This has to be the best description of Subaru AWD Systems I've ever seen; I really enjoy your videos! 😎

Last Sunday I went on a off road trip with various Wranglers and Toyotas and I was driving my 2019 Subaru Forester. It was when we got to a slippery mud hill when 2 Toyotas ( a Land Cruiser and a Fortuner) and a Mitsubishi Montero got stuck but my Subaru on the other hand went up the hill with no problems at all and with little wheel spin too, I couldn`t be any more happier with my Subaru!!!

My 2006 Forester w/ AWD saved me from having a major accident when I hit a patch of ice while accelerating through s turn. I skidded to the right across the street, up a little hill & down the other side of the hill, braked and turning slightly to the left wound up on the street & avoided driving into a driveway w/two cars. After sitting in the car long enough to get settled I went on to my doctor's appointment. I chose the Subaru Forester because it was stable on curves. I'm very glad that I did! - Marilyn

Its incredible to see how capable Subaru has made their vehicles over the years. Amazing video!

One of my favorite things about winter is feeling the AWD on my '01 Outback with 200,000+ miles shift power around the 4 wheels and figure out an unplowed uphill road and go around stuck vehicles who can't quite make it. Just warms my heart.

You’re amazing Ryan! Am the owner of a 2019 forester sport, watched all your videos through the years countless times, and requested this video to be released during your 2020 outback live session. You made it happen! Really appreciate you listening to the viewers. This is why I continue to The quality content of Driving Sports TV!

recently bought a Subaru. The first time I've even been in one, much less driven one. And I'm kicking myself for waiting so long. It's one of the best drives I've ever had, to the point I keep trying to think of places I need to go or just driving for the hell of it. Granted, I don't have a ton of experience with driving multiple different vehicles from the spectrum of manufacturers, but I think I may be in love.

Great vid. and Thank You. This is one of the best explanations of the DCCD system I've seen - and I've watched most of them as I just got a '19 STI 5 months ago and am trying to figure out how to use it. I've had 2 WRX's before that, and both were awsome in the snow. Can't wait to try the new one this winter :)

Well done! I liked learning about the history and development of Subaru AWD systems.

my mom recently bought a 2019 forester sport and after watching some of your videos, it makes me like it a little bit more

Finally a proper dccd explanation Great job Most idiots think it controls where the power goes 🤦‍♀️

One of my favorite youtubers, I love how your never biased. Also it does say alot when a man who makes a living driving cars picks a subie for his family. Keep up the good work!

Ryan, You’re awesome. Thanks for detailed explanations of the various Subaru AWD systems available in their production vehicles. My wife and I have been hooked to Subies since the early ‘90’s and have seen their vehicles evolved and improved through successive generations. Subies truly inspire confidence especially during inclement weather conditions. Again, thanks for putting together this informative video on the Subie AWD systems.

Dude, this is excellent content. Really informative with diagrams!

best explanation of the STI DCCD system I have seen. I learned it by feel through my 15 STI, but always wondered what it all actually means. Thanks M8, enjoy a sub.

Wow, what a thorough explanation of the Subaru AWD system. The Dealers at Subaru should be so well informed. I bought my Forester sport anyway, but the information would have been nice. I’m a subscriber now, thanks.

Well...shiz, here goes a marathon on all your subaru reviews.

Subaru is AWESOME! Thanks for the excellent & in-depth explanation of their 4-wheel drive systems. Great videos of your classic Subaru and wheel spin 👍

Great videos sir! One of the best car UKposts pages I've seen. Thank you so much

We have to put both our Outback and Forester into Xmode just to get up our private road and into our garage during our very deep winter snow. We have to plow and maintain our road ourselves and we get 5-7 feet of snow every winter. We live in the mountains well above Cashmere, WA. Leavenworth is 20 minutes from our house and Wenatchee is 25 minutes from our house once we get onto highway 2. It normally takes us 10-15 minutes to get to the highway from our mountain home. Ryan I Love the content you share on your channel, especially when you’re talking about Subaru’s. I watch everyone of your videos. Thanks again, Ryan !

This was incredibly informative. Great video!!

Based on videos like this one I went trough a lot of trouble to import myself a WRX STI(it's no longer sold in EU after 2018). Best decision I ever made in regards to cars. If you have not driven one before, you've not lived a full life :)

Your channel deserves wayyy more attention than it’s getting, amazing video man

Best description ever. As a service manager in a large Subaru dealer in south Florida I can tell you that are phenomenal and you are absolutely correct.

