4wd Icon With An 's' In The Middle

[Oddy man]

Is it Hi-Cas or what? What does it do???

Also, what does the snow button do?

[Tangles]

  Oddy man said:

Is it Hi-Cas or what? What does it do???

Also, what does the snow button do?

#1 changes front / rear wheel drive bias from around say 10:90 to 50:50 ratio

#2 locks off First gear, so standing starts are 2nd gear to minimise wheel slippage

[Oddy man]

Excellent - cheers

I thought the drive bias was more like 40:60 though?

[ssshonky]

yeah I thought that too but spoke to a guy in a local workshop ( and he knew his sh1t ) and he advised me that yeah.. as dale said .. its predominantly RWD .. but puts the power to the fronts when needed.

[Stinky Rooster]

I didn't say that!

tis true but.

[ssshonky]

haha.. sorry brendo ! my brain just shorted out it seems

[Stinky Rooster]

what can we expect from someone who gives a boy cat a girls name?

[Oddy man]

aww, and here I had drift plans after buying a Torque split controller!

[Tangles]

  Oddy man said:

aww, and here I had drift plans after buying a Torque split controller!

you can still use the torque controller

set it up for 40:60 everyday use, for example

[Stinky Rooster]

don't forget to order a steady supply of clutch packs for the transfer case while you are at it

Wanna slide sideways like a hyperactive crab with down syndrome? Drop the front drive shaft. 4 bolts and you are away.

[ssshonky]

totally off topic .. but you started it haha

to be honest he already had that name when I liberated him from the cat haven !

  Stinky Rooster said:

what can we expect from someone who gives a boy cat a girls name?

[JakesterNZ]

sorry 2 interupt guys

just wondering in wat driving situations you would use the 4WD "S" button?

Everyday use or just certaini times

CHEERS

  ssshonky said:

totally off topic .. but you started it haha

to be honest he already had that name when I liberated him from the cat haven !

[Stinky Rooster]

places of virtually no traction, such as gravel and snow. The thing with the atessa system you have to remember, is that it was never designed for high loading situations like sand and very rough terrain. The system is a dead set beauty, don't get me wrong, and it saved my bacon a few times (on private roads of course ) but it is only designed to transfer power under little to no torque loading situations, such as when the back wheels hit an ice patch.

There is a school of thought amogst some members that the torque split button can be used to aid in launches, but I don't personally agree with this, dueto the fact that it would only help if you were taking off in loose sand or ice or something.

My personal belief is that it would be used when you are taking off from the carpark of your favourite ski resort around Mt Fuji or similar, and if thats not enough, then you engage the "snow" button on the gearbox too.

[mitchy_]

it also depends on the type of torque split controller too...

the old rare HKS ones will give you full control over the ratio, however most of them allow you to change how much the ratio changes... ie, it will send more power to the front when it does notice slip at the rear, but the computer will still control when the power is sent there and not.

[pixel8r]

  Stinky Rooster said:

places of virtually no traction, such as gravel and snow. The thing with the atessa system you have to remember, is that it was never designed for high loading situations like sand and very rough terrain. The system is a dead set beauty, don't get me wrong, and it saved my bacon a few times (on private roads of course ) but it is only designed to transfer power under little to no torque loading situations, such as when the back wheels hit an ice patch.

There is a school of thought amogst some members that the torque split button can be used to aid in launches, but I don't personally agree with this, dueto the fact that it would only help if you were taking off in loose sand or ice or something.

My personal belief is that it would be used when you are taking off from the carpark of your favourite ski resort around Mt Fuji or similar, and if thats not enough, then you engage the "snow" button on the gearbox too.

Not sure if I agree with the low torque thing.

ATTESA was originally designed for the Skyline GTR (R32 if I remember correctly, which was built primarily for racing in the GroupA racing series) and its designed for maximum traction at all times yet still retaining the feel of a RWD (and better fuel economy for ordinary driving).

It will be fine in the wagon unless you're pushing its limits every day or something extreme like that..but then no car will last long if thrashed to bits every day.

With the torque split button it will lock it to 50:50 but will still vary and put torque back towards the rear if it needs to so its not a fixed torque split. Dont use this mode all the time however, its only designed for a one-off here and there, like mentioned above - say if you're on an extra slippery surface or something...but for everyday driving leave it OFF. ATTESA will be good enough untouched most of the time anyway

As for launches, I believe the manual actually states that the torque split button will give you better launches. Also note that under full throttle in a straight line, it will most likely transfer torque to basically 50:50 anyway, so the difference is probably minimal anyway.

I've used the torque split button for really wet roads when its bucketting down with rain just for a bit of added confidence, but then provided you drive safely ATTESA is probably good enough in the default mode to handle these conditions well too.

You'll notice the difference with the 50:50 torque split when cornering, particularly at slow speeds (nissan calls it "tight cornering effect").

