Honda real time AWD

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Does anyone have any real experience with Honda's real time AWD? I am thinking of the CRV and have read/saw on youtube mixed reviews about it. Anyone?
 
It isn't as good as Subaru AWD or a 4HI/4LO switch on the dash, but it seems to work reasonably well if you aren't expecting the performance of those systems.

Basically, it isn't bad, but it isn't great either.
 
Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
It isn't as good as Subaru AWD or a 4HI/4LO switch on the dash, but it seems to work reasonably well if you aren't expecting the performance of those systems.

Basically, it isn't bad, but it isn't great either.


This.

I've owned both a CRV and my current Forester. The Realtime works as expected... it waits for slip and transfer a small portion of power rearwards.

The forester, well.. is how AWD should work!

That being said, Honda's realtime awd is better than none. Just don't expect to be able to drift or do donuts
grin.gif
 
Yeah that's what I read. I was given a price for a lease that is almost too hard to turn down. Does $290 a month, zero down and a residual of $12,500 sound like a good deal? The lease is for 36 months.
 
How badly do you need AWD?
If you really need it, the Subaru system is far superior and is probably more durable. AWD problems are rare with Subies.
If it's a foul weather convenience thing, the CRV is in most ways a better car than the Forester.
I hate to write this as a Forester owner, but as somone who has had three Subarus and eight Hondas, all I can say is that the truth sometimes hurts.
 
Originally Posted By: webfors
Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
It isn't as good as Subaru AWD or a 4HI/4LO switch on the dash, but it seems to work reasonably well if you aren't expecting the performance of those systems.

Basically, it isn't bad, but it isn't great either.


This.

I've owned both a CRV and my current Forester. The Realtime works as expected... it waits for slip and transfer a small portion of power rearwards.

The forester, well.. is how AWD should work!

That being said, Honda's realtime awd is better than none. Just don't expect to be able to drift or do donuts
grin.gif



Lol I can get my crv to do donuts on the snowy parking lots, I pop er in 2nd and give it [censored]. :p
 
They're purely mechanical, no smarts in it. Like said above, front tires slip, rear tires kick in. It works acceptably, and much better than 2wd if you need it.

The rear diff needs Dual Pump II fluid every 30k miles or so, or else you'll get a grinding noise when doing tight turns, like in a parking lot.

My take on it: If you think you _might_ need AWD at some point, it's the RT-AWD is just right. If you know you need AWD/4WD, it might not be the right system for you.
 
With electro clutches and uneven CV axles it seems primitive and over engineered at the same time. I wouldnt touch it with a 10 ft pole.
This was not designed as an AWD it is just another FWD adaptation. The only competition to Subaru is Quattro and 4 motion.
 
Ive taken ski trips to VT and other snowy places in a friend's CRV. It does OK. It will burn the brakes and probably other items bad though. The car stinks if we do any real driving in really snowy and slippery conditions. And, my FWD saab with snow tires gets everywhere just as competently.

Its a feel good thing for folks who need it to feel safe. If you really want traction, get a proper vehicle with real 4LO and real LSDs and good tires.
 
From my reading, it works well for what it is - an enhancemwnt to fwd. If you need more capability then check out Subaru lease deals going on now....
 
It works pretty well. Not Subaru or Audi well for AWD but it works. It is incredibly reliable system even though a bit complicated as I have known not a single person to complain of any issue with it. I know over 10 owners of CRV's.

My experience is ski trips in friends CRV's and to our ski house driveway(1/4 mile across open field that drifts in 6"-1.5').

In the tough stuff you have disable the traction control system or smelling brakes will happen.
 
Well with my job I cant just call out if the weather is bad so it is pretty important. My current car which is a cruze barely made it this past winter and I couldn't get up the hill to the actual lot so it was a super big pain. I do NEED AWD/4WD. I'm going to see if I can get a jeep for the same price. Who knows
 
Originally Posted By: lawman1909
My current car which is a cruze barely made it this past winter and I couldn't get up the hill to the actual lot

Did you have proper winter tires installed on it?

