Off-road experience

[jaapv]

Are you sure there is no diff-lock effect? According to Mitsubshi 4WDlock delivers equal power to each of the wheels, which, if true, has the same effect as diff locks.
A low ratio transfer box is superfluous, as electric motors deliver full torque from standstill. For the ret I quite agree.

I think there are several aspects to a car's off-road abilities - and I have owned many Landrovers and a smaller number of Landcruisers. The Outlander should be fine for relatively slow transits of muddy and moderately uneven ground, but it lacks several of the important features of a genuine off-roader.

The biggest is probably clearance and axle articulation. Landrover used to put a Defender LWB on display outside each showroom perched on two concrete blocks each getting on for a metre high - one under the nearside front wheel and the other under the offside rear wheel - try doing that with an Outlander! The ability to cross-articulate is important - particularly if the transmission is not genuine off-road.

The lack of a low ratio transfer box and differential locks will also be a problem - that 4WD button presumably pretends to be a centre diff-lock, but there are no locks on the front and rear axle diffs. With the lack of cross-articulation that I expect it to have, the lack of those diff-locks could leave you in trouble.

The other problem is sheer physical strength. Landrovers and Landcruisers have ladder chassis built out of girders with suspension attached that would not be out of place on a small lorry (I've done major work on Landrover suspension and you are using sledge hammers as often as screwdrivers). A Landrover will survive being driven fast across a ploughed field for miles - with the suspension on an Outlander, I certainly would not try driving my £35k car at anything more than walking pace - I don't want to break it.

None of that necessarily matters - I'm loving the car - but my days of real off-roading are long over. I've driven a Landrover up goat tracks and parked on mountain tops - makes for a great view while you cook your breakfast in the back - but I'll not be trying it on the Outlander!

 

[maby]

I am under the impression that the 4WD lock is only the equivalent of the lock on the middle diff. Our Landcruiser has separate locks for all three diffs. Don't forget that the Outlander only has two electric motors, not four. It must have a mechanical diff on each axle and I see no evidence of locks on them. The systems can make use of the anti-lock braking to provide something approaching a diff lock, but it is not as efficient and can get very jumpy.

 

[maby]

Just to elaborate on that, the diff locks are there to protect against a single wheel or an entire axle spinning and, as a result, robbing the wheels that do have grip of traction. You can get a diff lock effect by locking the brakes on the wheel that is spinning, but that then immediately doubles the rotational speed of the other wheel on the same axle - not a satisfactory solution.

 

[Ozukus]

Thought I read somewhere that the 4WD lock ensures that equal power is delivered to the front set and rear set of wheels, didn't read it as differential lock.

 

[maby]

Thought I read somewhere that the 4WD lock ensures that equal power is delivered to the front set and rear set of wheels, didn't read it as differential lock.

It clearly isn't a differential lock - since there is no differential there to lock. I think it provides a similar effect to the centre diff lock on a more conventional 4WD car, but I don't think it provides the same level of protection against loss of traction that a set of mechanical locks will give. It would be relatively easy to test, but only if you have a proper off-roader available to pull you out once you have established the limits of the Outlander!

 

[Ozukus]

This is an excerpt from the following site that describes the Outlanders 4WD system.

http://forums.edmunds.com/discussion/7757/mitsubishi/outlander/2007-mitsubishi-outlander-4wd-system-explained

For driving in particularly challenging conditions, such as snow, the driver can select "4WD Lock" mode. In Lock mode, the system still apportions front and rear torque automatically, but enables greater power transfer to the rear wheels. For example, when accelerating on an upgrade, the coupling will transfer more torque to the rear wheels immediately, helping to ensure that all four wheels get traction. In contrast, an automatic on-demand part-time system would allow front wheel slippage before transferring power, which could hamper acceleration.

In dry conditions, 4WD Lock mode places priority on performance. More torque is directed to the rear wheels than in 4WD Auto mode to provide greater power off the line, better control when accelerating on snowy or loose surfaces, and enhanced stability at high speeds. Rear wheel torque transfer is increased by 50 percent over the amounts in 4WD Auto mode - meaning up to 60 percent of available torque is sent to the rear wheels under full-throttle acceleration on dry pavement. When in 4WD Lock mode, torque at the rear wheels is reduced by a smaller degree through corners than with 4WD Auto mode.

 

[jaapv]

I'm not an off-road buff, but my experience on a steep (15%) road with 40 cm of deep snow suggests that it works rather well, in a sense that I could drive up without loss of traction (decent snowtyres oviously) and a Discovery driver preferred snowchains over his snow tyres.
I have a feeling that the car is amazing in difficult road conditions ( snow, mud, sand, etc) but not designed to stay in one piece in serious bush-bashing.