So in general, leave the 50:50 mode OFF and enjoy the awesome AWD system as it is

[mitchy_]

  pixel8r said:

As for launches, I believe the manual actually states that the torque split button will give you better launches. Also note that under full throttle in a straight line, it will most likely transfer torque to basically 50:50 anyway, so the difference is probably minimal anyway.

no it wont actually...

say you go down the drags, and leave the torque split button alone..

from your launch the car will likely detect wheelspin off the line, and send more power up the front to counteract that, but then it will send all the power to the back wheels again for the rest of the 400 metres....

...that is unless you can get your rear wheels to light up at 100+km/h in a heavy wagon

[Topkart R33]

From what I've been reading, the Nissan Pathfinder from 1999 onwards uses Atessa system for its 4WD drivetrain. Surely thats going to take quite a beating on the sand dunes and bush bashing and still be reliable.

[MyStag260]

Hey Guys,

Sorry to just hijack this thread but a few things have been said that pricked my ears up,

1. The clutch packs in the transfer case, how would you tell if these were going?

2. I have a torque splitter but really don't use it as i don't know alot about it, when tight turning or doing 3 point turns etc i get the locked diff type shudder from the front and rear... and i hate it!! suggestions?

[Stinky Rooster]

  pixel8r said:

Not sure if I agree with the low torque thing.

ATTESA was originally designed for the Skyline GTR (R32 if I remember correctly, which was built primarily for racing in the GroupA racing series) and its designed for maximum traction at all times yet still retaining the feel of a RWD (and better fuel economy for ordinary driving).

It will be fine in the wagon unless you're pushing its limits every day or something extreme like that..but then no car will last long if thrashed to bits every day.

You can't really compare a GTR to a stagea though, and the R32 was a very different system - you could turn all drive off to the front wheels if you wanted for a start.

Never forget that a stagea is, at heart, a parts bin special NOT a GTR. The stagea 4WD system is from the GT4 and remember that Nissan never offered a GT4 with a turbo after the R32.

The S1 stagea is actually the only non neo RB25DET from factory with a 4WD system Nissan offered full stop, so the 4WD system is smaller, lighter and weaker than a GTR (not to mention the car is a crapload heavier). Just compare the front driveshaft difference alone to see what I mean.

  Topkart R33 said:

From what I've been reading, the Nissan Pathfinder from 1999 onwards uses Atessa system for its 4WD drivetrain. Surely thats going to take quite a beating on the sand dunes and bush bashing and still be reliable.

From what I have read, its just a copy of the atessa system (based on g-force sensors rather than the traditional wheel speed sensors for the 4wd), so there wouldn't be any compatible hardware, and you can gaurentee it will be a VERY beefed up version if they think it will stay together.

I remember years ago, the only CVT transmissions being used were on mopeds because no one could make them strong enough to handle any more than 50cc's of power, and now the same drive style is available in quite a few cars, so its not unthinkable that it will one day the atessa system will be able to handle it, I just don't think that the stagea one will.

[pixel8r]

  mitchy_ said:

no it wont actually...

say you go down the drags, and leave the torque split button alone..

from your launch the car will likely detect wheelspin off the line, and send more power up the front to counteract that, but then it will send all the power to the back wheels again for the rest of the 400 metres....

...that is unless you can get your rear wheels to light up at 100+km/h in a heavy wagon

yeah thats kind of what I meant. Was only referring to the "launch", sorry I didnt' make this clearer

For what its worth, I've heard that the stagea is quicker down the 1/4 mile in AWD (more than likely with 's' button turned off) than in RWD with the front shaft out. Mostly due to the quicker launch I'd say.

  Quote

You can't really compare a GTR to a stagea though, and the R32 was a very different system - you could turn all drive off to the front wheels if you wanted for a start.

Never forget that a stagea is, at heart, a parts bin special NOT a GTR. The stagea 4WD system is from the GT4 and remember that Nissan never offered a GT4 with a turbo after the R32.

The S1 stagea is actually the only non neo RB25DET from factory with a 4WD system Nissan offered full stop, so the 4WD system is smaller, lighter and weaker than a GTR (not to mention the car is a crapload heavier). Just compare the front driveshaft difference alone to see what I mean.

Are you sure of these details? I mean, do the lighter driveshafts make that much difference for us? What I'm interested in is if the transfer case/clutch packs are similar to whats used in the GTR etc.

I always thought the ATTESA system was pretty much the same across all cars it came in, just with minor changes / upgrades to the computer logic etc. to suit each application.

The stagea ATTESA definitely has g-force sensors as well, both latitudinal and longitudinal, as well as using the ABS sensors for all the wheels...

I'm not trying to disprove your theory or anything, just curious as to how much the AWD system will handle. I've always been of the belief that its made strong enough to outlast the car as it comes in stock form, or even if you increase the power a bit. Sure if you're doubling the car's power output there will be more strain on the drivetrain but the way most of us drive (bit of a spurt here and there but mostly quite cruisey) I wouldn't have thought there'd be any trouble.

I definitely understand the risks of leaving the 'S' button turned on all the time. The system wasn't designed for that kind of use.

Another question to add to the mix is if Autech upgraded the AWD system at all with the 260RS's? There's not so many differences between a (R33) GTR and one of those.

Edited December 18, 2007 by pixel8r