---
title: "Here’s How Different Four-Wheel-Drive Modes Affect Your Truck’s Performance"
description: "Breaking down the world of 2-HI, 4-HI, and 4-LO."
date: "2017-06-19"
modified: "2017-07-05"
authors:
  - name: "Kyle Cheromcha"
    job_title: "Editor-in-Chief"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/kyle-cheromcha"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/article/11654/heres-how-different-four-wheel-drive-modes-affect-your-trucks-performance"
categories:
  - "News"
  - "Trucks"
tags:
  - "4WD"
  - "acceleration"
  - "AWD"
  - "Four Wheel Drive"
---

# Here’s How Different Four-Wheel-Drive Modes Affect Your Truck’s Performance

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2017/06/nissan-truck.png>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

As buyers continue to spring for [AWD-equipped](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/10017/a-1970-awd-ford-mustang-convertible-is-the-latest-incredible-barn-find>) crossovers *en masse*, there isn't much outside of pickup trucks still rocking a traditional transfer case these days. It used to be you could get something as workaday as a damn Chevy Tracker with selectable 4WD, but now shifting between 2-HI and 4-LO yourself has become anathema to most. Thankfully, the latest video from *Engineering Explained* is here to teach the next generation how it used to be done—and how exactly all those modes affect the vehicle.

Jason Fenske takes us back to school in breaking down how the part-time 4WD system works on the 2017 Nissan Frontier Pro-4X, and what the different drive and gearing modes do to the truck's straight-line acceleration. Just to sum it up, the engine sends power to the rear wheels through the [transfer case,](<https://www.thedrive.com/video/2289/the-build-video-the-goddamn-transfer-case>) which holds both the HI-LO gear reducer and either gearing or a chain to drive the front axle when 4WD is selected.

The Frontier Pro-4X also features an electronically-locking rear differential, which forces the rear wheels to spin at the same rate, and an ABS-based limited-slip system on all four wheels that can purportedly brake a slipping wheel and route power elsewhere.

Using a series of straight-line acceleration tests to show how 2-HI, 4-HI, and 4-LO affect the Frontier's power delivery, Fenske aptly demonstrates both the drivetrain power loss that leads to a slower time in 4-HI and the shortened gearing in 4-LO that significantly boosts torque and acceleration. Even though it's not advisable to use 4WD on dry pavement because of the risk of drivetrain binding, Fenkse reasons it's okay here since he's only traveling in a straight line. If you're curious about how these results translate off-road, he's [got you covered there.](<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ia463NahG5Q>)

https://youtube.com/embed/gd4Y0McFu3s

## Author
Overseeing an expert staff of writers and editors from his lair in Los Angeles, Kyle shapes The Drive’s singular approach to covering the automotive industry and car culture. He’s been with the site as a writer since 2017, taking over as editor in 2019. On a daily basis, Kyle is responsible for directing The Drive's editorial news and car review content strategies, setting special coverage priorities, managing complex reporting projects, and ensuring what you read on the page meets our high internal standards for quality and trustworthiness. He is also the executive producer of The Drive's YouTube channel, which was relaunched in February 2024 to great acclaim and has accumulated over 14M new views in its first year back on the scene. He hosts a biweekly series on the channel where he breaks down fascinating and complicated stories from the automotive world.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/kylecheromcha.bsky.social>)  
[Instagram](<https://www.instagram.com/kylecheromcha>)  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-cheromcha-1550248a/>)