My wife an I are enjoying our 2018 Signature, with kid #3 on the way, her Pontiac G8 GT sadly had to go (we bought a CPO with 6000 miles back in Feb).
Having have several 4WD vehicles over the years (Landcruiser, Vehicross, Montero, XC90), currently a Cayenne turbo, and a AWD car (3000GT VR-4) I am very disappointed with the i-ACTIVE awd system on the CX9.
With a hard launch, especially if the wheel is turned (pulling out and making a right turn for example),there is a lot of slip (hear the tires spinning), torque steer, and the traction control even kicks in zapping power, which to me indicates the AWD system is not transferring nearly enough power to the rear wheels. And this is on a dry surface Im talking about. Issues are only compounded on wet surfaces.
All of my other 4WD vehicles where true 4WD with transfer cases, so yes different animals. My XC90 was front wheel drive biased, with a haldex awd system, now it didn't have the 310 ftlbs of torque the CX9 has, but it never spun the front tires nor did the traction control ever come on, and no torque steer.
Even my 3000GT with 400+ hp doesnt spin the tires (unless the clutch is dumped), and its FWD based system, although a true viscous coupling diff and 40/60 torque split (so that might explain it).
So, its either the AWD system, or perhaps its the tires. I have the stock BS Ecopias, so we will see if things change when I go to replace them. These things are design for noise, rolling resistance, so dry traction is obviously a trade-off.
Are you all experiencing the same?
Im wondering if there is an update to the awd system software?
It would be awesome if we could control the bias, I did a hack back in the day on the Vehicross, so you could dial in the torque split as it was an On Demand system too. But I have heard others talk about small fluide capacity and possible overheating.
I think Mazda missed the mark with i-ACTIVE. I know the CX9 isnt an off road vehicle, but I am having sub-optimal performance in even its target use, on road and on dry pavement!
Seems like there is also a trend towards more off road capable systems recently,coming full circle on SUV's from the early ones with true 4WD systems (Honda, KIA, all have some kind of dirt, gravel, snow settings), so MAzda needs to catch up.
Having have several 4WD vehicles over the years (Landcruiser, Vehicross, Montero, XC90), currently a Cayenne turbo, and a AWD car (3000GT VR-4) I am very disappointed with the i-ACTIVE awd system on the CX9.
With a hard launch, especially if the wheel is turned (pulling out and making a right turn for example),there is a lot of slip (hear the tires spinning), torque steer, and the traction control even kicks in zapping power, which to me indicates the AWD system is not transferring nearly enough power to the rear wheels. And this is on a dry surface Im talking about. Issues are only compounded on wet surfaces.
All of my other 4WD vehicles where true 4WD with transfer cases, so yes different animals. My XC90 was front wheel drive biased, with a haldex awd system, now it didn't have the 310 ftlbs of torque the CX9 has, but it never spun the front tires nor did the traction control ever come on, and no torque steer.
Even my 3000GT with 400+ hp doesnt spin the tires (unless the clutch is dumped), and its FWD based system, although a true viscous coupling diff and 40/60 torque split (so that might explain it).
So, its either the AWD system, or perhaps its the tires. I have the stock BS Ecopias, so we will see if things change when I go to replace them. These things are design for noise, rolling resistance, so dry traction is obviously a trade-off.
Are you all experiencing the same?
Im wondering if there is an update to the awd system software?
It would be awesome if we could control the bias, I did a hack back in the day on the Vehicross, so you could dial in the torque split as it was an On Demand system too. But I have heard others talk about small fluide capacity and possible overheating.
I think Mazda missed the mark with i-ACTIVE. I know the CX9 isnt an off road vehicle, but I am having sub-optimal performance in even its target use, on road and on dry pavement!
Seems like there is also a trend towards more off road capable systems recently,coming full circle on SUV's from the early ones with true 4WD systems (Honda, KIA, all have some kind of dirt, gravel, snow settings), so MAzda needs to catch up.