I love the Subaru enthusiasm! I could watch your Subie videos everyday 👍 Also I’m jealous of your Subaru racing suit 😎

This is fantastic explanation. Thank you so much.

This level of detail is out of this world. Super nice one. 👏🏿 👏🏿 👏🏿

I am certainly going to keep coming back to this video whenever I am in doubt about AWD systems. Awesome video Ryan.

Awesome video! Thank you sir! We took my wife’s 2019 Ascent to a off road park in Texas, and drove it so far into the technical sections that a older gentleman in a brand new F-150 Raptor kept following us because he later told us was convinced we would get stuck... Nope! Kept going! Amazing vehicle! I just picked up a 2020 STI, coming from a 2017 BMW M3 Competition. My first drive in the rain was so much fun with the STI! The M3 would absolutely go nowhere in those conditions, and could be super tricky. But the STI plowed through with so much confidence, amazing for real life use! (In dry the M3 was a different animal though, I need to give it credit. Lightning fast monster!)

Fantastic explanations thank you so much I’m sending this around

Thank you for this amazing video! I've always wanted a concise and thorough explanation of the Subaru AWD systems. This video is perfect, and I have subscribed. Thanks again!

underrated channel and video, thanks so much for the information! Subscribed. Great and concise explanation wow

Excellent video. Now Im even happier that I bought an STI.

You missed the, orbital gear center differential that is also on the Manual Transmission basic Viscous system. The open differential spits the torque between front and rear. The viscous locks when either end slips. A Viscous only system would be FWD only until it slips.

Awesome overview and recap! Love your classic Legacy. I have a 91 wagon myself, though it needs a lot of love. Keep up the great work!

Great video, well done sir! I work for Subaru in sales and we take factory test about this stuff and talk amongst ourselves. This video shares a lot of the same info and even more! Thank you

Love my 2017 Forester, this car goes anywhere, I feel safe , that I can drive anywhere, no matter the time of year !!

Very good content Ryan. As you might guess...I have notes. One thing thats important to note with the "continuous AWD" system in the manuals is that while they have viscous couplers they aren't only the coupler, they are viscous over open. So the Center diff unit has a traditional open diff with spider gears and then the VC unit in addition. So in this case its a full time open center differential that will transfer torque 1:1, but that also means that limited front traction means that same limit to the rear axle (1:1). With the VC, it adds a limited slip function to the center to be able to change the bias ratio. Its hard to find specific information on that ratio, I suspect because the VC TECHNICALLY will fully lock in "hump" but thats just the plates in the VC binding and thats not good for the unit. In hump mode the continuous system can actually transfer 100% of torque to the rear axle as the center diff is "locked". Like I said, thats bad for the VC and doesn't really happen that often but it can. The reason thats important is because some older implementations of the VC were not coupled with a differential at all and the coupler did all the work. That meant that the rear axle would only get power reactively after there was sufficient speed difference between axles. This was how the older VW synchros worked and it put a ton more stress on the VC and they aren't as good off-road as a result. VTD is basically the pricey special version of this system and while it can be true to say that it will only transfer "50:50" that's not super accurate as the clutch pack can transfer way more than 50% to the rear axle as it has the ability to fully lock the plates like DCCD, only without the ability to control it manually. In a fully locked system (VTD or DCCD) the center differential is fully locked and taken out of the equation where it then acts as a full 4wd system, just like a truck. In that state the system can transfer 100% of torque to either axle. DCCD is deeply misunderstood as its a torque sensing limited slip center differential with normal torque bias in the gearing. In a fully turned off DCCD system, the system can still transfer more than 50% of the torque to the rear axle as the bias ratio is greater than 1:1 (I think its somewhere like 2:1, maybe as high as 2.6:1). Meaning whatever the front axle is getting up to 2.6 x that limit is what the rear can get. if the front axle can only support, say, 1000 lbs-ft TRG then the rear can get up to 2600 lbs-ft TRG before the center limited slip limit is reached and slip happens. In this instance 72% of torque goes to the rear axle. What DCCD, and to a lesser extend VTD, does is apply addition torque bias by clamping up clutches that act on the center diff. So going from a fully disabled DCCD to say, 50% DCCD setting will increase the bias ratio from the standard 2.6:1 to, lets say, 6:1. That means in the same case as before the torque that could go to the rear axle is now 6x the front meaning that 83% can go rear...all the way up to fully locked which is an 1:0 ratio or infinity:1, in other words fully capable of sending 100% torque to the rear axle (the STI also has limited slips with similar TBR's front and rear). i.e. LOCKED. This is specifically why I hate the use of the term "50/50", because it implies percentage, but doesn't actually have anything to do with torque bias. it CAN mean a nominal torque bias of 1:1, or it CAN mean a locked state, but those are very different things as a nominal 1:1 bias can't bais any torque, where a limited slip or locking function actually can. Subaru systems are, indeed, quite robust and aside from the active AWD system in the autos, very different from the on demand AWD systems most crossovers have. Active AWD is pretty much like these PTO systems on most AWD system, but their clutches are strong enough to fully lock and indeed you can modify the signal to the solenoid to do just that - fully lock the clutches. Hopefully this doesn't come across as anything but being helpful, your explanations are miles ahead of 95% of all explanations of these systems online. Side note: VDC is NOT torque biasing, its a 1:1 bias differential but tricks the differential into thinking there is no traction loss at the slipping wheel allowing 50% of the torque coming in at the ring gear to go to the gripping wheel. STI's and some WRX/XT models have true biasing limited slip differentials in at least the rear axle, though in situations where a tire has no traction, VDC is better than an LSD as 2.6x nothing is still nothing, where half of whatever the rear diff is getting will get you moving.

