Front Wheel Drive VS. Rear Wheel Drive

from WinCustomize Forums
OK, I am getting into the whole car thing. I have always been interested in cars but now I seem to really like them more and more as far as knowing details and what engines do and things of that nature.

One thing has puzzled me for a while now that doesn't seem to have a answer as yet, is front wheel better than rear wheel?

Front wheel seems to be better... until the front tires get stuck. Also doesn't it sort of seem that cars that are pulled as opposed to pushed go slower?

Then there is provability. I have not had a spin out with front wheel drive, but its is easier to have one for rear wheel... then again it seems to me it is easier to steer with rear wheel drive.



Then there is grip... loose your grip with front wheel drive what happens? What about rear wheel drive?
6,298 views 36 replies
Reply #1 from WinCustomize Forums Top
#1 - It's easier to pull then push

#2 - You live in Brooklyn...what the hell are you going to do with a car???



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Reply #2 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Nah, two wheel drive sucks altogether. Now, four wheel drive, that ROCKS!! Yeah, baby.
Ashes of the Singularity II
Reply #3 from WinCustomize Forums Top
@ Yrag

You live in Brooklyn...what the hell are you going to do with a car???

Maybe a Drive-By

I think both system have their pros and cons. I my self prefers RWD event tho' my last 2 rides have been FWD. I do however choose manual over automatic transmission
Reply #4 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I like fwd for driving around on ice and snow because, if you are carefull, it's hard to lose traction. The problem is, if you do lose traction fwd sucks the big kazoo. There is no way to direct the slide/skid. If you want to have a really great time romping around a snow covered, deserted, parking lot, rwd is the way to go.



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Reply #5 from WinCustomize Forums Top

front drive is dynamically more sensible than rear...but it tends to terminal understeer with issues of throttle steering through corners.

Rear drive can be both terminal under or oversteer....the former is less recoverable...the latter is generally catchable depending on the responses/skill of the driver.  Throttle steering is less of an issue.

Neither method is particularly clever compared with four wheel drive, which can be far more neutral....understeering or oversteering is then a factor of throttle bias....but that happens at much higher speeds/momentum

Don't confuse fwd wilt your off-road LandCruiser4x4.....they handle like bricks being carried by a drunk with epilepsy.

It's noteworthy that virtually all motorracing formulas are rwd....though that is why driver competency/skill is required...

Reply #6 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I've tried powersliding around a wet/snowy curve with fwd. Once traction is lost the darn thing just goes in a straight line, there's hardly anyway to recover until it slows wayyyy down. Works great going in reverse, but that's not as much fun.



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Reply #7 from WinCustomize Forums Top
but it tends to terminal understeer

The salient point, werewolf...

Reply #8 from WinCustomize Forums Top
indeed. Ummmm, I said it my way just in case Joetheblow didn't know all those high falutin' words you was a using there. Yeah, that's it

lol



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Reply #9 from WinCustomize Forums Top
For the Americans....understeer is 'pushing'.....oversteer is 'loose'....
Reply #10 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Not a physics or car wiz, but doesn't weight distribution or where the mass is centered contribute to the stability of a vehicle through a corner. Reasoning why your more likely to lose it with a behemoth American 4x4 landbarge vs. a much smaller Subaru WRX?

And having RWD with a front/mid engine also lends to better control vs. FWD with front engine?....

And then Porsche blows that theory out of the water or is it that a greater degree of skill is required to keep a Porsche on the road vs. other drivetrain/engine arrangements in overpriced exotics?


Legitimate questions from me...I really know little or nothing about this subject
[Message Edited]
Reply #11 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Essencay....now you're getting into specifics....eg Porsche....rear engine and rwd....but in reality their handling was always less than ideal....the Carreras that are currently used in the Cup are the first to actually tend to handle reasonably well...
Reply #12 from WinCustomize Forums Top
And then there was Ralph Nader....'Unsafe at any speed'....that great idea of sticking a V8 in the boot [trunk] and expecting it to be drivable...
Reply #13 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Jafo...if you were to build/drive/race...what drivetrain/engine layout would offer the best handling?
Reply #14 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I like ALL my wheels driven...... I recently got a Ford Explorer, first 4WD vehicle that I have owned. I was real glad when it snowed, just drove past everyone!
Reply #15 from WinCustomize Forums Top
4WD I have a Ford F-150 4x4 and my wife drives a Jeep Liberty. I leave for work at 3:30AM, when the roads aren't necessarily plowed too well
Reply #16 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Anybody remember the guy that put a 27 Litre Spitfire (WW2 airplane) engine in a modified Rolls Royce in the 70's?

(That's around 1700 Cubic Inches) I bet that had some power delivery issues!!

Reply #17 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Heh, yeah.. I remember seeing that BoXXi... MAD!

Incidentally, there's nothing like a rear wheel drive V8 when it comes to tramping your foot down on the accelerator. I once (in my younger days) owned a HT Holden Monaro (Aussies know these cars well) with a 350Chev, Powerglide trans (virtually unbreakable)and all the other goodies. My bro-in-law is a performance mechanic who tricked the car all the way for me... what a beast she was. I loved gettin' that thing sideways off the line, then just steering through, and driving out of the burnout. I was getting pulled over by the cops every second day.... all they wanted to do was look at the damned thing. Never mind the inconvenience to me by pulling me over. In the end, I got so pissed at this, I decided to sell it.



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Reply #18 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Yeah...I used to have a 4-W Jeep Wangler...Now I have this piece of shit called a "Ford Ranger"...Cost me $100 to get it out of the snow..... I want my jeep back!
Reply #20 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I'll get another one....Yellow this time
Reply #21 from WinCustomize Forums Top
...you can't say 'shit' .....



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Reply #22 from WinCustomize Forums Top
wanna bet?
Reply #23 from WinCustomize Forums Top
....I mis-spoke. I meant to say "You can't say 'yellow'".......



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Reply #24 from WinCustomize Forums Top
OK I see lots of you like 4WD but 4WD can be turned off.

What about AWD?
Reply #25 from WinCustomize Forums Top
AWD? Isn't that just another name for 4-WD?