The Victoria Napolitano Bookstore THE DRIVING COMPANY WORKBOOK | Page 8

Weight is a component of traction—
the more weight on a wheel, the better
traction it will have. When in uneven
off-road environments, it is common
to get into a situation where diagonal
front and rear wheels lose traction.
This is known as a “cross-axle” situ-
ation. cause these diagonal spinning wheels
are spinning at the same RPMs. Be-
cause the differentials are equalizing
the torque, the same amount of torque
required to spin the wheels without
traction will be present at the wheels
with traction. If this is not enough to
move the vehicle, then you are stuck.
Cross-axle situations occur when you
have weight off of one wheel and
weight off of the opposite corner
wheel. For example, you drive over
holes that coincide with the left rear
and right front wheels. This leads to a
condition where (with open differen-
tials) the wheels in the holes will lose
traction and spin because there is very
little weight on them. The sum total of
RPMs on the front axle is equal to the
sum total of RPMs on the rear axle be- With open differentials (no locker)
you can apply the brake with your left
foot while also applying some throt-
tle. Because torque will be required to
overcome the brake, you will get more
torque to all wheels, including the ones
with traction, which may be enough to
get you moving again.
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