there is button for snow between the heated seat button.
i guess when you turn it on, wheel ratio is lock in 50:50?

what about when it is not on,? probably more power on the rear wheel..i am guessing..but anyone know exactly what is the ratio when in normal mode?
i hear 20:80 & 30:70 from several people,....don't know what is true..

just got curious@.@

 

well when i was looking around i was told depending on the conditions(obviously) the X can transfer 100% of the power to the rear wheels, when there is no slipping, rain, snow, burn outs etc...

But a X owner could be of more assistance

 

The Snow button is for low speed traction. You use it when you get stuck or starting up on slippery surfaces. It clicks off automatically once you get above about 12 miles per hour.

The X will automatically supply power to the wheels that have traction when needed, but generally it's a rear wheel car on dry pavement.

 

Our AWD system has a RWD bias. As Grav said above, the car will run 100% RWD on straight dry pavement. When it senses slip/wet/snowy pavement, it can transfer up to 50% of the power to the fronts.

 

The Snow Mode button also cuts back the amount of power to the wheels. It almost feels like the car starts off in second gear, although that is not the case. The throttle is cut way back in snow mode, again to avoid wheel slippage.
When the X first starts off, it does start in AWD but it is still RWD biased, with more power going to the rear wheels.
When in Snow Mode, the power is distributed to all 4 wheels, 50%-50% front and rear.
Once you get up over 12 mph (or was it 16?), it kicks into RWD again and then only activates awd when necessary.

It's an awesome system. I have never had an issue in the snow.
I have a rediculous driveway...super steep. I can climb out in 2+ feet of snow and I have never gotten stuck. (I do run Blizzak WS-50's)

You'll love it in the winter weather!

 

^ what he said, i believe that with out snow mode we are awd till 12mph with snow we are until 20mph.

 

thanks for the info...now i know how it works...i thought by putting it in snow.. u get 50:50 all the time until u turn it off...but thats not the case

 

I recall reading from somewhere... ( I dont remember where ) that it generally splits at 30/70. When on snow mode, it does start off at 50/50 then reverts back to 30/70 at cruising speeds.

But when you do lay it down, I did read on numerous articles that it can send up to 100% at the rear.

 

Actually, I have always been curious about this. I agree with everything you guys said, but I would like more detail.

Maybe because I am an engineer, but all the stuff I have heard hasn't been very specific. I asked several questions to my dealer before I bought and I couldn't get all the info.

From what I have gotten so far the system is as you guys said 25 front, 75 rear (unless in snow mode then 50/50) up to about 12 mph. Then it does something depending on conditions. I would love to know what it does and how it decides. For example, if I am in a full blizzard, at 20 mph, am I driving a rear wheel drive car UNTIL slip is detected?? OR is the system smart enough to know there is some level of slip and keep AWD on and not revert back to RWD the ENTIRE time I am driving. That is the big quesiton I can never get an answer on. I am sure it reacts fast, however, compared to my 50/50 Subaru I think that system was better for snow drivign. It was always 50/50 then would switch from there. Not a RWD car of course, and didn't have the RWD feel. At 70mph on the highway and you hit a patch of snow or Ice, I would rather have the system already in AWD mode.

I suspect, although unproven, that this system is incapable of 50/50 above 12 mph. Just a hunch, but I think it is only in 25/75 after 12mph. Although, nobody has said that. I have to admit though, the limited time I have driven in the snow, I have no complaints. As a matter of fact I spent an hour during the test drive trying to find as much snow in parking lots etc to get the car stuck. I coudln't.. The saleswoman said she has a great story to tell other buyers...

In any event, I would love to get the code that controls the AWD but I am sure I will never be able to get that....

 

Here is some info on the Attessa and snow mode

This info is from an Infiniti site.

The key to the performance of the new all-wheel drive G35 is its state-of-the-art ATTESA E-TS™ all-wheel drive system, which is arguably one of the most advanced on-pavement all-wheel drive systems in the world.

The ATTESA E-TS, which stands for Advanced Total Traction Engineering System for All Electronic Torque Split, utilizes an electro-magnetic clutch control design (in contrast to typical oil pressure clutch control) to provide quicker response, lighter weight (approximately 22 pounds lighter than a similar oil pressure clutch control design with center differential) and true variable torque distribution, ranging from 50:50 up to 0:100 percent front-to-rear ratio (versus fixed ratio competitive systems).

