Turns out AWD *only* helps you with straight line traction when you're taking off. Doesn't aid with cornering or stopping.

 

Well, technically it does help with cornering, but only when the roads are in good condition.

 

FWIW was Battalion NCOIC for military drivers license testing. Agree with CR from a practical everyday point of view.

Think the big misconceptions the general public has about exactly what AWD will do & not do is what leads to all the 4X4 you see ditched or otherwise in dumb situations in snow.

General automotive AWD advertising does not help this issue in anyway. People don't realize its just as easy even put a full tracked vehicle in a ditch as a 2WD car in snow.

 

Of course - I was speaking in the context of driving in poor weather conditions which is why many regular people consider getting an AWD vehicle.

 

Yeah, that Tesla that I pay for with my tax dollars for you to feel better in the snow...with it's range cut more then 57% in cold weather!! And also one of the most UNRELIABLE cars in the planet!! Solyndras with wheels!!LOL

 

An all too common fallacy!! From Motortrend....

Acura SH-AWD Test - Consumer Feature - Motor Trend All Pages


SH-AWD greatly enhances stability on snow and ice, thanks to real-time interaction with Acura's Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA) system. During accelerating and cornering, SH-AWD first maximizes available traction by preemptively moving torque to the wheels with the maximum load. However, if the available traction limits are exceeded, the SH-AWD system can directly modify the drive torque distribution to stabilize acceleration and reduce the potential for vehicle oversteer.

With VSA, continually monitored is the vehicle's operating parameters, such as road speed, throttle position, steering wheel position, accelerating, braking, and cornering loads. While driving, VSA anticipates the vehicle approaching over- or understeer. To help correct either of these situations, VSA first acts to transfer torque bias to the axle with the most traction. This preventative measure significantly reduces the number of brake and throttle interventions. The response is so quick the instability may be corrected even before the driver knows it's occurring. Electronic traction control is integrated into the VSA system and helps SH-AWD-equipped Acuras accelerate smoothly on slippery surfaces. The VSA also can request the SH-AWD system to adjust its torque level, thus allowing the system's Direct Yaw Control to maximize stability under most driving conditions.

By overdriving the rear wheels 1.7 percent faster than the speed of the front axle, SH-AWD can provide an inward yaw moment while accelerating into and through cornering. This reduces unwanted understeer or "push" when the vehicle is aggressively driven in corners. Since Direct Yaw Control acts preemptively, VSA brake and throttle interventions are less intrusive than in many competitive all-wheel-drive systems. In changing road conditions, SH-AWD reacts to adjust drive torque more quickly than the VSA can apply stabilizing brake torque.

Located on either side of a hypoid gear that drives the rear axle, two identical Direct Electromagnetic Clutch systems control the amount of drive torque that reaches each rear wheel. These clutch systems can be controlled as a pair to alter the front/rear torque split-or be controlled independently to allow up to 100 percent of the total rear axle torque to go to one side of the vehicle. The fast-acting clutches coupled with smart control logic means traction is maximized in all conditions, without the need for driver intervention.

An electric coil controls the pressure in each clutch device. The amount of available rear axle torque transmitted to each rear wheel can vary continuously, between zero and 100 percent, depending on the conditions. Since the clutches are electromagnetically operated, the amount of drive torque delivered to each rear wheel can be controlled quickly and precisely, reducing wheelslip in low-traction conditions.

During acceleration and cornering on slippery surfaces, a conventional 4WD vehicle distributes torque evenly between the two rear wheels. This may lead to loss of traction of the inside rear wheel as load is transferred to the outside wheel due to load transfer during cornering. However, with SH-AWD, the side-to-side rear torque distribution varies according to the lateral g (and associated load transfer of the rear tires). For situations with low-traction roads, the side-to-side torque distribution is naturally aligned with the tire vertical loads. This enhances traction and allows maximum utilization of the available road surface grip during acceleration and cornering.

Enough techno talk, how'd the SH-AWD do? Quite well. Actually, every all-wheel-drive system tested did a good job on the traction-limited surfaces during slow and steady driving. However, when traction was pushed (such as in hard acceleration or during spirited cornering), the SH-AWD system was more predictable and recovered more quickly than the competitive AWD systems. With that said, the course was so slippery and treacherous that any major mishap would've been game over in any of the vehicles. When pushed, the SH-AWD did cover each of the traction-limited courses (a 2.1-kilometer icy road course, a 2.5-kilometer snow-packed road course, and a snow/ice 200-foot-diameter skidpad) in the shortest time with the fewest sweaty palms. Moreover, the SH-AWD system did its work with less intrusiveness, whereas many of the other systems delivered odd noises, suspension shuttering, and some kickback in the wheel. Again, all the competitive systems worked well, but proved more active whereas the SH-AWD was more seamless.

 

Cut to the chase.....as mentioned above in normal non stupid game over daily driving no one will be pushing a car on the street like they did in the test.

Once the cars are in a safe envelope for the street its 6 of one half a dozen of the other.

On the street its wash but it might be nice to know if you expect to go ice racing that a TLX might be a nice choice.

BTW Honda/Acura is canning the AWD system for RWD in the TLX GT race car for the 2016 season. Weight of the system was not worth any performance edge it gave. If it did not rain they did not do well in the series.

 

Originally posted by "TONYWARE" who has been following the Acura race team all season.

RealTime Tests Two-Wheel Drive Acura TLX-GT, Prepares for 2016 - Sportscar365