Raptor R, all time 4 wheel drive?

[melvimbe]

When I rarely put the truck in 4A the pull from the steering wheel to straighten out is very noticeable, does that bother you at all? That’s the main reason I never use it outside of a snow storm.

That's pretty close to my thinking, except replace snow storm with rain. Truck doesn't feel as nimble in 4A to me. That said though, I haven't played around with 4A in Sport mode very much.

 

[CoronaRaptor]

Why 4A? There goes the fun factor of having a 2w drive vehicle. When skills are lacking, I can see having 4a, otherwise, drop it in 4h if you need the added traction. I would not suspect Ford would follow anything DODGE is doing.

 

[Chainsaw]

This is not my area of expertise, but my understanding is that Ram mandated full-time 4WD in the TRX due to concerns about the power constantly hitting just the rear axle.

For those smarter than me: is this legitimate, and if so, why wouldn't it also be a concern with the Raptor R?

 

[K223]

This is not my area of expertise, but my understanding is that Ram mandated full-time 4WD in the TRX due to concerns about the power constantly hitting just the rear axle.

For those smarter than me: is this legitimate, and if so, why wouldn't it also be a concern with the Raptor R?

Good question! But the factory has a few different ways to go about this without locking the truck into full time AWD. Some don’t bode well for the customer in ways of performance. In the case of the TRX, a well engineered Dana 60 should be plenty strong. It also may have been a case of just getting no traction in 2WD for that truck.

 

[JohnyPython]

Could be the Fiat lawyers. TRX in 2WD could be pretty scary in a pick up. OTOH, any pickup could end up in the ditch.

 

[TwizzleStix]

Why 4A? There goes the fun factor of having a 2w drive vehicle. When skills are lacking, I can see having 4a, otherwise, drop it in 4h if you need the added traction. I would not suspect Ford would follow anything DODGE is doing.

“skills lacking”? What a joke. It is the 2wd that you like. It’s the ability to smoke up the rear tires that you really like. That doesn’t take any skill other than poking the throttle and hanging on to try and keep it out of the ditch.

If you’re into showboating like drifting then 2wd, essentially rwd, is the only thing that works. If you’re into maximum acceleration, cornering precision, and quickness then AWD has no equal. Simple physics.

 

[dixonk]

I get the benefit of 4A but the steering just feels off when in that mode. I like the steering feel in 2wd.

 

[jondle]

Personally I would vote for all time 4 wheel drive. I understand that gas mileage would be better but getting that much horsepower would be better managed with 4 wheel drive.

Wow....I can't believe this. Full-time AWD is a deal breaker for me. I would never buy a TRX because of that and would hesitate on a G2 Raptor because Baja mode defaults to 4x4 (I'm still unclear if you can force RWD after entering Baja). How do you easily slide sideways in 4WD/AWD? It certainly takes a lot more fuel/speed to do it.

 

[jondle]

I get the benefit of 4A but the steering just feels off when in that mode. I like the steering feel in 2wd.

I believe it leaves the hubs locked in all the time, turning the entire front drivetrain, so it can quickly engage the transfer case when needed. I guess that affects your steering. I wouldn't use 4A unless I was in poor conditions. The extra tire wear from an occasional slip just wouldn't be worth the loss of 0.1mpg. Now losing 0.1mpg leaving them locked all the time to reduce failure rate of the IWEs is totally worth it.....I think.... (I actually still don't think so).

 

[Badgertits]

I had no idea. I’m new to the raptor world. Just purchased a leadfoot 2018 with all the goodies. Happy so far.

So to be clear. Just put it in 4wd auto mode and forget about it?

There have been several time’s when pulling out into traffic when I’m going up hill that I get tire spin and when I selected the 4wd mode it worked great. Didn’t know there was that mode.

Thanks so much. I feel like a ********.

nah you shouldn’t feel like a ******* b/c the gen2 Raptor is the ONLY 1/2 ton pickup w/ true selectable “AWD” - the “4 auto” function on regular F150s/RAMs/GM trucks is not the same thing & the difference lies in the transfer case function & design.

while you CAN run a regular F150
Etc in 4A on dry pavement it is really not the same situation & you ARE putting additional stress on the front drivetrain components in particular if you’re making tight turns on dry pavement- additionally, the speed w/ which the front wheels engage & react in the Raptor is much quicker & more seamless.

For example I remember running my 2015 GMC in 4A going down I-95 in snowstorm w/ a lot of heavy slushy snow built up on the edges of the fast/slow lanes- well when my front inside tire would go over those spots the truck would obviously get “sucked” into that slush & it was jarring every time that happened b/c there was a very noticeable delay between when those front wheels lost traction & the hubs engaged & that caused some serious white knuckling/puckering lol!

not the case in the Raptor whatsoever!!