Some of the G35 system's benefits over front-wheel drive-based AWD systems with traditional center differentials include:

Faster torque distribution control response to changes in road conditions
Ability to adjust torque without the onset of wheel spin allows G35 to uniquely optimize the torque distribution based on driving conditions
Better base performance due to rear-wheel drive base layout (versus front-wheel drive based AWD layouts)
Better standing start performance on snow through use of Snow-Mode switch
Another unique feature of the G35 AWD system design is the addition of a Snow-Mode function, which reduces throttle sensitivity and fixes initial torque distribution at 50:50, helping avoid wheel spin for smooth starts on snowy roads. At speeds above 12 miles per hour, the Snow-Mode function allows the central computer processing system to take over again, continually monitoring traction conditions and changing the torque distribution as needed.

"Only the all-wheel drive G35 feels like a rear-wheel drive performance sedan, giving the drivers in Northern climates all-season driving enjoyment," said Igo.

 

Thanks. I hadn't seen this. Again, it doesnt' say exactly how it decides to stay in AWD, but it does help. It's more of a marketing pitch.

This system is clearly better than others. For example on a Ford and Volvo they are a joke. You hit the gas, wheels spin, then you hear a click (on Ford.. which is the relay) then spinning stops. It takes forever to go to AWD. This system is much much better. However, I still say it isn't as good in snow as Quattro or Subie. I have owned both. Although I won't make my final decision until winter tires are on the G and we get some real snow this winter.

 

This system is awesome. I play around with AWD DSM's and they use a standard viscous coupling to send power backward. That system is predictable and easy to control. The front will start to slip and its gradual (very quick but gradual) distribution to the rear. On the G, the transition isn't even noticeable. I am anxiously awaiting snow for me to test this car out on

 

Here's what Bookrags says:

ATTESA-ETS is featured in the north-south layout vehicles, and was first used in August 1989 in the R32 Nissan Skyline GT-R and Nissan Skyline GTS4. It utilizes what is mostly a conventional RWD gearbox. Although the Skyline GT-R is exclusively AWD, ATTESA-ETS is also used in Nissan models that are also available as RWD such as the A31 Nissan Cefiro which was the second Nissan to feature the system exactly a year later in August 1990. Drive to the rear wheels is constant via a tailshaft and rear differential, however drive to the front wheels is more complex by utilizing a transfer case at the rear of the gearbox. The drive for the front wheels comes from a transfer case bolted on the end of an almost traditional RWD transmission although the (bell housing is slightly different to allow the driveshaft for the front wheels to pass it, the main body is exactly the same as the RWD transmission, the tail-shaft is different to couple to the transfer case). A short driveshaft for the front wheels exits the transfer case on the right side. Inside the transfer case a chain drives a multi-plate wet clutch pack, torque is apportioned using a clutch pack center differential, similar to the type employed in the Steyr-Daimler-Puch system in the Porsche 959. On the rear differential is a high pressure electric oil pump, this pump pressurises Normal ATF oil (0-288psi) into the transfercase to engage the clutchpack. The higher the oil pressure the transfer case is supplied with, the more the clutch pack engages, this is how the torque to the front wheels is varied. The transfer case has its own dedicated ATF (nissan special ATF) oil to lubricate the chain/clutch pack. The front driveshaft runs along the right side of the transmission, into a differential located on the right of the engine's oilpan. The front right axle is shorter than the left, as the differential is closer to the right wheel. The front left axle runs through the engine's sump to the left wheel. The ATTESA-ETS layout is more advanced than the ATTESA system, and uses a 16bit microprocessor that monitors the cars movements at 100 times per second to sense traction loss by measuring the speed of each wheel via the ABS sensors. A three axis G-Sensor mounted underneath the center console feed lateral and longitudinal inputs into an ECU, this ECU controls both the ATTESA-ETS 4WD system and the ABS system. The ECU can then direct up to and including 50% of the power to the front wheels. When slip is detected on one of the rear wheels (rear wheels turn 5% or more than the front wheels), the system directs torque to the front wheels which run a viscous LSD. Rather than locking the AWD in all the time or having a system that is "all or nothing", the ATTESA-ETS system can apportion different ratios of torque to the front wheels as it sees fit. This provides the driver with an AWD vehicle that performs like a rear wheel drive vehicle in perfect conditions and can recover control when conditions aren't as perfect. The advantage to a more traditional ATTESA (Viscous LSD) system is response in hundredths of a second.

 

I'm sorry to hijack the thread but if I have vdc off and my car slides, should awd kick in?

 

You must be cornering like mad crazy for the X to slide. I've cornered harder in my X than my previous 05' G35 coupe and cannot it get it to slide like the coupe. I too drive with VDC off. I believe what's mentioned above is that when it passes the 12mph mark it becomes 100% RWD, and it's only full-time AWD when the Snow button is pressed