Wheel not spinning?

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Tue Mar 11, 2003 11:33 am

I'm not sure this is the right forum for this, so if not, feel free to move it moderators! I have a question.Now, somehow, I managed to get my right wheels caught in a snow bank. DO NOT ask me how, it's too crazy a story to explain. Here's my question. My right wheel just kept spinning and spinning and spinning. My left wheel was on solid dry road. It never spun. What's the deal? I thought traction control was supposed to spin the wheels that have traction, not the ones that don't. Is there something wrong with my drivetrain or something? Advice please! Thanks!

millster · Post by **millster** » Tue Mar 11, 2003 12:07 pm

That's normal for a differential drivetrain. If one wheel of a differential drive is stuck, the other will spin. This is the logic behind differential drive, as you go around a corner the inside wheel will be allowed to turn differentially (hence the name) to the outside wheel thus negotiating the turn smoothly. This differential drive gearing is what causes the problem of spinning the one wheel (a fun term is "Peg-Leg") without traction when stuck in snow. For a more complete explanation if you're interested check out...http://www.efunda.com/DesignStandards/g ... ff.cfmHope this is somehow helpful.

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Tue Mar 11, 2003 12:34 pm

So it was normal for it to spin only the wheel that was stuch in the snow? I thought it "transferred power from the wheel that slips to the wheel that grips" to steal a line from another company. lol.

NovaResource · Post by **NovaResource** » Tue Mar 11, 2003 12:35 pm

quote:My right wheel just kept spinning and spinning and spinning. My left wheel was on solid dry road. It never spun. What's the deal? I thought traction control was supposed to spin the wheels that have traction, not the ones that don't. Is there something wrong with my drivetrain or something?The Vibe doesn't have traction control.

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Tue Mar 11, 2003 12:39 pm

quote:The Vibe doesn't have traction control.Well. That could be the answer. But I'm still confused as to why only one wheel spun. It has to somehow determine which wheel to spin, and I don't understand how it chooses a wheel to spin. I read that link, but it confused me.

NovaResource · Post by **NovaResource** » Tue Mar 11, 2003 12:41 pm

quote:That's normal for a differential drivetrain. If one wheel of a differential drive is stuck, the other will spin. This is the logic behind differential drive, as you go around a corner the inside wheel will be allowed to turn differentially (hence the name) to the outside wheel thus negotiating the turn smoothly.This is normal for an open differential. "Limited-slip" or "posi-traction" differentials use springs, clutches, or other devices to prevent this from happening. In normal conditions, the wheels are not locked to allow the two wheels to travel at different speeds during cornering but when the speed difference between the two wheels become too great, the clutches apply pressure to the slower (or stopped) axle to apply power to the ground.Traction control use the brakes to stop the spinning wheel so power is applied to the stopped wheel with traction.

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Tue Mar 11, 2003 12:43 pm

Ok, so what I read you saying is that my free wheel should have been getting power. Right? I'm sorry to keep bugging you guys. I'm just so confused.

NovaResource · Post by **NovaResource** » Tue Mar 11, 2003 12:47 pm

quote:But I'm still confused as to why only one wheel spun. It has to somehow determine which wheel to spin, and I don't understand how it chooses a wheel to spin.Friction determines what wheel spins, not the car. The wheel with the least traction (friction) will always spin.Maybe this will help explain:http://auto.howstuffworks.com/different ... ntial5.htm

Stang2Vibe · Post by **Stang2Vibe** » Tue Mar 11, 2003 6:06 pm

If one of your front wheels on the AWD begins to spin, the AWD system kicks in and sends power to the rear wheels to help you go. On the 2 wheel drive cars, if one of the front wheels sits on ice or in mud, etc. and spins, you are stuck because there is no way to lock the differential and sent the power to the other drive wheel that has traction. Having a locking differential, or posi-traction as it is sometimes called, would send the power to the drive wheel with traction and pull you out. The Vibe does not have posi-traction available. The "wheels that slip to the wheels that grip" feature that Subaru advertised worked with their AWD systems. I believe that they had posi-traction differentials on both front and rear axles and a system similar to the AWD Vibe's where power would be diverted to the rear wheels if the front ones lost traction. It all would happen so fast that the driver would probably never have noticed it.

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Tue Mar 11, 2003 11:34 pm

So in other words, nothing is wrong with my car, I need to watch out for those snow drifts that jump into the road!

NovaResource · Post by **NovaResource** » Tue Mar 11, 2003 11:38 pm

quote:Ok then, if my AWD front tire gets stuck, will the other front start to spin, or just 1 in the back.The Vibe AWD system operates like a FWD car 99.9% of the time. So if one front wheel is on ice and starts to spin, the system will engage the AWD system to operate the rear wheels. If both rear wheels have traction, they will push until both front wheels get equal traction.What's unclear is if the rear differential has a posi or not (I know the front one doesn't). If one front wheel and one rear wheel are on ice, it's possible that only those 2 wheels will spin because there is no locking in the front or rear differentials. However, if the rear dif is locking, then the one rear wheel with traction will push until the front wheels get traction.

Stang2Vibe · Post by **Stang2Vibe** » Mon Mar 17, 2003 2:06 am

Yeah, I guess that is pretty true. Now I have a question. If the front wheels are not slipping or spinning (getting good traction) with the AWD models, do the rear wheels truly get 0% power or do they still get 5-10% or so as do most other AWD model cars?

HIGHREV · Post by **HIGHREV** » Tue Mar 18, 2003 11:10 am

A trick I learned from dump truck drivers to get un stuck-fool the axle.When you sense some wheel spin, try feathering the brake pedal. This may work similarly ( is that a real word?) to traction control.I did it in my 93 Altima Se in deep snow. It worked well and got me home. The trick it the brake pressure, too much pedal and they stop the car (thier job!!).

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Tue Mar 18, 2003 11:18 am

quote:A trick I learned from dump truck drivers to get un stuck-fool the axle.When you sense some wheel spin, try feathering the brake pedal. This may work similarly ( is that a real word?) to traction control.I did it in my 93 Altima Se in deep snow. It worked well and got me home. The trick it the brake pressure, too much pedal and they stop the car (thier job!!). Huh? I'm waaaaay confused

Wheel not spinning?

Wheel not spinning?

Re: Wheel not spinning? (ragingfish)

Re: Wheel not spinning? (millster)

Re: Wheel not spinning? (ragingfish)

Re: Wheel not spinning? (NovaResource)

Re: Wheel not spinning? (millster)

Re: Wheel not spinning? (NovaResource)

Re: Wheel not spinning? (ragingfish)

Re: Wheel not spinning? (silverawd26)

Re: Wheel not spinning? (Stang2Vibe)

Re: Wheel not spinning? (silverawd26)

Re: Wheel not spinning? (silverawd26)

Re: Wheel not spinning? (ragingfish)

Re: Wheel not spinning? (HIGHREV)