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Old 01-29-2008, 07:50 PM   #1
Orido Manabu
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Whats the point of Front Wheel drive?

ok i know that FF drivetrain is cheaper because everything is close together regarding power. but why do people decide to tune FF cars if they dont execute all of it's horsepower. u begin to lose traction as u tap the gas because the car lifts off of its powered wheels. they understeer like hell and because of the axle being in front of the car it wastes room under the hood for tuning.
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Old 01-29-2008, 08:20 PM   #2
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Re: Whats the point of Front Wheel drive?

Not all of us can afford a BMW.


The FWD cars that are popular with the kids and the tuners are cheap to buy and mod, widely available, compact, sporty and lend themselves to modification.

Sure the driveline layout is not optimal, but their appeal and advantages more than outweigh this shortcoming, especially for those thin of wallet.

Historically, this has happened lots int he past. Think of the hot rods of the 1950's (and early '60's)
They were almost all pre-war Fords with flat head V8's. There were plenty of faster cars in the day, but none had the same combination of advantages we see as listed above.
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Old 01-29-2008, 10:14 PM   #3
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Re: Whats the point of Front Wheel drive?

Let me guess, Orido Manabu you would rather still drive a live axle car on leaf springs?


While the ideal is nice, the reality is a F1 car is not really all that practical.

All I can say is go drive a Lotus Elan, or a Type R Civic or Integra, then try and claim FWD is a waste of time.
Small, light, incredibly agile and very responsive with out the huge drive train power losses a RWD suffers from.
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Old 01-30-2008, 12:04 PM   #4
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Re: Whats the point of Front Wheel drive?

I think safety is a large part of it too. Family cars aren't meant to be driven aggressively, and you don't have to worry about them spinning around on you. Slippery conditions in general, are much easier to deal with in a FWD car.

that being said, they can handle pretty decently. Cadillacs keep traction pretty well for 300+ hp, and don't have much torque steer. Same goes for supercharged Grand Prix's. Its kinda nice to be able to stomp on the gas without worrying about the rear end swinging

Not that I'd go out of my way to own one, mind you.
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Old 01-30-2008, 03:04 PM   #5
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Re: Whats the point of Front Wheel drive?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Moppie
Let me guess, Orido Manabu you would rather still drive a live axle car on leaf springs?


While the ideal is nice, the reality is a F1 car is not really all that practical.

All I can say is go drive a Lotus Elan, or a Type R Civic or Integra, then try and claim FWD is a waste of time.
Small, light, incredibly agile and very responsive with out the huge drive train power losses a RWD suffers from.


1. FWD does not understeer because it is FWD. Granted that doesn't help but plenty of mass marketed cars suffer from understeer and that includes AWD and RWD.

2. This is because it is safer than oversteer. The average person will over correct and can't recover from oversteer.

3. Oversteer/understeer are influenced far more by suspension geometry.

4. Like Moppie said, perhaps you should tell Lotus, Acura, and perhaps Alfa which has been killing RWD BMWs in European Touring races.

It isn't worse, it isn't better, it's different.
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Old 01-30-2008, 06:21 PM   #6
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Re: Whats the point of Front Wheel drive?

Positive--
Cheap to make. Leaves lots of room in the cabin for people and cargo. Good traction in very low grip situations.

Negative--
Since a lot of FWD cars are beginners cars, like Civic Type Rs and the like, they get modified by drivers who don't know any better- for more power.
Torque steer problems with high power. Ask the Civic owner with the 600HP drag car.
You are correct that they tend to remove weight off the driving wheels under hard acceleration on grippy surfaces.
They generaly have more understeer problems than RWD.
They are fine for 99% of all driving situations. But when you really have to GO... particularly when your car has lots of power, RWD is the preferred choice--for people who know how to drive.
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Old 01-30-2008, 10:45 PM   #7
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Re: Whats the point of Front Wheel drive?

In addition to what has already been said.

Not having to turn the power 90 deg results in a more efficient drivetrain and higher mpg.

I own a front wheel drive family wagon that drifts evenly when pushed through a corner. Not every fwd vehicle handles like a barge, but some certainly do. There are a lot of crappy handling rwd vehicles too.
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Old 01-31-2008, 01:42 AM   #8
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Re: Whats the point of Front Wheel drive?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Black Lotus
Positive--
Cheap to make. Leaves lots of room in the cabin for people and cargo. Good traction in very low grip situations.