Thanks for your description of the AWD - now I know why my 2006 Forester handled so well!

Excellent description of Subaru AWD systems. Never knew there was more than one. Had a 2002 Forester which couldn't get up a driveway when there was ice on just one side of car and dry asphalt on other side. Never shifted power to the non slipping side.

Excellent review, However, you did miss one of my favorite Subaru AWD systems. My 2003 Subaru Baja 5MT has a rear LSD. 2003 is the only year Subaru did this and it is only on the Manual Transmission. I had to dig through information just to get this amazing fact. Love it. I easily got out of blow sand dunes which I got stuck in because I stopped the car at the worst possible time in blow sand, but didn't matter because as easy as it was to get stuck, it was almost just as easy to get out. Other heavier vehicles with 4x4 or locking diffs would have more trouble getting out. Amazing vehicle!

Subaru's symmetrical AWD system and Audi's AWD Quatro are the two best true AWD systems on the market hands down.

Awesome video! I just got my 2018 Black Edition Forester! Upgraded from the 2015 Forested Silver and couldn’t be happier.

Thank you. Comes across as as totally knowledgeable on these systems. I wish I had this information the last time I was shopping. No one at the Subaru dealership had this kind of in-depth experience and was willing to share. The only thing I could get from the dealer is the Subaru system is the best but no direct evidence or technical information was available. Subscribed and liked thanks again.

wow this is a great channel. I appreciate the detail run down of the Subaru AWD systems and also the great examples of the various tests you have done. I've been looking for something just like this. I love my 2012 OB 3.6R but it's a little small. Sadly the Ascent seems too big and to be honest, less than attractive. I was actually looking at the Highlander mostly for the extra cargo space, but I know it doesn't compare to Subies awesome prowess AWD abilities. Thanks for all the videos!

I purchased a new Outback in 2017, had RAB and many electrical problems from the start. After only a couple of months I had the car in the deanship for repairs, . The dealer only deleted the PC history, did nothing to fix the problem, and does not supply the needed paperwork to prove I was there. This practice is still going on today. The service tech brags, "as long as I work here, no one will ever qualify for Lemon Law protection " Problems got MUCH worse. In for repair 10 + times, towed in 4 times. After contacting Subaru customers support, they said because the dealer refused to supply paperwork for your visits, they refused to refund my money for the Lemon they sold me. I could almost hear Subaru saying " GOT YA SUCKER " Car was traded in, because it would not work, still under warranty, still not fixed because they didn't know how to fix it. Lost well over $14,000 because Subaru does not stand behind their cars, or the customer.

Great video and explanations. The recap is especially helpfull. Keep up the good work brother!

As a Subaru fan and long time user, this is THE most comprehensive piece on SAWD drive trains I have seen.

The video we all have been waiting for! This was a thorough, well explained video and love the gutted old school legacy! But I am still slightly confused about what exactly consists of a AWD system in my car, a 2018 wrx base with 6-speed. From my understanding it still has the Continues AWD system with a fully mechanical center diff coupling that locks a 50/50 split with open diffs at two ends and VCD by braking only? Or, does it have the VCD system with sensor controlled clutch pack at each diff in addition to braking?

