J_C
Explorer Addict
- Joined
- July 30, 2009
- Messages
- 6,073
- Reaction score
- 2,201
- City, State
- Florence, KY
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 1998 XLT 4WD 4.0L SOHC
^ After some more reading I have a better understanding what the transfer case clutch is doing. It's variable current and increases or decreases the amount of multi-disc friction/slippage instead of gearing to achieve the 10% torque steps.
It seems to measure front and rear drive shaft speed 50 times a second, and according to the wiki article linked below it seems to need 1/3rd a revolution of wheel spin mismatch to kick in which would not happen merely using same size tires but some with more tread remaining on them, BUT if driving conditions were to cause it to lock up the clutch then different tire diameters could still pose a problem, even going dead straight on pavement.
HOWEVER, I am still not convinced that this transfer case / system implies that there is always torque to the front wheels. On the contrary the design implies that clutch off, 0% front torque would make the most sense for fuel economy and wear, even if only a slight bit, when there is no rear wheel slippage measured.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ControlTrac
It seems to measure front and rear drive shaft speed 50 times a second, and according to the wiki article linked below it seems to need 1/3rd a revolution of wheel spin mismatch to kick in which would not happen merely using same size tires but some with more tread remaining on them, BUT if driving conditions were to cause it to lock up the clutch then different tire diameters could still pose a problem, even going dead straight on pavement.
HOWEVER, I am still not convinced that this transfer case / system implies that there is always torque to the front wheels. On the contrary the design implies that clutch off, 0% front torque would make the most sense for fuel economy and wear, even if only a slight bit, when there is no rear wheel slippage measured.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ControlTrac