4WD vs MFWD ?

Another newbie question:

I would think 4WD means 'Four Wheel Drive', but I also see MFWD quite often. I looked up MFWD, and it was defined as 'mechanical 4 wheel drive'. So what's the difference between the two terms, or do they mean the same thing?


Nick

Very good question Nick. I don't know the answer but will do a little digging and see what I can find out.

My understanding is that 4WD machines have all 4 wheels the same diameter, whereas MFWD has differing wheel diameters.

On a CUT I think it would be more accurately described as 'front wheel assist' MFWD as the front wheels turn at a slightly higher speed than the rears to 'assist' the tractors progress. (There are other reasons for the front wheels to turn slightly faster too). I think if it were possible to disengage the rear wheels on a CUT and try to drive using just the front wheels you wouldnt do so well, hence they just assist the drive.

Articulated machines would be an example of 4WD, as would the 'County' tractors, with all 4 wheels the same size.

I think the idea behind using the term 'mechanical 4 wheel drive' was to differentiate between the shaft driven and the hydraulic driven front wheel assist systems.

Thanks Mith. I'm just back from mowing more grass.
Very good explanation Mith. Rep points for you.

A great question and Mith explained it with style, I found it interesting that Kubota uses the Term 4WD where JD uses MFWD when talking about the same thing!

I was led to a PDF From Titan Tire (which most of us use that expands the discussion and provides a lot of information on more than just this subject) Over the years a lot of questions about tires Etc would be answered by this publication!

http://www.titanstore.com/pdf/TireInfo.pdf

reccomend it for a sticky!

Thanks for the topic!

Thanks Dean. Hey Jim, will you add that link to our link resources page? TIA!

Dean, I think Deere were around when there was both mechanical and hydraulic drive, hence they use the terms to differentiate, whereas Kubota came along after, and have only ever offered mechanical drive on their tractors (to my knowledge) so they dont need to differentiate, and just use 4WD.

Cheers guys