Great explanation. Confusing, but great. They need to make a Crosstrek WRX with a better engine.

One year later Ryan, and this video is still very relevant. Love coming back and hearing the differences in the awd systems.

Thanks for bringing back the 91 Legacy for a bit!!! Love that car!

Very well-produced, informative video! (Liked/subscribed/etc.) I've read about this topic in various places, but it's never been clear why it makes engineering sense to pair Continuous AWD with manuals and Active AWD with automatics. (Setting aside VTD and DCCD for a moment, since those are more niche.) There must be an engineering reason or else Subaru wouldn't still be adhering to both pairings after several decades. It's not like the use case for, say, a manual Crosstrek is that different from that of an automatic Crosstrek such that the different front/rear biases would make more sense for respective buyers of each. I'd find that argument hard to believe. The best guess I've heard is that an automatic already has a bunch of electronics and/or hydraulic plumbing in place, so it's relatively simple to add AWD-control functionality, whereas a manual's purely mechanical transmission setup would necessitate a lot of added complexity to tack on Active AWD, so they stick with a purely mechanical VLSD arrangement. If true, this would seem to suggest Active AWD is "better" than Continuous, because there's no clear engineering reason they couldn't slap a VLSD onto the back of their automatic transmission and achieve greater economies of scale, but they choose to give it Active instead. Also, I keep hearing different figures for Active AWD's nominal split. Some sources, including the Subaru Global website, say it's up to 60/40 now. Of course, the actual number is probably relatively meaningless since the system is constantly making adjustments.

Outback also adds rear limited slip diff compared to the legacy :)

Nice Video! Very informative! I hate to say that I haven't been a real fan of yours in the past, but your videos have improved a TON! Credit where it's Due.

Love my Forester. My wife and I both drive one. Great cars.

I would love to see a video on Mazda’s recent Skyactiv AWD system in the new Mazda 3 CX 30 which is the Crosstrek competitor .... I owned an Impreza and enjoyed it but Mazda won me over with the 2014 Mazda3 hatch which I love because of the style handling and power! I’m considering the CX 30 or CX5 because I want to do head to the mountains and hit some dirt trails on the weekends... I hate CVT transmissions although Subaru's isn’t that bad it’s lack of power in combination with that is a deal breaker for me. Great video

I have an '03 Impreza WRX with the mechanical LSD in back and whatever kind of voodoo they put in there that car has gone places you wouldn't think it could plus its on rails in the corners. I may keep it forever.

What an informative video. With humour! I’ve just bought a 2013 diesel cvt outback. Love my Subaru’s. Had a 2003 forester XT for 11 years, didn’t miss a beat.

One of the best AWD video explanation ! it would be nice to see videos about other car brands AWD! Thank You!

Do a video on Toyota/Lexus AWD systems

My 2003 sti has the best drivetrain they've made. 65:35 split and two LSD's.

What a great video explaining the engineering aspect of Subaru's all wheel drive system.

Very interesting and excellent analysis of Subaru AWD systems. You explain very well that Subaru AWD technologies are full time all wheel drive in comparison with many other AWD available on the market which are in fact only part time all wheel drive and switch all wheel drive in case of slipping. Many thanks.

Subarus have equal length half shafts while other brands don't. Unequal length half shafts cause squirrelly handling in slippery conditions because the power is applied unevenly, and when applied it causes drift and fish tailing, over and under steer... and such and so forth. Your welcome.

Very nice video! That's just a pity you didn't mention Leone ;)

I got my 2012 Subaru Outback 2.5i Prem 6 months ago where I live in West Central Ohio, and have been down in northeastern Kentucky where my daughter lives for the majority of that time. She lives on a mountain up a partially paved mostly gravel road with a 6% grade gravel driveway that gets washed out every time it pours rain. My car has been used to get higher up the mountain through the horse pastures to help with farm chores and is a dream. If I’d been in any other vehicle, especially my old 2002 Mercury Sable Wagon, which I loved, it wouldn’t have made it half the time and I’d have been scared of losing control. Thanks for explaining extremely well how my Subaru’s system works so well.

Great vid! You were brutal with the oldie, but the educational value is off the charts :D

I'd like to learn about Audi's ]Quattro system.

I almost cried at around 11 minutes in when you admitted to having an automatic WRX...

