so im just wondering out of curiosity ....ive heard from many people that 4wd cars starts getting slower in higher speeds lets say hitting about 120mph and up...and that 2wd are actually better at high speeds or something along those lines... so how come?

 

I think that would be because of drive train loss - Because of all the mechanical parts needed to make 4WD word, there is a fairly considerable amount of power lost from friction, heat, etc while transferring the power from the engine to the wheels. Since a 2WD system requires less parts, there is less loss.

Therefore, yes, if you had 2 cars with the same exact engine setup, except that one is 4WD and one is 2WD, the 4WD car would start out in front because of the increased traction from having all 4 wheels putting power to the ground, however the 2WD car would eventually catch up since it would lose less power between the engine and the wheels.

Hopefully my reasoning is correct, if not then someone feel free to set me straight ^^

 

thats basically correct... the perfect vehicle would have 4wd engaged until 100% traction is reached or parasitic drivetrain loss is sensed. then it would switch to 2wd...

 

Isn't that how the skylines worked. Being having 4wd when needed and 2wd for the most part.

 

The extra weight of the AWD is still going to slow you down even when in 2wd mode.

Atleast IMO at the drag track, the AWD vs RWD and Drag Radials. Up until low 12's it seem like AWD has the advantage. In low 12's, High 11's its pretty even. Faster than that RWD is faster.

On the street and with street tires, AWD still rules except for high speed roll on's. At certain point even the bigger boy's need sticky tires to keep their 2wd planted to the ground on roll on's.