 

[jaapv]

This is an excerpt from the following site that describes the Outlanders 4WD system.

http://forums.edmunds.com/discussion/7757/mitsubishi/outlander/2007-mitsubishi-outlander-4wd-system-explained

For driving in particularly challenging conditions, such as snow, the driver can select "4WD Lock" mode. In Lock mode, the system still apportions front and rear torque automatically, but enables greater power transfer to the rear wheels. For example, when accelerating on an upgrade, the coupling will transfer more torque to the rear wheels immediately, helping to ensure that all four wheels get traction. In contrast, an automatic on-demand part-time system would allow front wheel slippage before transferring power, which could hamper acceleration.

In dry conditions, 4WD Lock mode places priority on performance. More torque is directed to the rear wheels than in 4WD Auto mode to provide greater power off the line, better control when accelerating on snowy or loose surfaces, and enhanced stability at high speeds. Rear wheel torque transfer is increased by 50 percent over the amounts in 4WD Auto mode - meaning up to 60 percent of available torque is sent to the rear wheels under full-throttle acceleration on dry pavement. When in 4WD Lock mode, torque at the rear wheels is reduced by a smaller degree through corners than with 4WD Auto mode.

Well this makes sense, but the word ëqual"comes from the manual (which may have simplified the system.)

 

[greendwarf]

It's not that bad off-road, see the video.
Climbing ability is amazing!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GRNVSheDiE&feature=youtu.be

And they get twin reversing lights in Japan :evil:

 

[ufo]

You guys are totally missing the point and hijacking the tread. My post was about extreme feedback from steering column even on a dirt track with minor undulations( forget about a proper off-road track, steering wheel most probably come out of its fixings on a proper 4WD track) . I don't think this is acceptable at all on vehicle that claims to be a 4WD off-road vehicle. As I mentioned my sports sedan with very firm suspension and 245x45x18 tyres pumped up to 44 psi does not do that and handles much better on the same track

 

[jaapv]

Well, it explicitly does not claim to be an off-road vehicle. In fact the manual states that it is for on-road use... :roll:

 

[CJ1045]

You guys are totally missing the point and hijacking the tread. My post was about extreme feedback from steering column even on a dirt track with minor undulations( forget about a proper off-road track, steering wheel most probably come out of its fixings on a proper 4WD track) . I don't think this is acceptable at all on vehicle that claims to be a 4WD off-road vehicle. As I mentioned my sports sedan with very firm suspension and 245x45x18 tyres pumped up to 44 psi does not do that and handles much better on the same track

I have not had this at all in our UK spec car you might want to get your car checked out.

CJ

 

[PolishPilot]

You guys are totally missing the point and hijacking the tread. My post was about extreme feedback from steering column even on a dirt track with minor undulations( forget about a proper off-road track, steering wheel most probably come out of its fixings on a proper 4WD track) . I don't think this is acceptable at all on vehicle that claims to be a 4WD off-road vehicle. As I mentioned my sports sedan with very firm suspension and 245x45x18 tyres pumped up to 44 psi does not do that and handles much better on the same track

I have not had this at all in our UK spec car you might want to get your car checked out.

CJ

It explicitly states, as quoted in this thread page one:

From the users manual:

...

 

[CJ1045]

Neither you page one image nor the one above show on the forum so have no idea what you are writing about.

CJ

 

[Ozukus]

Neither you page one image nor the one above show on the forum so have no idea what you are writing about.

CJ

If you copy the image location

http://insideoutlander.boards.net/attachment/download/225

and paste in a browser you get this

Oops, there was an error!
Guests do not have access to download attachments. Please log in and try again.

Read more: http://insideoutlander.boards.net/attachment/download/225#ixzz3L1yEjSPJ

 

[Ozukus]

You guys are totally missing the point and hijacking the thread.

I think most threads on this site get hijacked, one even went from an MPG discussion to nuclear vs tidal as a power source :roll:

 

[jaapv]

Most threads on any forum tend to wander off course.

 

[PolishPilot]

Neither you page one image nor the one above show on the forum so have no idea what you are writing about.

CJ

Sorry, maybe this will help:

 

[anko]

...You can get a diff lock effect by locking the brakes on the wheel that is spinning, but that then immediately doubles the rotational speed of the other wheel on the same axle - not a satisfactory solution.

It would be very easy to reduce the speed of the associated motor by 50% to resolve that :idea:

 

[maby]

...You can get a diff lock effect by locking the brakes on the wheel that is spinning, but that then immediately doubles the rotational speed of the other wheel on the same axle - not a satisfactory solution.

It would be very easy to reduce the speed of the associated motor by 50% to resolve that :idea:

Using the ABS to simulate diff lock brings all sorts of problems - you lock the spinning wheel which restores drive to its partner, but you have no easy way of knowing when it regains grip. It really is not a good solution.