Awesome video! I really enjoy your detailed descriptions and explanations. After watching the video I was curious which system is closest to matching my old ‘97 Pathfinder 4x4. Or my buddy’s old 4x4 Explorer. They were true go anywhere types of vehicles. After moving to Florida from New England, I thought I’d no longer have a need for anything other than a 2WD sedan or whatever. Then I experienced multiple tropical storms, flash floodings and one mandatory evacuation due to a hurricane. I wonder if you might one day make a video on tires, different drive systems and ground clearance in snow, rain, flooding, etc. On road the way most folks spend most of their time.

I had a 2014 outback 2.5 with cvt. I loved that vehicle. I was sold on Subaru’s AWD when I was forced into the medium during a snow storm by the snow plow dodging a vehicle in his lane. That Subie pulled out of that situation without missing a beat. On top of that is the great mpg those Subies can get.

different hardware is also involved in subaru's modern AWD system. you said the only difference was software-- you cant put new software on an old computer. You definitely know what you're talking about, but you may have oversimplified it there for everyone else.

You forgot to mention the Diff lock on the STi, I can turn my car into a snow plow when they're locked up. 👌😁

Thanks for this great explanation video! The deep dive into continuous all-wheel-drive makes me wonder what would happen if we would put the open differentials between diagonally opposite wheels instead of the front wheels and rear wheels. The viscous coupler still connects the 2 differentials. Let's refer to this as diagonal continuous AWD as opposed to symmetrical continuous AWD. When 2 diagonally opposite wheels lose grip, which is typically the case in crawler-like situations, symmetrical continuous AWD won't really help, because the viscous coupler won't lock when slipping occurs both in the front and in the back. However, with diagonal continuous AWD, the viscous coupler WOULD kick in, causing power to be distributed evenly over the pair of slipping wheels and the pair of wheels with grip, without the need for single wheel breaking. Another advantage of diagonal continuous AWD would be that while cornering on a normal road, the 2 pairs of diagonally opposite wheels will average to more or less the same rotation speed, whereas paired rear wheels would average to a lower speed than paired front wheels. As a result, diagonal continuous AWD will reduce the chances of the viscous coupler kicking in while cornering.

Absolutely instructive on a lot of qeustions I had before. Thank you!

All I know is that my 2019 XV can drive where my dads fwd volvo can't!

At 16:15. You haven’t seen TFL car’s Subaru on gold mine hill. The cvt wouldn’t send enough power to the wheels to climb the hill.

Excellent video. The best at explaining and demonstrating the differences between Subaru AWD systems.

Thanks! Great video! Subaru stuff always welcome. Happy to support that!

Great AWD system, unfortunately on most of their cars it is attached to a very lousy CVT that likes to slip power when you need more. Check the curb test, but nobody wants to throw mud on their favorite brand.

Where all my wrx/sti guys and gals at!!?? (I feel like a majority of y'all watching this have either or)

Great video -- perfect level for those of us who are auto enthusiasts but not full-blown engineers.

Now that was a great explanation with great video's and graphics. Nice job guys!

Japanese are very clever. And their women are gorgeous. :)

I just found this channel today and I'm very happy.

I am a owner of a 2020 Subaru cross trek limited and we are really happy with how the car handles driving through the rain on the interstate the car drives so solid and you can feel the car working for you to keep us from slipping on the wet surfaces!

VERY well done...Best description ever...Now I know what I have in my 2022 Forester touring premier with dual x mode... ...

I'm starting getting in love with my 2020 STI. Best car ever owned.

Great video!!! A lot of knowledge explained simple! Keep it up!

DCCD on my Type R Vers. 6, helped me so much when I just bought my Subaru on winter, and cross some roads with 20cm of snow!

thank you so much for making this video, I learned alot more about my car!

Absolutely love your content. So much so your reviews of the Outback Onyx XT heavily persuaded me away from a Tacoma and into my new Magnetite 2021 Onyx XT.

I love my subaru legacy outback at 270,000 miles, she's still kicking off the snow!

Great job on the video....very informative in plain simple way to understand

Thoroughly enjoyed this video mate. Cheers

Dear sir thanks for sharing all the Subaru all wheel drive system I learn alot for it also I am envy you have the first gen of subaru legacu RS this is one of my dream car

Excellent explaination of the various awd system. Thank you.

Awesome explanation of Subaru all wheel drive. Well done. Subscribed.

Im 2016 owner of WRX my very first turbo AWD. I didn't know jack about its all wheel drive until i come across your channel. :)