T-20 Skid Steer Transmission
THE HEART OF EVERY MAX ATV
MAX ATVs are extremely maneuverable due to their skid-steering and full-time six-wheel drive, and a crucial technical advantage MAX has over other makes of off-road vehicles, whether they are amphibious or not, is the use of an ingenious steering transmission.
At the heart of all MAX ATVs is the renowned T-20 Skid-Steer Transmission, designed by Borg-Warner specifically for six-wheeled ATVs, and used in all MAX vehicles from the start of production in 1970.
The importance of full-time, non-differential, six-wheel drive cannot be overstated The dual planetary T-20 design allows independent control of power and braking to both the port and starboard sets of tires, enabling true all-wheel drive with efficient transfer of power and low braking losses.
Key T-20 Benefits Include:
• Full-time drive to all wheels regardless of the available amount of traction on each wheel – all wheels drive whether any or all of them are on mud, snow, or ice. With MAX, even if only one tire is getting traction, all power flows to that tire to keep you moving.
• No uncontrolled transfer of power from the right to left-hand wheels resulting in “self-steering” of the vehicle, a common trait suffered by differential-based steering units.
• No torque loss when steering – differential steering results in a considerable 50% torque loss when steering, requiring a low gear range to compensate for this big shortcoming.
• Low shock loading of the drive train – unlike differential steering which doubles the speed to the drive train whenever steering is occurring, which has the added adverse effect of abrupt, jerky steering. The T-20 transmission in a MAX transfers power smoothly and efficiently, with longer drivetrain life as a result.
• The ability to steer in any desired radius, whether at slow or fast speeds. The T-20 has forward-neutral-braking positions in the motion of each steering lever, allowing you to follow any radius turn you like, at any speed, without having to shift from high-to-low range as in differential-based amphibious vehicles.