then, if you run into snowy conditions, you can switch it into four-wheel drive and all the wheels turn. Okay, now let’s talk about four-wheel drive. Like I showed, four-wheel drive vehicles are rear-wheel drive until you switch them into four-wheel drive. That then splits the power when more traction is needed. This can be really useful when towing heavy loads off-road, plowing through deep snow, or traversing off-road conditions. Because power is split evenly, all of the wheels will turn at the same speed. Four-wheel drive vehicles generally have three settings: 2H, 4L, and 4H. For driving in the snow at slow speeds, you would use 4L, and for higher speeds in the snow, you would use 4H. Four-wheel drive vehicles are good in the snow because they can deliver power to all four wheels. It can help provide that oomph that you need to escape snow drifts or climb icy inclines.
All Wheel Drive
All-wheel drive. With all-wheel drive, all the wheels turn independently to give you the best traction, which makes it ideal for regular drivers. Finally, let’s talk about all-wheel drive. They’ve become really popular because they strike a balance between front-wheel drive and rear-wheel drive, making it a great choice for diverse driving conditions. Whereas rear-wheel drive does well in dry conditions and front-wheel drive does decently in wet, snowy conditions, all-wheel drive can handle both without sacrificing performance in either one of those areas. All-wheel drive is a relatively recent invention. To keep it simple, power is delivered to the wheels that have the most traction at any given moment. There are actually computers that are used to measure each wheel’s grip speed and other data to determine if power should be sent to the front or back wheels and even which individual wheel. Pretty amazing. All-wheel drive is typically always on and is perfect for regular drivers who drive in ice or rain or who live in an area that experiences many months of winter weather conditions. All-wheel drive, in my opinion, is potentially the best option for snowy driving conditions because all-wheel drive systems can both push and pull your vehicle. Cornering abilities, traction, and general handling normally increase. This applies to any condition: dry, wet, and even snowy or icy. When a deep pocket of snow or a slick patch of ice causes a tire to lose traction, all-wheel drive will optimize power for the other tires to get over it. So no matter which drivetrain you have, if you’re going to be driving in winter conditions for any kind of extended period of time, it’s important to get tires designed specifically for snowy or winter conditions. They’ll give you better traction, shorter stopping distances, and better handling in cold temperatures. The main thing that I learned from my experience driving in the snow in Montana last month was that it has a lot more to do with your tires than I previously believed. We drove a Porsche 911, which is rear-wheel drive with stock tires, and we could barely even get it to move. The wheels just kept spinning. Then we drove the exact same car with snow tires, and we were able to move freely throughout a slalom course on the snow. It was all because of the tires. So choosing the right tires for your vehicle and weather conditions is essential for your ride, regardless of your drivetrain type. Visit your local Firestone Complete Auto Care, and they can help you make the right decision for your area, car, and budget.
Conclusion
All right, so I hope that was helpful for you just to understand all the different drivetrains. Sounds complicated, but it really isn’t once you kind of break it down. I think it’ll help you when you’re buying a vehicle or if you have a vehicle, understanding which wheels are spinning and why. Also, in the description of this video, I’m going to include some winter driving tips too, as well as just to have some things in your vehicle and that sort of thing and things to look for when you’re driving just to try to help you be safe. And tires are super important, so just wanted to make sure you understood that. It’s the drivetrain is important, but if you have bald tires, that’s not going to help you. So you want to make sure you have good tires for regular driving conditions and you also want to have good tires, snow tires, if you’re going to be driving for any extended period of time. So, all right, so thanks for watching, and God bless you.
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This post was previously published on YouTube.
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