Mitsubishi were the first company to offer the Super Select system of four wheel drive which was first slated by 4X4 enthusiasts as being over complicated and unnecessary, but it was designed to offer every option to all users. It has proven itself a very useful addition over the years, and very worthwhile.
These systems were fitted to the later 2.8 diesel and 3.0 petrol Shogun and Pajero models and later 3.2 DiD and 3.5GDi models and come with a range of options which included the ability to have permanent 2 wheel drive or permanent 4 wheel drive and low range, and you can use either 2wd or 4wd on the road as thay have an electronically controlled centre differential fitted. In addition to the centre differential many Shogun models in the UK came with a rear diff lock fitted as standard while Pajero models came with a Limited Slip Differential fitted as standard, and a rear diff lock fitted as a factory option.
This means you can use the vehicle as a permanent 2 wheel drive vehicle or a permanent 4 wheel drive vehicle on the road, or simply switch between modes as they have move on the fly capability at road speeds of up to 100KPH or 60 MPH. Many find this feature very useful as it becomes beneficial to have 2 WD in good weather or the ability to switch permanent 4 wheel drive in bad weather conditions, or variable conditions, in 2WD you save a little fuel and in 4WD you have excellent traction in heavy rain, snow and ice, or while towing heavy loads on road.
Super Select works very simply by having four modes:
2 wheel drive - this works as any conventional 2Wd system does and powers the rear wheels.
4H - this is permanent 4WD and can be used in any conditions on or off road, and it is recommended that you use this when towing loads above 100Kg on road for reduced transmission wear, and lower transmission temperatures in automatic models.
4H locked centre differential - this is for use off road only, and should never be used on road under normal conditions, but can be used on road in snow or icy conditions; it should be used on dirt, gravel, or muddy roads where a wheel can slip to reliive transmission stresses.
4L - this is self explanatory, and when you engage 4L it passes through the centre diff lock position and locks the centre differential.
The mode selector is located on the left hand side of the centre console and has four positions, and the rear diff lock is by a switch located on the centre console on generation III models (3.2 DiD and 3.5 GDi models) and is a two position rocker switch, to engage the diff lock you press the front of the switch and to disengage it you press the rear of the switch.
Using the system is fairly simple, you can switch between 2H and 4H on the fly at speeds of up to 60MPH, to do this you ensure your front wheels are straight and you ease off the throttle so you have a trailing throttle, you push the mode selector lever down and forwards one position and on the dashboard you will see an illuminated diagram of the four wheel drive system. The two rear wheel lights will be permanently illuminated in green, and once you select 4H the front green lights will flash slowly to indicate that switching is taking place, the system is an electronic switching system and selects the optimum time to switch from 2H to 4H, and when 4H is engaged the front lights will stop flashing and remain permantly lit.
If you switch from 4H back to 2H the procedure is the same, you switch while on the move and the front lights flash, once 4WD is disengaged the front lights stop flashing and are extinguished.
To switch from 4H to lock the centre differential you need to stop the vehicle and engage neutral on manual models, and N or P positions if it is an automatic vehicle, engage 4H while on the move or stationary and wait until it is engaged and indicated by the four green dashboard lights being illumunated. Stop and engage neutral (manual transmission) or N or P (automatics) and move the mode selector forwards one position, on the dashboard indicator there is an ornage light located between the two front green lights and two rear green lights, this will flash while the centre differential engages and illuminate when it is engaged.
Moving out of the centre diff locked position is the reverse, stop the vehicle and engage neutral, N or P and move the mode selector back one position; the orange indicator light will flash while the centre diff lock is disengaging and extinguish when it is disengaged.
Engaging 4L follows exactly the same procedure as engaging the locked centre differential, stop the vehicle and engage neutral or N or P on the transmission, move the mode selector to the 4L position and all four green lights will flash, once they stop and remain permanently on 4L is engaged.
Moving out of 4L back to 4H locked centre diff is exactly the reverse, stop, engage neutral or N or P and move the mode selector back one position and all four green lights will flash, once they stop flashing and remain permanently illuminated the vehicle has switched back from 4L to 4H locked centre differential position.
Never move more than one position at a time on the mode selector, always move one position at a time and let it engage before moving the mode selector again to engage the next mode, if you do you will get all the green lights flashing rapidly, this indicates the system is unable to move and is in fault mode.
To engage the rear diff lock you have to be stationary and in either 4H locked centre diff or 4L on the mode selector, press the front of the switch and a second orange light will flash on the dashboard indicator, this is located between the two lower green lights and will flash until the rear diff lock is engaged.
If the rear diff lock fails to engage you engage 1st gear on manual models or D on automatic models and just hutch forwards a couple of inches and it engages.
The rear diff lock will disengage if:
You stop and press the rear of the diff lock switch.
You exceed 12 MPH.
You move the mode selector from 4L back to 4H locked centre diff position.
You move the mode selector from 4H locked centre diff position to 4H position.
Mon Dec 17, 2012 8:06 am