Negative--
Since a lot of FWD cars are beginners cars, like Civic Type Rs and the like, they get modified by drivers who don't know any better- for more power.
Torque steer problems with high power. Ask the Civic owner with the 600HP drag car.
You are correct that they tend to remove weight off the driving wheels under hard acceleration on grippy surfaces.
They generaly have more understeer problems than RWD.
They are fine for 99% of all driving situations. But when you really have to GO... particularly when your car has lots of power, RWD is the preferred choice--for people who know how to drive.

You really do miss out in the States.
I know a lot of Lotus Elise, Elan and Esprit owners who drive Jap spec FWD Honda's as their second car.
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Old 02-01-2008, 10:54 AM   #9
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Re: Whats the point of Front Wheel drive?

while its true that fwd cars dont fishtail under power, the do "fish head"
if youve ever driven a fwd car that can spin both the front tires you know that if you punch the gas and the tires light up, you have no steering.

also, generally, fwd balances well while cornering and NOT giving any gas.
its when you give it gas that it understeers.
this could be eliminated if the suspension were designed with a little more lift off oversteer (very easy to do w/ fwd) but then you'd have moms sliding off the road in their corollas...

for 75% of my driving, id be fine w/ fwd, but the 25% of the time when i want to have fun, theres nothing better than my iroc
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Old 02-01-2008, 04:22 PM   #10
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Re: Whats the point of Front Wheel drive?

Quote:
Originally Posted by GreyGoose006
while its true that fwd cars dont fishtail under power, the do "fish head"
if youve ever driven a fwd car that can spin both the front tires you know that if you punch the gas and the tires light up, you have no steering.
Yes, but lighting up the tyres isn't something that gets you anywhere. It's usally for showing off only.

My fwd car is the econobox version of a 4wd turbo car, they share the same suspension which is why mine handles like most fwd's don't. It takes a fairly slippery road before the 1.8 can break the front end loose.

Generally though, planting the boot hard on the way into a corner is a silly idea no matter which wheels are driving. On the way out planting the boot in a fwd car straightens it out which isn't a problem.
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Old 02-06-2008, 12:51 AM   #11
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Re: Whats the point of Front Wheel drive?

just look up russ swift on youtube.
he can do all kinds of stuff with fwd.
none of it practical.
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Old 02-06-2008, 08:11 PM   #12
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Re: Whats the point of Front Wheel drive?

one of the origional reasons for building a FWD car, apart from space saving, weight saving, ect. was high speed stability. but this isnt an issue because suspension geometry and aerodynamics have advanced and now make any drivetrain stable at speed. even porsches.

oh and nothing personal, but if you think theres nothing better than an iroc for .... well, anything, then you need to get out and drive more cars. camaros are ok for what they are, but theres cars that do everything better.
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Old 02-06-2008, 08:42 PM   #13
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Re: Whats the point of Front Wheel drive?

Quote:
Originally Posted by slideways...
one of the origional reasons for building a FWD car, apart from space saving, weight saving, ect. was high speed stability.
Wasn't the mini one of the first fwd cars?
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Old 02-06-2008, 10:14 PM   #14
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Re: Whats the point of Front Wheel drive?

Quote:
Originally Posted by slideways...
oh and nothing personal, but if you think theres nothing better than an iroc for .... well, anything, then you need to get out and drive more cars. camaros are ok for what they are, but theres cars that do everything better.

Says the man who drives a Nissan, the company that were so bad at making cars they went broke, so badly broke that only Renault would buy them...............


If you want to attack someone because of the car they drive, then go find another forum.
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Old 02-08-2008, 01:36 PM   #15
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Re: Whats the point of Front Wheel drive?

huh? moppie, i didnt say one word against him. i said his car isnt the best at a lot of things. its simple fact. the iroc was old technology when it came out. im sorry if it may have come off as offensive, it wasnt meant that way. im a smartass but im not a jerk.

if you have some sort of problem with me, spell it out. all you ever do is jump down my throat at every opportunity whether i deserve it or not. which i mostly do not.

and nissan didnt go broke because it was bad at making cars. very wrong. nissan went broke because its marketing and financial strategy for the u.s. and europe was off the mark.

the mini cooper was not one of the first FWD cars. it was one of the first one that really sold well though. but as early as the 1930s (probably earlier but im talking about popular production cars.) a couple companies were making FWD cars.
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