System and Method for Improving Vehicle Performance on Grade

In a vehicle having a front, rear, left side and right side, a system for improving vehicle performance on a surface oriented at a grade, said system comprising:

• an engine;
• a global positioning system for calculating data representing an acceleration of the vehicle;
• an acceleration sensor for sensing a sum of acceleration due to vehicle acceleration along the grade and a component of gravity along the grade and providing data based on the sensed sum;
• a controller for determining the grade using the data from the global positioning system and the data from the acceleration sensor, calculating a dynamic weight shift of the vehicle from a first wheel to a second wheel due to the acceleration, calculating a static weight shift of the vehicle from the first wheel to the second wheel due to gravity and the grade, and determining a maximum amount of torque that can be transmitted by the first wheel before the first wheel slips;
• and
• a torque transfer device for adjusting an amount of torque sent to each of the first and second wheels, whereby slipping of the first wheel is avoided by the controller preemptively by diverting torque from the first wheel to the second wheel through the torque transfer device so that an amount of torque sent to the first wheel is less than the maximum amount of torque.