Automatic 4wd
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Mountain Pass
Joined: Dec 2017
Posts: 142
Likes: 23
From: Southeast Wisconsin
It helps a lot. It's not like it's a sheet of ice. It's spots of varying sizes. When it comes to black ice you simply don't know. So if you start slipping chances are another tire can grip on a non icy spot. I have also driven on winter roads for 30 years but i'm not opposed to new technology and tools to make my job easier and safer. And yes, i've had binding.
This system most definitely, without a doubt, helps. It does not hinder me and I can still apply my knowledge and experience.
This system most definitely, without a doubt, helps. It does not hinder me and I can still apply my knowledge and experience.
I have noticed binding in many cases. Slippery boat launch is a common one where you hit dry pavement and have to make a sharp turn. I actually turn off 4wd when I pull forward, but sometimes it doesn't pop out right away. And in snow country, some intersections are not as slippery so you're binding.
I think wear is a fair concern, but I would only be using it in "light duty" situations, not towing heavy.
Mountain Pass
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 184
Likes: 123
Yeah it gets very splotchy here. black ice. spots that are icy, others just wet or just dry. Or snow. Slush, some frozen, some not, dry spots. It can be a real unpredictable mess. Mostly as we tend to hover right around freezing, coming above during the day to thaw and dry out and then back down to freeze spots. In neighborhoods or the city commute there's a lot of turns and such where i'd get binding and the conditions constantly vary in a single commute.
Now if i'm in an area that stays below freezing and everything stays frozen, well, that's a different story. I wouldn't need 4WD auto for that.
Now if i'm in an area that stays below freezing and everything stays frozen, well, that's a different story. I wouldn't need 4WD auto for that.
Cargo Master
Joined: Jul 2021
Posts: 2,969
Likes: 2,407
From: Ridgway, CO
It helps a lot. It's not like it's a sheet of ice. It's spots of varying sizes. When it comes to black ice you simply don't know. So if you start slipping chances are another tire can grip on a non icy spot. I have also driven on winter roads for 30 years but i'm not opposed to new technology and tools to make my job easier and safer. And yes, i've had binding.
This system most definitely, without a doubt, helps. It does not hinder me and I can still apply my knowledge and experience.
This system most definitely, without a doubt, helps. It does not hinder me and I can still apply my knowledge and experience.
Now going to a real full time system with a center differential is an advantage in winter driving but that works much differently but actually adds stability on slippery roads where a part time system almost always contributes to instability because it is forcing the front and rear to turn at the same speed. The 4A system is just a progressive engagement of part time 4wd.
Glad some think it is the bee's knee's, I find it to be a terrible idea and would never willingly pay for such a feature. I avoided it as an option on our Jeep. After my experience with it in the Expy, no way would I want it on my SD.
Mountain Pass
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 184
Likes: 123
You nailed it, If you start slipping, the system MIGHT react quickly enough to make a difference but if it is patchy, no way is it in any way better than just running in 4wd if your argument is that another wheel might grab traction. At no point do you ever know what mode the system is in, you do not know if it is partially or fully engaged, that alone is a pretty major hinderance to my driving. I do not like ESOF for the same reasons. This stuff just dumbs it down and I guess that is the direction society is headed...
Now going to a real full time system with a center differential is an advantage in winter driving but that works much differently but actually adds stability on slippery roads where a part time system almost always contributes to instability because it is forcing the front and rear to turn at the same speed. The 4A system is just a progressive engagement of part time 4wd.
Glad some think it is the bee's knee's, I find it to be a terrible idea and would never willingly pay for such a feature. I avoided it as an option on our Jeep. After my experience with it in the Expy, no way would I want it on my SD.
Now going to a real full time system with a center differential is an advantage in winter driving but that works much differently but actually adds stability on slippery roads where a part time system almost always contributes to instability because it is forcing the front and rear to turn at the same speed. The 4A system is just a progressive engagement of part time 4wd.
Glad some think it is the bee's knee's, I find it to be a terrible idea and would never willingly pay for such a feature. I avoided it as an option on our Jeep. After my experience with it in the Expy, no way would I want it on my SD.
I can't leave the system in 4WD, again, due to binding. Conditions vary wildly across my commute. It doesn't dumb it down. It's just another tool and one applied to the conditions that warrant it. We have several new vehicles in the house, some with it, some without, it really does work as advertised and makes a pretty big difference in the type of conditions we have. I like it, I use it, it works. And in no way have I found it a hinderance. I have found traction control systems in older vehicles to be a hindrance so I tend to turn that off in winter conditions where I need more control. But it works very well on newer vehicles.
Now if conditions warrant full time 4WD then we still have it! It's not taken away from us. And there are times when I do need and I do use that as that's the right tool for the particular conditions.
More Turbo
Joined: Sep 2019
Posts: 579
Likes: 331
From: Southwest Michigan
To get back to the original question, only Ford knows why they don't offer it in the Super Duty line.
Logistics Pro
Joined: May 2017
Posts: 3,523
Likes: 483
From: Southern OH
To weak of a system to use on an HD truck, even on lighter duty vehicles they have far more problems than a regular part time system. No real advantage to having it either unless you are too dumb to know when to engage and disengage 4x4.
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Cargo Master
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 2,058
Likes: 424
From: Too close to Houston
I wouldn't care to have auto 4wd. The current models (by my understanding) use a clutch in the transfer case similar to the clutches used in an automatic transmission. The traction control system activates the clutch to control the amount of power going to the front axle.
Automatic transmission clutches last a very long time because they are either engaged or they're not. In an auto 4wd application the clutch is almost constantly slipping to prevent driveline binding. Seems the transfer case would need A LOT more maintenance and repair than the units we get in our trucks now.
Here's a good video about what's inside the GM auto transfer case. Start at 10:20 for the details.
Automatic transmission clutches last a very long time because they are either engaged or they're not. In an auto 4wd application the clutch is almost constantly slipping to prevent driveline binding. Seems the transfer case would need A LOT more maintenance and repair than the units we get in our trucks now.
Here's a good video about what's inside the GM auto transfer case. Start at 10:20 for the details.
Lead Driver
Joined: Feb 2022
Posts: 7,975
Likes: 4,055
The way the F150 system works is via input from the EPAS. When in 4A, when the EPAS detects the steering wheel being turned it sends a signal to the t-case module to disengage 4WD. There is a display on the IP that will actually show the outputs front to rear, and as you make a turn you can see no output to the front until you straighten the wheels. There is also a tie in to the ABS system to detect wheel slip for when going through slippery conditions to keep the 4WD engaged when turning the wheel. To put this in the SD, Ford would have to design their steering gear to mimic the EPAS, and have a very HD clutch in the T-case.
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