Proper tires will make a bigger difference than any kind of AWD during winter.
 
Originally Posted By: Trav
With electro clutches and uneven CV axles it seems primitive and over engineered at the same time. I wouldnt touch it with a 10 ft pole.
This was not designed as an AWD it is just another FWD adaptation. The only competition to Subaru is Quattro and 4 motion.


Not another person posting this [censored] sponsored by Subaru video. Ugh. Do some bloody research and stop drinking the kool aid. Not saying Subaru doesn't have a good system, they do, but this made it up not because its AWD system is better, it made it up because of the vehicle stability/traction control applying the brakes to fool the OPEN differentials in the Subaru that there was traction. If it was on in the other vehicles they would've done the exact same thing. And be sure not to leave SH-AWD off of the list of systems that can "compete".

We owned a '10 CR-V that had me out right after the blizzard of '10 in NJ where we got 31" of snow. The CR-V got me through snow that real 4WD trucks were stuck in. As long as you're use will be on-road only RT AWD is incredibly effective.
 
I had all-season tires with 30K miles on them. But what was odd is that the car has always been halfway decent unless I stop for a light. The only time I can get going again is if im on a downhill. Not even a flat straight shot works with the cruze.
 
Originally Posted By: lawman1909
I had all-season tires with 30K miles on them.

Again, buy some good winter tires next time. It'll cost you a lot less than a new AWD car, and it'll give you the winter grip and control that you're currently missing.

If you buy an AWD vehicle and don't invest in winter tires, then that'll only help you get going. It'll do nothing to help you stop or to help you turn.
 
Originally Posted By: lawman1909
Well with my job I cant just call out if the weather is bad so it is pretty important. My current car which is a cruze barely made it this past winter and I couldn't get up the hill to the actual lot so it was a super big pain. I do NEED AWD/4WD. I'm going to see if I can get a jeep for the same price. Who knows

A CRV will do the job for you, my parents have had a 99 and now an 06, and both would do donuts or shoot up a hill with snow tires. I don't keep up with the current subaru hype, but in the past, some have used viscous couplings which is much less positive than the CRV clutch system, and I know of a couple atx subarus that are now fwd only due to some failure of the center diff/coupling.
For actual off roading, or driving on a sheet of ice, sure, a new subaru is better, but on public roads, a CRV will do 99% of what any AWD/4WD system will do. Turn of the TC and let it rip, the CRV system rewards some aggressiveness.
 
I had it on my '04. Not bad, but it's not a true AWD. It engages when the front wheels start spinning faster than the rear wheels, then you feel some shuddering as the clutches divert power to the rear wheels. Until 2010(?), it was a purely mechanical system; now there are supposedly some electronic brains behind it. The special Dual Pump fluid may need replacement after some 30,000 miles. As others have said, it lets you know the fluid is shot when you start hearing groaning from the rear when making a tight turn in the parking lot.
 
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: lawman1909
I had all-season tires with 30K miles on them.

Again, buy some good winter tires next time. It'll cost you a lot less than a new AWD car, and it'll give you the winter grip and control that you're currently missing.


This is what I would recommend. Find yourself an inexpensive spare set of wheels and mount a set of either Michelin Xice Xi3 or Bridgestone WS70. You may be able to find a good sale on the WS70, as Bridgestone has introduced the new WS80 this year. Don't settle for anything less. Except for Nokian, these two are the best studless snow tires on the market.

From what you describe, of being able to drive in the snow, but getting stuck when you stop, I would imagine that the winter tires will do the trick. And they are a heck of a lot cheaper than $300/month and $12000 at the end of the lease.

Not to knock my Subaru. I love it. I've driven in some pretty nasty winter weather a lot faster than I would normally, then when I got to work I heard reports of cars off the road everywhere. But I wouldn't drive my Subaru in nasty winter weather without studless snow tires either.

Watch the videos that Quattro Pete attached. I've seen them before, and it is very revealing. In fact I've seen a few different tests that demonstrate the effectiveness of snow tires. They all show similar results.
 
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