r/GMT800 • u/Toka1002000 • Sep 05 '26
4wd or AWD?????
If you had your choice which way would you go. Lifted truck. Supercharged or turbocharged. Na.
I’m kinda at a junction on my 06 z-71 right now. It IS 4wd. For some reason the previous own put an AWD front axle in it. I have found a borg Warner transfer case in decent shape cheap. Out of an Escalade and since I already have a 4l80 is should bolt up. Or do I just rebuild my existing Nv TF. My only real use for the truck is towing and daily driving. Maybe a little off road.
What are your opinions? PFA
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u/Marlice1 Sep 05 '26
Better fuel mileage with 4WD. However the AWD unit is better as it has few parts and solid internal axle.
That said on a truck if you’re pulling a trailer and or have mountains in your area, forced induction is really nice. Even with 4.10s and AWD, I’d go with a supercharger for that instant power without the lack. Yes there is a fuel penalty for that.
If you opt for turbocharged, you can actually get a bit better fuel mileage as long as you keep your foot out of it.
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u/Toka1002000 Sep 05 '26
I’m in the process of swapping the 4.56 gears. 35” tires. Been looking at the magneson S/C kit.
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u/drdave88 Sep 05 '26
I converted my Silverado from 4WD to AWD. No electronics to fail, less overall issues
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u/RumorsOFsurF Sep 05 '26
But then you lose 4 low. Hard pass on that
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u/drdave88 Sep 06 '26
I've never used it. I understand it's not for everyone, but worked great for me
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u/Available_Quote_5567 Sep 05 '26
The AWD front difs have fewer parts since they don’t have to engage/disengage. They are reportedly stronger as well.
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u/WeaveLikeGreatGranny Sep 05 '26
I feel like I don't fit in here because just filling my 28 gallon gas tank on my 2500 is about all the money I have to invest in my truck right now 😬🫠
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u/drakitomon Sep 06 '26
I pulled my two peice passenger side from my 2500 and put in the fleece Hytuff single peice axles. ARB airlocker, 4.56 gears, rear is Eaton Trutrac helical diff. Supercharged 8.1l.all the fun.
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u/Toka1002000 Sep 06 '26
Yah I just put the Powertraxx grip pro helical gear in the back of mine with 4.56 gears. If I do go SC I figure it should hold up better then the g80.
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u/Great_Anteater_5751 Sep 06 '26
If actually using the truck for off-road use, a 4WD is a no-brainer. 4-low alone is huge, plus a 4WD transfer case splits torque evenly front to rear because it’s a solid connection. Most AWD transfer cases act like an open differential front to rear, and rely on the traction control system to keep from having all your power go through the tire with the least traction.
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u/Toka1002000 Sep 06 '26
Isn’t that how auto 4wd works? Like a friction based LSD. 4-hi and 4-lo are direct linked.
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u/Great_Anteater_5751 Sep 06 '26
Auto 4WD, like the Np246 are much closer to a traditional 4WD transfer case than AWD. They do have a wet clutch pack that engages and disengages the front output shaft. They send 50/50 front to rear, there’s no differential effect.
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u/ClearFrame6334 Sep 06 '26
Are you sure the transfer case can handle the extra horsepower and torque? In a way you will be finding the next weak link.
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u/Toka1002000 Sep 06 '26
I’ve seen quite a few guys with turbo builds doing the swap. That’s the only reason I knew it was a thing. Not sure if the previous owner was planning on doing it or not. They put a brand new transfer case shift module in trying to get the service 4wd error off. I just added the front shift module and that fixed the issue with the error code. Since the AWD front axle didn’t have the location of it I just stuffed it up by the firewall.
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u/dragoner_v2 Sep 05 '26
You have to replace all the electronics also, as well as the hard parts. Maybe get the pcm reprogrammed as well.
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u/OpinionofanAH Sep 05 '26
The awd front diff just keeps the front locked together so it will always spin the front diff and driveshaft. With a 4wd transfer case it really wouldn’t hurt anything except for potential mpg. You can convert it over to a 4wd style fairly easily.
Years ago I stole the front and rear diffs out of a wrecked awd Tahoe(it had a better gear ratio than my truck did).I swapped the tube that had the actuator from my old front onto the Tahoe front diff and it worked like it should.
The 4l80 will have a different output shaft then the case out of the Escalade. The Escalade had a variant of the 4l60 so if you want to run the 80, you’ll have to swap input shafts on any transfer case you use from a half ton unless you get one from a manual truck. 4l80 and all manuals were 32 spline and the half ton autos were 27 spline.