hahaha

given an opportunity, which one would you pick?
i know that the rwd gets better jumps from stop sign, and gets better weight distribution; but that's pretty much all i know about rwds.
i guess i want to know some more stuff about f/rwd.

Lordrandall

iTrader: (4)

AWD
RWD
FWD

That's my order and I'm sticken' to it.

Johnny

I think that FWD came about because it's less costly to produce. The motor/transmission comprise something called a transaxle. Then Madison Avenue pushed it by saying it got better traction--of course, because all the weight, usually 65% or more is on the front wheels. That makes the car heavier in the front and light on the rear.

One major disadvantage of FWD is that there is only so much power that you can put through the front wheels before it affects how the vehicle steers, which ultimately compromises handling. Case-in-point is a Volvo S80 T-6: 268 hp to a front-wheel drive car. Most of that is unusable power much to the chagrin of the superchargers and those who paid $$$ for the car.

The Nissan Maxima was a great 2nd car for me, and it seems like many on this board are fortunate that the Maxima is their first car. But Nissan never follows through in offering serious performance, it's always show, not go. Like the 20th anniversary car. Automatic and still only 6.5" wide rims (can you say low production costs?). yet they will make it cool by drilling the pedals I hear. 227 hp is a great way to spin those cheap 17" tires on narrow rims!

Killermove

It's much more fun to drive RWD cars hard b/c you can hang the backend out. Especially in racing situations (racing being defined as a track WITH turns) RWD will help you gain speed more quickly out of turns (and that's where races are usually won -- whoever gets on the gas first out of a turn, wins the race) because the wieght shifts onto the drive wheels providing MORE traction where FWD cars lose traction and therefore "push" (i.e. plow forward niether turning or accelrating).

RWD is probably preferred by 98% of race car dirvers (real ones) with the other 2% going to AWD lovers. AWD rocks but it isn't always the best in some racing stituations (can display the same attributes as FWD).

If I had a chouce:

for a race car:

RWD
AWD
FWD

for a daily driver:

AWD
RWD
FWD


That's all folks!

Ryan

Larry H

I used to think that you could make an FWD handle almost as well as an RWD as long as you could tune out the understeer into neutrality. Obviously that's not the case.

I'm in London right now for a few months, and they have a show here called Top Gear GTI that beats the heck out of motor trend tv or motor week. For example, they just pitted an Impreza P1 against an EVO VI on a timed rally course to see who the real champ is.

Anyway, every time they test a high-powered FWD car, even in the ones tuned for some lift throttle oversteer, the car always snaps from oversteer to understeer when you add power. Sometimes the transition upsets the chassis enough to require a slight steering correction. This snap-transition oversteer to understeer in FWD was verified by SCC in their recent drivetrain comparo.

Compare this to RWD when you can hang out the tail and balance it with the throttle.

The ideal all-out setup may be AWD with a moderate rear-wheel torque bias (or continuously adjustable ala skyline GT-R).

For the street though, hopefully I'll have more sense than to be going around corners fast enough to exploit the weaknesses of a well-tuned FWD chassis.

Black VQ

Prolly the best setup would be a rear-biased AWD like the Skyline, or Diablo VT. You can still get a great launch off the line, hang the tail out, and if it gets too hairy the front wheels can pull you out of trouble.

But there is one advantage to FWD no one has mentioned yet: A much lower drivetrain loss. FWDs already lose on average, 20% of the bhp through the tranny. RWDs have to send their power through that long driveshaft, and end up losing an even higher percentage.

A good all out FWD car would be an Integra Type R. I heard it actually oversteers a bit.

LeoB

...for those of us stuck with snow on the roads. have you ever watched a Mercedes or a volvo or ANY RWD vehicle deal with traction issues in the winter? Put a SAAB beside a Volvo in a foot, or for that matter in half an inch of white stuff and say byeeeeeeeee to the Volvo. I just went from an Outback to a 2k Max and realize I am giving up my best advantage in the winter time. Never the less. It's not worth lugging around all that AWD hardware for 8 or 9 months of the year when the roads are dry. Most SUV's are sold to city type yuppies who rarely go beyond the city limits ANY time of the year. Joksters! And when it does snow they think they are invincible..Yeah..it's usually a toss up between SUV's and mini-vans as to how many you count in a ditch during or after a snow storm!

CoolMax

iTrader: (7)

but I prefer RWD to FWD in snow. :P
And f course AWD over RWD in snow.

LeoB

well..when I'm looking to have a good time in the snow..I'd rather be on a snowmobile doing 80

JJW95SC

In hilly & snowy northern NJ, my folks would be stuck without their 4WD Subaru. In four-season central NJ, I like the FWD fuel efficiency and decent 'snow-worthyness'. At the track or for a summer/weekend sports car, I'd prefer RWD.

I had a '77 Plymouth Fury that was RWD with a 318cu V8 and the car hauled *** but when it snowed, I could barely get out of the driveway or up the hill by my house. I also experience a unique slo-mo fishtail while exiting a snow-covered exit ramp. I was only doing about 5mph but the incline of the ramp and slippery conditions forced the car to drive sideways...very weird.

The FWD '80 VW Rabbit Diesel that replaced that car got 45+mpg and only had a problem in snow when the 14" tires began to go bald. This was by far the cheapest car to drive per mile. But the 49hp and 0-60 time of 20+ seconds was laughable. I'm also glad I never got into an accident with that car since it offered about as much protection as a cigar box.

Pick the right car for the right application.

Jim

Jeff92se

iTrader: (82)

w/ a torsen limited slip differential. Good for performance, good for near 50/50 weight dist.(fwd can't come close to that) winter traction is good also if you know how to drive. I don't think rwd more drive line losses either. FWD has to go to unequal length drive shafts(torque steer)

Remember when the same wheels have to STEER AND POWER the wheels, it's a compromise. I like AWD but wouldn't like replacing the trannies!