CRV 2011 4WD Capabilities???????

[interceptor]

Hi Guys, Newbie here from Perth. I bought a 2011 CRV from new, but not until now it occurred to me what sort of 4wd capabilities the CRV has? Anyone out there can give me some tips.
The other day I've tried to enrol in one of the RAC courses here in WA, and they didn't want to know much about the CRV, they've told me that it will do half of a quarter of the track!. Any info highly appreciated. Cheers. Alex.

[JDM DC2R]

Well as you may now. These cars arnt constant 4wds. they are front wheel drives. Were a clutch locks in the rear diff if the axle is spinning faster then the rear wheels.

They lock pretty much instant on any wheel spin or slip!

Also these car dont have a Limited slip diff or a lock diff! Meaning in very bad traction all the power will travel to one front tire and one rear tire!

What these car have going for them over bigger 4x4's. There light. only 1.5 tone compared to you Prajero being around 2.2-2.4 tone. Being light means your less likly to sink in sand, mud.

The car is smaller giving better movablity in small tracks and being able to go places where big 4x4 may not fit!


How to increase its off road caberbilty. Increase the ride height with raising springs. I used king springs
Fit a much better tyre more applicable for what you need! I used http://kumho.com.au/products/road-venture-apt-kl51/. As i do alot of sand dunes and light trails
Increase tire width/ size . I went from 205/70/15 to 235/60/16.. Giving me 30 mm extra to the road on each tire. And also a 20mm lift.

Heres a pic of my Gen 1
2385323854

[curtis265]

Unfortunately they CRV's a very soft 'soft roader' which means it's more of a raised civic than a shrunken landcruiser.

power is fed to the rear wheels only if the fronts begin to lose traction which isn't really good for offroading (ideally you want a centre diff that locks and a low range gearbox). It works well in low traction situations like snow and ice but for climbing soft sandy slopes it unfortuantely doesn't do so well (as opposed to the proper offroading counterparts)

also see here - http://www.ozhonda.com/forum/showthread.php?155610-Honda-CR-V-Sport-(Off-Road)


Just an update on my soft road adventures over the holidays. I just had a 4,000 km round trip holiday in the CR-V (Canberra to Brisbane and back – plus trips around Brisbane and Gold Coast). Anyway, I was both keen and anxious about trying out the CR-V on the beach. So, I took a trip to Bribie Island to test the CR-V out.
Though the sand on the beach was firm and no problem for the CR-V the tricky part was getting to the beach which has lots of soft sand.

I reduced the tire pressure to 18 psi and had the VSA off the entire time. The pictures posted are of the CR-V on beach on the hard stuff. I really didn’t want to stop on the soft stuff to take pictures just in case I get bogged!
Before I took this trip, I read a lot of forums which had negative reviews about the transfer of power to the rear wheels and not having the option to lock in the 4WD mode like the Rav4. Some of the forums also said, for the power to transfer to the rear wheels, the front wheels need to spin extensively which causes the front end to dig in to the sand.

I am happy to report that the power transfer is brilliant and extremely quick. As I mentioned earlier, to get to the beach there was a whole trail full of deep soft sand. To make things worse, the last bit, just before the beach has a slight decent which was filled with deep soft sand and was very uneven. This didn’t pose a problem getting to the beach (as it was down hill) but more on the way back. This was the trickiest part of the trip. Not only was I nervous about the getting bogged but I also didn’t want to rip parts underneath the car (especially as the exhaust at the back is hangs lower and I didn’t have this problem in the Rav).

Anyway, back to the transfer of power to the rear wheels. The front wheels do not need to spin extensively to transfer power to the back wheels. On the way back, the part where the CR-V has to climb the soft sand, I stopped about 10 metres from the incline and then floored the accelerator. The front wheels did spin but I’m pretty sure it did not even make a full rotation before transferring some of the power to the rear wheels and then all 4 wheels were ploughing through the sand and the climb up the soft sand was performed very well.

