A car transmission is, no doubt, one of the most essential components of a vehicle. It is the part of a car that transmits engine power to the wheels. Furthermore, car transmission is available in two forms; manual transmission and automatic transmission.
One of the benefits of an automatic transmission is that it’s pretty much convenient to use. Apart from that, it also shifts faster and more accurately when compared to a manual transmission.
An automatic transmission is a type of transmission that doesn’t have a clutch plate and gearshift. If you own an automatic transmission vehicle and you can find 4-D on its gear shift, this doesn’t mean 4WD. Instead, it means the car is on the drive and runs in 4th gear (overdrive).
Is 4-D the same as 4WD? What exactly does 4-D mean on a gear shift? What does 4D mean for a vehicle? D or 4, which should I drive my car in? As you read through the rest of this post, you’ll find answers to these burning questions and more. So, without further ado, let’s get down straight to business.
Is 4-D The Same as 4WD?
According to a post on Reddit, a user talked about how a girl said 4D is the same thing as 4WD.
Here’s a brief of what the user said below:
“Girl driving tells me 4D means 4WD. She’s not joking. She’s been moving the lever left for years when stuck in the snow.” My buddy.”
With that, I’ll ask again, is 4D really the same as 4WD? Or are people just confused as to what the 4D on a car’s gear shift means? To be able to address these questions, I’ll start by talking about what 4WD means.
What is 4WD?
To start with, 4WD in the automobile industry is an abbreviation for Four Wheel Drive. Also, it is often called 4X4. 4WD is a two-axled vehicle drivetrain, which is responsible for providing torque simultaneously to all of its wheels. Furthermore, a vehicle drivetrain is everything, excluding the engine, that makes the wheels move.
The primary function of 4WD is that; when it’s engaged, it enables a car engine to send power to the transmission and then to the front and back axles. After receiving torque, the wheels need traction to be able to move freely on the road.
Here’s What You Need to Know About 4-D?
On the other hand, 4D is one of the gear shift positions. Generally, on automatic transmission cars, there is no clutch plate. For you to shift gear, there are a couple of positioning that you need to get familiar with and 4-D is one of them.
On automatic transmission cars, D is one of the shift lever position indicators. This letter signifies normal driving. When you switch to this option on the gear shift, your car transmission will automatically choose a speed for normal driving for your car.
Furthermore, it’s worth knowing that automatic transmission often comes with one reverse gear and 4 forward gears, including the first gear (low), second gear, third gear, and fourth gear (overdrive).
That said when you see 4-D on your automatic transmission vehicle; what should come to your mind is “drive” and “fourth gear.” The gear shift position actually means you are in a normal driving mode and running your car in fourth gear.
The bottom line is that both 4WD and 4-D are two terms used in the automobile industry. 4WD is a drivetrain that provides torque, at the same time, to all of a vehicle’s wheels. As for 4-D, it’s a gear position for shifting to drive mode when running a car in 4th gear, otherwise called overdrive.
What Exactly Does 4D Mean on Gear Shift?
A gear shift, also called gear lever or gear stick, is a metal lever that is usually connected to the transmission of a car.
In a manual transmission, a gear shift is referred to as a shift lever and is used to shift gears easily from one position to another. On an automatic transmission, the term is referred to as a gear selector.
As earlier mentioned, a gear selector often carries one reverse gear and 4 forward gears. Sometimes, automatic transmission vehicles come with numbers and letters, such as 1, 2, D, L, S. They are generally known as “PRNDL” but pronounced as “Prindle” in the automotive industry.
PRNDL means “Park,” “Reverse,” “Neutral,” “Drive,” and “Low.” For vehicles that only have “1, 2, D, L, S” on the gear shift, they mean 1st gear, 2nd gear, drive, low, and sport.
Furthermore, some automatic transmission cars often come with P, R, N, 4-D, 3, and 2-L. When you have these indicators, what they simply mean on your gear shift is “Park,” “Reverse,” “Neutral,” ” normal driving in 4th gear,” “5th gear,” and “low speed driving in 2nd gear.”
That said, 4-D on an automatic transmission vehicle’s gear selector is a combination of two indicators; 4th gear and normal driving.
What Does 4-D Mean on a Vehicle?
It’s pretty simple; when your gear selector is on this level, it means the vehicle will accelerate in the fourth gear in equilibrium after you get up to speed.
Should I Drive in D or 4?
You can move with any of the two gear indicators, depending on where you’re driving your car. D means normal driving, and it’s what you’ll use most of the time you’re ready to start driving.
On the other hand, 4 means 4th gear. If you’re looking to drive at a speed of up to 55 mph, then running your car in 4 is ideal.
