I thought long & hard about whether or not to get the AWD option on my new 2022 Equinox, and finally decided against it - I.e. my new car is FWD only.
Today, I'm a retired old guy, meaning that if/when the winter roads are really slick, I can simply (usually) decide to stay home! That, plus I had to factor in local availability of a new FWD model with essentially all of the other features that I wanted, plus improvements in traction-control technology, plus of course, the $$$... all of those made me finally decide against AWD. (I may be sorry!)
However previously, before I retired, I had to get to work every day regardless of weather. Not to mention the fact that I lived in the country, with a LONG rural driveway to boot (now I live in a small town, on a conventional suburban street with a conventional garage and driveway). No surprise, in winter I often had snow and ice to deal with.
Then, I had a 2015 GMC Terrain (mechanical twin to the Equinox) with AWD. By observation, its drivetrain was very similar (maybe identical) to our system; no 'transrer case', only a variable-engagement 'clutch pack' just ahead of the rear differential. However that system was NOT switchable; it was ON all the time. On dry pavement, that system was front-wheel-drive only. However if the front wheels lost traction, the clutch pack would gradually engage, sending torque to the rear wheels also. On a slippery surface, you could 'feel' it engaging, with more and more 'help' coming from the rear end. According to the service info (which I had), the system would send as much as 40% of avilavle torque to the rear wheels (I.e. up to a 60/40 front/rear torque split).
Now, before I traded for my new Equinox, I tried hard, and failed, to find any hard technical info on its AWD system. The main questions I still have are these (I got blank stares, or more often varying (often humerous) answers, from dealer salescritters):
1. With the pushbutton switch ON, is the system still actually automatic? More precisely, Is there still a minimum-to-maximum engagement range, or is engagement merely a single fixed amount? If the former, what exactly is the range, expressed as min. and max. F/R torque percentages? Or, if fixed, what is the actual F/R percentage? And, what actually causes engagement to occur? (i.e. slippage of one front wheel, or both front wheels? How much slippage?)
2. Conversely, with the pushbutton switch OFF, is there any clutch engagement at all? More precisely, is the torque split then really 100/0, or is it still some minimum value?
Although I've made my choice (FWD only) I'm still curious about these things! If there are any GM/Chevy techs lurking here, (or anyone else who has 'hard' info), please enlighten us on the tech details of our Equinox AWD system.
Thanks, all, for reading my rant!
-Richard
Today, I'm a retired old guy, meaning that if/when the winter roads are really slick, I can simply (usually) decide to stay home! That, plus I had to factor in local availability of a new FWD model with essentially all of the other features that I wanted, plus improvements in traction-control technology, plus of course, the $$$... all of those made me finally decide against AWD. (I may be sorry!)
However previously, before I retired, I had to get to work every day regardless of weather. Not to mention the fact that I lived in the country, with a LONG rural driveway to boot (now I live in a small town, on a conventional suburban street with a conventional garage and driveway). No surprise, in winter I often had snow and ice to deal with.
Then, I had a 2015 GMC Terrain (mechanical twin to the Equinox) with AWD. By observation, its drivetrain was very similar (maybe identical) to our system; no 'transrer case', only a variable-engagement 'clutch pack' just ahead of the rear differential. However that system was NOT switchable; it was ON all the time. On dry pavement, that system was front-wheel-drive only. However if the front wheels lost traction, the clutch pack would gradually engage, sending torque to the rear wheels also. On a slippery surface, you could 'feel' it engaging, with more and more 'help' coming from the rear end. According to the service info (which I had), the system would send as much as 40% of avilavle torque to the rear wheels (I.e. up to a 60/40 front/rear torque split).
Now, before I traded for my new Equinox, I tried hard, and failed, to find any hard technical info on its AWD system. The main questions I still have are these (I got blank stares, or more often varying (often humerous) answers, from dealer salescritters):
1. With the pushbutton switch ON, is the system still actually automatic? More precisely, Is there still a minimum-to-maximum engagement range, or is engagement merely a single fixed amount? If the former, what exactly is the range, expressed as min. and max. F/R torque percentages? Or, if fixed, what is the actual F/R percentage? And, what actually causes engagement to occur? (i.e. slippage of one front wheel, or both front wheels? How much slippage?)
2. Conversely, with the pushbutton switch OFF, is there any clutch engagement at all? More precisely, is the torque split then really 100/0, or is it still some minimum value?
Although I've made my choice (FWD only) I'm still curious about these things! If there are any GM/Chevy techs lurking here, (or anyone else who has 'hard' info), please enlighten us on the tech details of our Equinox AWD system.
Thanks, all, for reading my rant!
-Richard