After this trip my confidence in the 4WD system in the CR-V has increase and I do not think that it is in anyway inferior to the Rav4 (owning both vehicles). But I do miss the 4WD lock button on the Rav, but this may be more of a psychological ‘confidence boost’ as the CR-Vs transfer of power is very quick. I may look in lifting the CR-V though. But the ground clearance may be sufficient for my needs (the CR-V is has slightly less ground clearance than the Rav4).
I’ll try Stockton Beach next and keep you guys posted as to how it goes there on the sand dunes. The Rav was really good in the sand dunes and I’m sure that the CR-V will be just as good. Once I’ve done that trip I’ll post more pictures.

[JDM DC2R]

Unfortunately they CRV's a very soft 'soft roader' which means it's more of a raised civic than a shrunken landcruiser.

power is fed to the rear wheels only if the fronts begin to lose traction which isn't really good for offroading (ideally you want a centre diff that locks and a low range gearbox). It works well in low traction situations like snow and ice but for climbing soft sandy slopes it unfortuantely doesn't do so well (as opposed to the proper offroading counterparts)

also see here - http://www.ozhonda.com/forum/showthread.php?155610-Honda-CR-V-Sport-(Off-Road)

Disagree. Sure it be nice to have a lock diff. But being alot lighter then other 4wds have its large advantages. The gen 1 CRV are differ then the other crv's. More clearance from stock and the rear diff works differently.
Ive head the new CRV need the traction control turned off for sand use. As it limits the power to the Rear wheels!!

Being on sand the rear wheel are always engaged. As your continuously slipping.

I have driven alot up at nelson bay. I have been boged a couple of times. Which is normal. Simple recovery tracks and your off. I just try and stay out of 1st gear. and plot along in 2nd or 3rd. Staying above 20km/h. Simple.

[interceptor]

Thanks guys, i do understand is not a proper 4x4 but i wanted to know what can be done safely, im not into heavy stuff but really the comments from rac wa put me off a little! As long as i can do beach and soft tracks will be ok! Thank you for the input really appreciated

[curtis265]

what's the RAC track like?

[JDM DC2R]

Thanks guys, i do understand is not a proper 4x4 but i wanted to know what can be done safely, im not into heavy stuff but really the comments from rac wa put me off a little! As long as i can do beach and soft tracks will be ok! Thank you for the input really appreciated

Defiantly! If u goin on tracks with alot of mud. Be sure to have all terrain tyres. Any dry tracks, sand a good highway terrain tyre will be fine.

With the right tyre. A soft foot and abit of common sense. You can get through alot of things!

Youtube what some poeple do with them!

Also look into turning the traction control off.

[Fredoops]

Disagree. Sure it be nice to have a lock diff. But being alot lighter then other 4wds have its large advantages. The gen 1 CRV are differ then the other crv's. More clearance from stock and the rear diff works differently.
Ive head the new CRV need the traction control turned off for sand use. As it limits the power to the Rear wheels!!


Gen 1 maybe, but gen 2 and gen 3 are heavy suckers

[interceptor]

what's the RAC track like?

I dont really know! They do all this 4wd courses with ypur own vehicle so i assume that will have different levels of difficulty

[JDM DC2R]

Gen 1 maybe, but gen 2 and gen 3 are heavy suckers

Gen 1 is 1424kg Newest CRV is 1580kg The Toyota prado is 2.2 tones or more depending on what model you get!

[EKVTIR-T]

the earlier Prado was 1838kg so its not such a huge jump

[JDM DC2R]

Yer. it would seem all car are getting heaver and heaver!

[UNLS1]

we took the 2011 CRV to a 4WD proving ground in vic with Honda Aus. Its amazing what that car can actually do!
we had it in mud pits, rivers, sand and steep inclines. did a ripper job!

[JDM DC2R]

we took the 2011 CRV to a 4WD proving ground in vic with Honda Aus. Its amazing what that car can actually do!
we had it in mud pits, rivers, sand and steep inclines. did a ripper job!


Hows the ground clearance?

[UNLS1]

actually not to bad, we had car full of salesmen and didnt bottom out at all

[JDM DC2R]

Because the ground clearance is only 170mm on the new models. Compared to 210mm on Gen 1
Not to mention the entry and disparture angle is worst on the new model