Polestar

[HamDenFede]

To me the most interresting part of the latest Polestar tune, is the mysterious dynamics change in torque distribution, sending more power to the rear wheels.

I have been chasing my dealer to get a more detailed explanation on this, and exactly how much power is sent to the rear wheels...but no one on the planet can give a serious answer on that. My guess is that the normal Haldex setup is roughly 95:5 in favor of the front wheels, and that the latest Polestar does, in cases, change that quite alot. Hell, someone must have coded the update, and know whether its at 50:50, 80:20, or somewhere between XX:YY and ZZ:QQ under certain circumstances! But noone knows. A rear wheels biased car, I think I would enjoy even more than a remapped engine etc.

Not going to pull the trigger on the update before I have more facts though. It might just all be marketing smoke, where the significant change in distribution means going from 95:5 to 90:10. Also, taking in the limitations of the Haldex system, we will never see BMW like figures (40:60), but you can always dream...

[MaDProFF]

Not on a T8.

Though in the real world would you really notice, though I suppose you would in very hard acceleration and get no torque steer, assuming it had enough power in the first place in a non T8 to produce torque steer

For a T8 it is certainly worth the money in may opinion if you intend to keep the car for a reasonable term, or do a reasonable milage. The Changes from a Polestar Remap are not all about engine performance.

[mdmd]

Originally Posted by HamDenFede

To me the most interresting part of the latest Polestar tune, is the mysterious dynamics change in torque distribution, sending more power to the rear wheels.

I have been chasing my dealer to get a more detailed explanation on this, and exactly how much power is sent to the rear wheels...but no one on the planet can give a serious answer on that. My guess is that the normal Haldex setup is roughly 95:5 in favor of the front wheels, and that the latest Polestar does, in cases, change that quite alot. Hell, someone must have coded the update, and know whether its at 50:50, 80:20, or somewhere between XX:YY and ZZ:QQ under certain circumstances! But noone knows. A rear wheels biased car, I think I would enjoy even more than a remapped engine etc.

Not going to pull the trigger on the update before I have more facts though. It might just all be marketing smoke, where the significant change in distribution means going from 95:5 to 90:10. Also, taking in the limitations of the Haldex system, we will never see BMW like figures (40:60), but you can always dream...

Proportion is about 95-5 under regular driving conditions. But Volvo says the proportion of rear power changes in several cases: When starting from stopped (say 50-50), when the car detects slip in front axle, etc.

But there are no more details. On top of that, the changes introduced by Polestar are even more obscure.

Agree that it would be nice to know what exactly the car does under every circumstance.

[Quacker]

Originally Posted by mdmd

Proportion is about 95-5 under regular driving conditions. But Volvo says the proportion of rear power changes in several cases: When starting from stopped (say 50-50), when the car detects slip in front axle, etc.

But there are no more details. On top of that, the changes introduced by Polestar are even more obscure.

Agree that it would be nice to know what exactly the car does under every circumstance.

Driver doesn’t need to know any of that. They either like how it drives or they don’t. Off-road it seems to deliver adequate torque to the back in conditions that the CR-V does not and even on extreme uphill bends on the road in first and second gear, there are no stability control or traction control lights, as there actually were in the Q7.

[HamDenFede]

Originally Posted by Quacker

Driver doesn’t need to know any of that. They either like how it drives or they don’t.

I partly agree. In difficult road conditions the car should just do it's thing and keep you safe on the road/track etc. But I would really much prefer that I could change the condition to e.g. 50:50 or even more rear wheel bias at the touch of a button, and that it would stay like that as long as the grip on all wheels are good...which is the case in 99,9% of my driving.

Specifically promoting the torque distribution as the big selling point for the new version of Polestar, and not giving that information just sets off my BS alarm.

Dont get me wrong, I love my car, but having spent the last 8 years in RWD BMW's, the FWD bias AWD in the Volvo is more or less the only thing I can put a finger on.

[Haldex]

I don't think you can get more than 50% sent to the rear- a by-design limitation in Haldex..

[mdmd]

Originally Posted by Quacker

Driver doesn’t need to know any of that. They either like how it drives or they don’t. Off-road it seems to deliver adequate torque to the back in conditions that the CR-V does not and even on extreme uphill bends on the road in first and second gear, there are no stability control or traction control lights, as there actually were in the Q7.

I kindly disagree. On this grounds, the users do not need to know how ABS works, or what is the ESP, etc.

Actually they don't need, but if they know that makes them better drivers. IMO.

[Quacker]

Originally Posted by mdmd

I kindly disagree. On this grounds, the users do not need to know how ABS works, or what is the ESP, etc.

Actually they don't need, but if they know that makes them better drivers. IMO.

All I can observe is that I’ve had many vehicles with some kind of full time or automatic 4wd system from Subaru, Audi Quattro, Q7, BMW X5, Mercedes ML, Toyota Land Cruiser times 2, Discovery, Range Rovers times three and three Defenders, and have certainly lost absolutely nothing from not knowing where and what proportion of torque goes where. Ever.

Some systems on some cars worked better than others and as time went by, more systems have been added.
They are all far superior to part time systems designed for unmetalled roads and off-road use only.

Would it make me a better driver if I knew where torque was prioritised at any given time? Would it ‘eck as like.