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Torque Vectoring For Improved Driving
By Rob Parker
No one doubts that all-wheel drive gives you the best possible vehicle control when you're driving in elemental weather. Whether you're dealing with flood, snow, or sand, dropping engine torque as low as it can go and having four tires working together instead of two improves traction no matter what you drive, but new technology soon to be appearing as a feature of the performance of your choice takes all-wheel drive one step further. It's called "torque vectoring," and it's a system that enables the instantaneous and seamless distribution of torque to one specific wheel at a time.
Most recent-model all-wheel drive vehicles (cars and SUVs) already come with some kind of computer-managed system in order to boost fuel efficiency. The onboard computer will sense a wheel that might be straying from the intended path, or rotating faster than it should, and it will engage the opposite drive axle and apply torque as a corrective measure. If that isn't enough, engine torque will be reduced, or brakes applied until the problem is solved.
More recently, however, this technology has been vastly improved. manufacturers have re-designed both front and rear differentials to make it possible for the engine's torque to be vectored, or passed to each corner of the car. Put simply, traditional torque distribution systems in all-wheel drive cars can transfer engine torque only from the front axle to the rear axle and back, but with torque vectoring, it can be distributed from right to left, as well. An article in Popular Mechanics compared the technology to having "…computer-controlled, super-speed limited slip differential in each axle." What this means is that vehicles will not only handle extremely well in bad driving conditions, but will offer impressive handling in normal conditions as well.
So, where can this technology be found? Look to Acura, Mitsubishi, and BMW for the most refined versions. Acura has offered a version of torque vectoring in it's Super Handling All-Wheel Drive system for several years. The system monitors vehicle speed, gear position, steering angle, wheel speed, yaw
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