Possibly a start to a new career? Doubtful, but let’s see where this goes. RiverDave asked me if I was interested in doing some tech articles for the new GD.com, of course I said yes. After 12 years of being known as “Sean at Weddle”, I’ve rebuilt Albins, Mendeola, Weddle, and VW transaxles, 2WD & 4WD trophy truck gearboxes, and just about every common UTV transmission and front differential there is. I have seen, worked on, and talked about my fair share of drivetrain failures and successes in this highly abusive offroad industry. As I transition into opening my own service shop here in Lake Havasu City, I have a bit of spare time to lend some insight into some of the common questions and inquires I have received over the years. I thought a good place to start is discussing 2wd and 4wd in UTV’s. Since this is a dune oriented site, I’ll focus on the specifics of sand dune use and driving.
There are a few different types of 4wd systems across brands and models, which affect the way these cars drive when 4wd is engaged. This can be an entire tech article in itself, which I will save for another time. The basics come down to whether or not your car has an open front differential (Polaris Pro-R, Arctic Cat, Speed UTV, Yamaha), or an active type front diff (Can-Am Smart-Lok, Polaris XP models, Honda Talon) Cars equipped with an open front differential are generally easier to turn in tight corners, where cars equipped with limited slip or active front differentials can cause the car to understeer, or push to the outside of turns under acceleration. It is best to leave the front differential in open modes for high speed use in open terrain, and only use the active or diff lock functions when stuck or trying to get over an obstacle.
If you choose to run all terrain type tires front and rear, it is generally best to be using 4wd at all times to help pull the car through the soft sand. There is a bit of a learning curve to know how the car will perform when running at high speeds in 4wd. There can be a bit more feedback through the steering wheel, and learning how the car reacts to throttle inputs in those tight corners. Tire pressures can play a role in how the car performs as well, it’s not uncommon to run different pressures between front and rear to help the car perform to your liking. Running a car in 4wd will almost always be faster than 2wd, this has been proven in many different forms of off-road racing from rally, Dakar, and US/Mexico based desert racing.
For those that have chosen the paddle tire option, my advice is to take them off your UTV, go out and buy a purpose built sand rail with a V8 and manual transaxle, then bolt them to that for far more enjoyment and excitement!
Ok, now that I have rattled a few cages, paddle tires on UTV’s are not going away. UTV’s have proven to be the Swiss Army knife of the offroad world. They can be driven in just about any environment with little to no changes when crossing over from one type of terrain to another. They may not ever out perform a purpose built sand rail in the dunes, but they can certainly hold their own and give their drivers and passengers a great deal of enjoyment.
For those that run the rear paddle tire and smooth front tire option, there is no need to run in 4wd. Paddle tires dig into the sand and push the car forward faster than most cars with all terrain tires running in 4wd, but at the expense of being more stressful on rear drivetrain components and belts. One of the major differences between a UTV and sand car is the rear differential. UTV’s use a solid spool so both rear tires are locked together, always turning at the same speed. This allows for 100% engine power to be driven to both rear tires, aiding in rear traction, but also hinders your ability to turn in tight corners. If you have enough power, you can use the throttle to slide the rear of the car, but most UTV’s don’t have the power and throttle response required to do this off the showroom floor. Paddle tires and 2wd will be great for getting up to speed in a straight line, but would probably get outperformed by a good driver with all terrain tires and 4wd in the tighter, technical dunes.
Utilizing 4wd will help to spread the load through all of the drivetrain components such as CV joints, axles, transmission, and belts, reducing the chance of those parts failing and generally helping all parts last longer. There are some arguments to this as front differentials are a common weak link in most UTV’s. In my experience, most of the front differential failures occur with hardpack use running at high speeds over rough terrain and large whoops. Dunes are typically a little easier on front diffs due to the softer, flowy nature of the terrain. Most UTV diff and transmission failures are no fault of the driver. Poor quality parts and assembly are the reason why these complex parts fail with normal use, which is a good reason to spend a little extra money to upgrade diffs and transmissions to help prevent those failures from ruining your weekend. The “Lockers before lightbars” attitude goes a long way to ensure a successful trip to the dunes.
If you have tech questions or something in particular you'd like to learn about please hit me up in the forums!
Until the next time - Sean R.
There are a few different types of 4wd systems across brands and models, which affect the way these cars drive when 4wd is engaged. This can be an entire tech article in itself, which I will save for another time. The basics come down to whether or not your car has an open front differential (Polaris Pro-R, Arctic Cat, Speed UTV, Yamaha), or an active type front diff (Can-Am Smart-Lok, Polaris XP models, Honda Talon) Cars equipped with an open front differential are generally easier to turn in tight corners, where cars equipped with limited slip or active front differentials can cause the car to understeer, or push to the outside of turns under acceleration. It is best to leave the front differential in open modes for high speed use in open terrain, and only use the active or diff lock functions when stuck or trying to get over an obstacle.
If you choose to run all terrain type tires front and rear, it is generally best to be using 4wd at all times to help pull the car through the soft sand. There is a bit of a learning curve to know how the car will perform when running at high speeds in 4wd. There can be a bit more feedback through the steering wheel, and learning how the car reacts to throttle inputs in those tight corners. Tire pressures can play a role in how the car performs as well, it’s not uncommon to run different pressures between front and rear to help the car perform to your liking. Running a car in 4wd will almost always be faster than 2wd, this has been proven in many different forms of off-road racing from rally, Dakar, and US/Mexico based desert racing.
For those that have chosen the paddle tire option, my advice is to take them off your UTV, go out and buy a purpose built sand rail with a V8 and manual transaxle, then bolt them to that for far more enjoyment and excitement!
Ok, now that I have rattled a few cages, paddle tires on UTV’s are not going away. UTV’s have proven to be the Swiss Army knife of the offroad world. They can be driven in just about any environment with little to no changes when crossing over from one type of terrain to another. They may not ever out perform a purpose built sand rail in the dunes, but they can certainly hold their own and give their drivers and passengers a great deal of enjoyment.
For those that run the rear paddle tire and smooth front tire option, there is no need to run in 4wd. Paddle tires dig into the sand and push the car forward faster than most cars with all terrain tires running in 4wd, but at the expense of being more stressful on rear drivetrain components and belts. One of the major differences between a UTV and sand car is the rear differential. UTV’s use a solid spool so both rear tires are locked together, always turning at the same speed. This allows for 100% engine power to be driven to both rear tires, aiding in rear traction, but also hinders your ability to turn in tight corners. If you have enough power, you can use the throttle to slide the rear of the car, but most UTV’s don’t have the power and throttle response required to do this off the showroom floor. Paddle tires and 2wd will be great for getting up to speed in a straight line, but would probably get outperformed by a good driver with all terrain tires and 4wd in the tighter, technical dunes.
Utilizing 4wd will help to spread the load through all of the drivetrain components such as CV joints, axles, transmission, and belts, reducing the chance of those parts failing and generally helping all parts last longer. There are some arguments to this as front differentials are a common weak link in most UTV’s. In my experience, most of the front differential failures occur with hardpack use running at high speeds over rough terrain and large whoops. Dunes are typically a little easier on front diffs due to the softer, flowy nature of the terrain. Most UTV diff and transmission failures are no fault of the driver. Poor quality parts and assembly are the reason why these complex parts fail with normal use, which is a good reason to spend a little extra money to upgrade diffs and transmissions to help prevent those failures from ruining your weekend. The “Lockers before lightbars” attitude goes a long way to ensure a successful trip to the dunes.
If you have tech questions or something in particular you'd like to learn about please hit me up in the forums!
Until the next time - Sean R.
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