4 Wheel Steering

We've all heard about Four Wheel Drive which is where all of your wheels are powered; but when it comes to Four Wheel Steering or All Wheel Steering, it does exactly what it says: Steers all four wheels on your vehicle.

The three main reasons for Four Wheel Steering is to boost your steering response, intensify stability when you're going above the speed limit on the freeway, & even to reduce your turning radius when you're traveling at a low speed. In most vehicles where Four Wheel Steering is included, there is no separate steering wheel; that'd obviously be too much of a hassle. The rear wheels are navigated by a separate computer & actuators. Typically, the rear wheels can't turn as far as front wheels; but can obviously turn the same direction.

When you're traveling at a slow speed, if you turn your wheels to the right, your rear wheels will turn to the left. The reason for this is so it can reduce the turning radius by an estimated 20%. If you are traveling at a high speed, all four of your wheels will turn the same direction because it improves your "lane changing maneuverability" & is more efficient for trucks or vans that usually tow a trailer.

One of the first vehicles with Four Wheel Steering was the 2002 Sierra Denali by GMC. Let's say one of these trucks were so big that to make a U-Turn, your truck needed 25 feet to do it; if your truck had Four Wheel Steering, all you would need to accomplish this would be twenty feet. The great thing about All Wheel Steering is that if you don't want to use it for whatever reason, you can easily turn it off by flipping a switch or whatever your car offers to turn it off. The computer installed on the vehicle determines how much & which way your rear wheels should transition while driving; & also decides whether or not your rear wheels should be turned the same direction as your front wheels.

If you were to compare a truck that has Four Wheel Steering & truck that doesn't, you would notice that the car with All Wheel Steering has a wider track & bigger fender; but not as big as your average dually pickup truck.

The great thing is that Four Wheel Steering is not only available on those lovely trucks, but they are also offered on cars like the BMW 850CSi, Infiniti G37, & even the Toyota Camry. On newer models that were released in 2008, something called "Active Drive" was released on the Renault Laguna. It was created specifically to increase the security of the people inside the car & strengthen the stability of the steering for the vehicle. Active Drive is supposed to decrease the repercussions of under steer; which is where you turn less sharply then someone who manufactured the vehicle would expect.

So in a nutshell, you can say that Four Wheel Drive is either something that someone may need, or just simply an added accessory that makes the car more expensive than it should be. If you're one that needs to feel like they have complete control of your vehicle (like me), then I would say Four Wheel Drive is for you; or even if you just have a big truck & feel like you really can't get anywhere because it's so big, then All Wheel Drive is definitely for you.