My understanding:

Tarmac - quickest locking
Gravel - slightly slower locking
Snow - slowest locking

Why?
The quicker it (the center differential) locks, the quicker and more severe the attitude change, so you wouldn't want the quickest in the slipperiest situation as that would upset the car's stability the fastest (so there are 3 degrees of how fast it will lock).

Ironically, a lot of people posted that they found Gravel to be the best all around mode on the track in dry conditions; I prefer Tarmac in the snow and gravel in the dry!

 

https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/ev...everybody.html

 

When the center diff locks... what exactly does that mean/change? (sorry...such a n00b at this)

 

It means that the front and rear axles are turning together, and are locked in unison. When the ACD is in an "unlocked" state, the front and rear axles can turn at, marginally, different speeds. It works in much the same way that a LSD controls torque between two wheels on the same axle.

 

After reading so many documents and info about differentials, I'm still lost... I don't think I'll ever understand the mechanics of it...-_-;;

 

This is the closest description of my understanding of differentials..

 

i use snow in snow because of the belief that it distributed more power to the front. Clearly this car is less impressive then i thought when i bought it.

CANT WAIT FOR MY STI

 

You can't distribute more power to the front in an STI either. Start out at ~50/50 and you can only send more power to the rear. Get better tires and you won't have a problem if it's locked at 50/50.

 

Why did you buy an AWD car then?

This is full of fail.

50/50 Torque distribution with limited-slip differentials is all I want. It's what's gets the job done...and winter tires... and adapting your driving to winter conditions.

Like someone previously said, snow mode will react more gently, avoiding a potential loss of control. Same goes with the way you usually use your brakes and downshift in snow...right?

That being said, this car is the sh*t, can't wait for the first snow storm.

My 0.02$

 

+1 on the snow storm

 

+2 on the snow storm...I loved it in the parking lot but what sucks the most is G A S .......LOL!!!!

 

Is it just me or does putting it in gravel mode waste a bit more gas than Tarmac mode

 

I finally got some winter tires on my car this winter. Its the 3rd winter I have owned it. The car is an absolute tank! Put it in snow mode, and I don't have any worries about unexpected tail whip. Oh, and its -30C (-22F) with snow and ice all over the road. I'm loving it!

 

You need to get the fat outta dodge and move south!!!!!!

 

Just got my blizzaks on last night too. Can't wait to see the difference. The factory A10s don't get around for **** in the snow