Hi All, I'm new to this forum though I've been lurking for a while
I will be buying a new truck soon and have pretty much decided that the RAM 1500 Laramie 4x4 is the way to go. So far I have driven 2 of them and am a little surprised by the way the 4wd system behaves and was hoping that someone could shed some light on this for me. I'm specifically referring to the BW44-44 differential with the on-demand option.
While test driving both trucks I took them to an empty parking lot to play with the 4wd settings and as expected when the on-demand option (4wd Auto) was selected there was no discernible binding or hopping while making sharp turns. What did catch me by surprise was that both 4wd Lock and 4wd Low behaved exactly the same. No binding what soever even under full steering turn in both directions. I have had several 4wd vehicles in both Ford and Chevrolet and have test driven the latest f150 and silverado 4x4 and they all bind under sharp turns when 4wd is engaged (excluding 4wd auto with chevrolet). On the surface this seems like a benefit to the Ram because of better handling while on the trail with 4wd engaged but my concern is that maybe the front and rear axles are not actually locked providing 50/50 split to each axle and that the offroad performance would potentially suffer.
I'm currious to know if any of you who have the 2011 model with the BW44-44 transfer case (not sure when they started using this specific xfer case) can shed some light on this.
Thanks in advance for your input!
JB
I will be buying a new truck soon and have pretty much decided that the RAM 1500 Laramie 4x4 is the way to go. So far I have driven 2 of them and am a little surprised by the way the 4wd system behaves and was hoping that someone could shed some light on this for me. I'm specifically referring to the BW44-44 differential with the on-demand option.
While test driving both trucks I took them to an empty parking lot to play with the 4wd settings and as expected when the on-demand option (4wd Auto) was selected there was no discernible binding or hopping while making sharp turns. What did catch me by surprise was that both 4wd Lock and 4wd Low behaved exactly the same. No binding what soever even under full steering turn in both directions. I have had several 4wd vehicles in both Ford and Chevrolet and have test driven the latest f150 and silverado 4x4 and they all bind under sharp turns when 4wd is engaged (excluding 4wd auto with chevrolet). On the surface this seems like a benefit to the Ram because of better handling while on the trail with 4wd engaged but my concern is that maybe the front and rear axles are not actually locked providing 50/50 split to each axle and that the offroad performance would potentially suffer.
I'm currious to know if any of you who have the 2011 model with the BW44-44 transfer case (not sure when they started using this specific xfer case) can shed some light on this.
Thanks in advance for your input!
JB