Oil & Fuel Cost of operating in 4WD- just rubber and fuel?

[rcmike]

The real question is do you use 4WD or not while drifting?

YouTube - Tractor Drifting

 

[D7E]

Only use it when you need it why create unneccessary wear .

 

[D7E]

In most cases, operating a tractor in 4wd saves fuel, sometimes a very considerable ammount. Basically, any time you use your tractor off of dry hard ground, sod, or pavement to pull or push a load you will save fuel in 4wd. This is because energy is not wasted pushing a "dead" axle through the soft ground and most of the engine's power is available to move the load. Take a look at the tractors working the big fields these days, they are almost all 4wd. With today's fuel prices, not many farmers can afford to waste fuel operating a big 2wd for tillage operations, and they have largely gone the way of the horse. I think most of this confusion is caused by the average CUT owner's greater familiarity with automobiles which usually operate on roads and do in fact use considerably more fuel in 4wd. If you do not believe that fuel can be saved in 4wd, try this test: Hitch your 4wd tractor to a disk and take it onto some tilled soil. Disengage the 4wd and note the throttle required to maintain a speed across the field (use gps to monitor speed). Now engage the 4wd and again note the throttle required to maintain the same speed. You will note that much less throttle, hense less fuel, is required in fwd. That extra throttle and fuel was needed in 2wd to move the "dead" axle. The bottom line here is that if you want to save fuel, you should leave it in 4wd almost all the time unless you are on the road.

More important reasons for 4x4.
,1, Any amount of wheel slip causes compaction which causes yeild loss 4x4 duals and tripples reduce this.
2 You cannot buy a 350 hp 2x4 tractor ,
3 Most of the machinery we use is just too big for a 2wd
4 In large fields the moisture varies 4x4 is security it could be the difference of making it through a wet spot or getting pulled through .
The job must be done acurateley and quickly , When you total the cost of planting a crop fuel is a quite insignificant amount .

 

[whodat90]

Yeah, there are long discussions about this subject!!! Heheheheh. Everyone has their own ideas. Here's mine.

My final point. Do you engage 4WD in your pickup every time you leave pavement?? Treat your tractor similarly.

Do you disconnect your front brakes on your truck when you get to the pavement? Trucks and tractors are entirely different and must be treated differently.

 

[N80]

The question of fuel is moot for me. I do not use my tractor enough for fuel costs to figure. Tire wear is not an issue either. I've got 2 years and 100 hours on my tractor and you can still see some of the little nobby things on the tread.

My land is hilly, bumpy and uneven. The 4wd dramatically improves handling, steering, braking and traction in the conditions I use it in. And that adds safety. So I only take it out of 4wd if I notice it is tearing up my little fields or when I head down the paved road.

My tractor has bevel gears on the front drive train. There is no perceptable binding of any sort. There is no increase in noise while in 4wd vs 2wd. The turning radius is the same with it in 4wd or 2wd. The 4wd model of my tractor has a slightly tighter turning radius than the 2wd model. My manual only says you need to take it out of 4wd on pavement (and even that is not worded very strongly). In 4wd it tears grass up a little more than in 2wd, but with the ag tires if you turn tight even in 2wd it tears up the grass.

So, based on those things and my needs, it stays in 4wd. And in that regard, for me, there are no added costs to using 4wd all the time.

Some will say wear and tear will cost me in the end. Which is fine, but I disagree. When I bought my tractor, I knew I needed 4wd. I knew I would need it the majority of the time. And I know that other buyers will need tractors in which 4wd will be used for the life of the tractor. So I did not (and would not) buy a tractor in which I thought that the front drive train was an afterthought that was designed to be less durable than the rest of the machine and designed only to be used from time to time. I could be wrong about my tractor, but there is nothing in the design, performance, experience, product literature, manual, shop manual etc to suggest that its drivetrain is a weak link.

For anyone who wishes to take it in and out of 4wd depending on their needs, as long as they assess their need properly, there's just nothing wrong with it. however, if they are underestimating the need for 4wd and stressing the tractor out because of under utilizing 4wd then that's just as bad, or worse, as running 4wd when it isn't needed. And if the terrain is hilly and they aren't using 4wd then they are also leaving a saftey feature unused.

So that's my take on it.

And for the record, I never tire of these discussions. Even when they've been done to death, new people tend to enter the discussion and I learn something new every time.

 

[chrisjbell]

Well, everyone else has posted on this subject. Again. Well, I sure don't want to feel left out...

Has anyone heard of "search"?

4WD almost always at home. Need it for safety on my hills. At work 4WD unless I wanna go fast. Then 2WD.

 

[firemanpat2910]

I feel left out My tractor is only 2wd

 

[whodat90]

So is mine, if I want it to be.

 

[Glowplug]

Does anyone remember this old classic thread on "4WD: Advantages/Disadvantages"?

Now that I have a tractor, unlike when I started that thread, I can at least chime in a little. Whenever I'm doing any work at all I put mine in 4WD. If I'm just driving from one place to another it is usually in 2WD. One exception, when I'm mowing with the loader removed sometimes I just use 2WD because there's not very much weight on the front tires at that time.

Interesting point: I actually notice LESS turf damage when in 4WD. When in 4WD the front wheels pull through a turn; but in 2WD the rears push the fronts through the turn. Sometimes this may cause the fronts to slide a little sideways in a tight turn on low traction terrain thus tearing up the turf more. Just my observation.

 

[Z-Michigan]

I use a mix. I use 4wd any time I want serious traction, and like Glowplug I often notice less turf damage in 4wd than 2wd. The traction I can get with 4wd and R1 tires is amazing.

I use 2wd when I have no concerns about traction (like mowing on dry ground) or when I intentionally want the wheels to slip when I hit something that won't move - like for some types of FEL work or in a few days when I start using a scarifier on a rocky field. My theory is that a heavy tractor in 4wd at full throttle will jolt really hard if you hit the immoveable object and may bend something pricey (like an FEL bucket) in the process. In 2wd you are at least somewhat more likely to have the wheels start slipping without as big a jolt.