FWD vs. RWD

I would like to know what everyone here thinks about front wheel drive cars vs. rear wheel drive cars. What you like better for dynamics in racing and just going fast.

i havent driven many FWD cars to say anything of value... so im just wasting internet right now.

But i've driven many RWD cars... all i can say is that RWD has the advantage (most of the time) seeing as under hard excelleration the car's weight transfers to the rear, yes even on a FWD car, so might as well utilize that transfer of weight to some tires right? Not only that, but RWD cars are usually a bit more balanced weight wise, true FWD cars like the Civic and Integra are light and agile, but they have the entire drive line in one place making them a bit nose heavy. One would have to assume the ass end would want to slide out on occasion. As for RWD cars the driveline is spread out down the center of the vehile helpling keep the center of gravity low and weight balanced.

Idealy AWD would be the best of both worlds, but with AWD comes price and reliablity. Thats more moving parts to repair if something goes wrong... not only that but power loss from the Crank to the wheels can be drastic. Then again Im no expert on FWD or AWD, heck im no expert on RWD i just prefer it.

Im sure somebody will chime in with how FWD or AWD is the bestest ever though, its a given. :hehehe:

RWD is the ideal setup for race cars, as long as weight distribution remains 50/50. Having AWD for a drag race has very limited novelty, only 0-60ft times are marginally improved, where you lose enough driveline power loss to offset that in ET (assuming you have big HP numbers). AWD is better in autoX situations, until you get into big HP numbers again, then it is back to RWD as you will get front wheel hopping from AWD anyway around turns = bad.

Again, just my opinion, I'm sure cut-springed altimas will win everytime.

another thing RWD has over FWD is that when you lose traction around a bend its easier to gain control on RWD, because FWD uses its steering wheels to rotate, if it was to lose traction in the wet for example, it would be harder to gain control again, if a wheel is to spin its gonna be the driveline(dunno if thats the correct term) wheels, so the car wont be steerable if you were to spin in FWD around a bend, although if you were to get the back out abit in a RWD car, you still have full control over the front of the car so its still steerable even though youve lost traction at the back.

Yep, like everyone has already stated, RWD is the best.

AWD is great at lower power numbers but higher up it's wasteful in that it bleeds the most power through the drivetrain.

And FWD, well FWD give you good fuel economy:D

An FR drivtrain layout is as light-weight and as neutral a layout as you can come up with. That's why purists call it the "sports" layout. For acceleration, and in tight cornering, it can't be beat. However, when it comes to traction in less-than-ideal circummstances, FF layouts deliver more traction and stability. For proof of this, I turn to this weeks Motorspot Mondial which showed British Championship Rallying on tarmac with standing water. The class in question is the Super 1600 series. (cars 1.6L and under, production based) There were FF Peugeot 105GTi's and the factory MG ZR, AWD Ford Pumas and Peugeot 206's, and an MR Renault Clio V6, plus the olbigatory 70's Ford Escorts. (official car of soccer hooligans everywhere) The MG ZR proved to be the fastest in the category because it could put its power down without the added weight or turning circle of AWD. So, FF does have its place. Just not on the dragstrip. Except for 1966-68 Oldmobile Toronados with the 425ci engine. That is a wild sight.

definitely RWD for racing

for econo, i think FWD

i think someone should make a rear engine
front wheel drive car
that way any time you barely touch the gas
you sit there and burnout :)

I have a FWD Eclipse and it works just fine for racing.

Originally posted by |Banchi1O5|
i think someone should make a rear engine
front wheel drive car
that way any time you barely touch the gas
you sit there and burnout :)

Haha that would be tons of fun :) I'd drive it :p

-Grendel

Ya I'd drive one to just so I could do a really good burnout

the FWD drivetrain was concocted because of conditions and the hassle of changing seasonal tires. FWD is cheap and is better in the snow than RWD cars. Purists have clung to it however which is why we see lots of racecars etc with it but they understeer greatly and just aren't made to race. In some situations yes as previously posted, but RWD and AWD take the cake.

FWD = practical, economical
RWD = preformance

Originally posted by R1-rider

Again, just my opinion, I'm sure cut-springed altimas will win everytime.

lol:hehehe: :hehehe: :hehehe:

FWD = Wrong Wheel Drive, it sucks ass, but that's just my opinion. I've seen people haul ass around corners and kick ass at the autocross with FWD, but give those same drivers a RWD car and they'll take a couple seconds off their lap times easily.

Originally posted by R1-rider

Again, just my opinion, I'm sure cut-springed altimas will win everytime.
You are officially a dumbass. Anyways, I would think that rear wheel drive cars would be easier for launching and stuff like that. I know that with my front-wheel drive car, I get a lot of torque-steer under hard acceleration and it makes it really hard to keep it in a staight line. I haven't driven any rear-wheel drive cars, well, any with any power to speak of, so I'm just making an educated guess here.

RWD by far.........why do you think all race cars (F1, CART, etc.) are RWD?
FWD has its advantages though too.....better traction, etc...

But i'd have to say my fav. is part-time AWD.....gives you the super grip when you need it, but doesn't steal as much power as Full-time AWD

oh yeah part time AWD like the ATESSA ETS-PRO found in the skyline is as transparent as 4WD can be. but i've never really driven a front wheel drive soo i wouldn't know how it feels. all i know is that the FR can turn with ease. but in the rain. t hats horrible. most of the time that i almost crashed is in the rain. never again. i learned to take it easy on the gas now. but if it was drag. the FR would take the FF anyday. but the only bad thing the FR is that theres more drive train lose then a front wheel drive. cuase you have a input shaft, then counter shaft, then out put shaft, then the drive shaft, then to the differential. when the front wheel drive just has a input and output shaft that spins the finaldrive/differential.

I’ve had both and I would say that I prefer RWD. You can get pretty bad torque steer in a FWD car though if it’s got enough power which is always fun. :p There’s nothing quite like having the back end step out on you in a RWD car though, it’s so much fun! :D

I have a VR6 jetta which is FWD, and my dad has an 1999 M3, which is RWD. I think that the RWD does help a lot with weight distribution but under hard accelleration the rear end of his BMW can tend to slip and burn out. Now that is good and bad, because a lot of traction is lost when the rear wheels are not connected. Having the majority of the weight of the car (Engine)over the drive wheels kind of helps keep the car from buring out somewhat. In turn of handling i am not so sure on how the balance(s) would work to keep the car in line...

actually this is the exact opposite of what happens
the reason the m3 wants to slip is because its got so much power :)

in a fr (front engine rear drive) the weight is shifted to the rear of the car during acceleration - so the harder you accelerate, the more weight that is shifted to the back, the even harder you can now accelerate, and so on

but in a ff (front engine front drive) the weight is over the front wheels and because its over the same wheels that drive the car the engine is also higher (which also affects lateral handling) but since the engine is higher it wants to shift its weight backwards even more than an fr but by shifting its weight to the rear like this - its taking away a ton of weight from the front wheels and making it much easier to spin its wheels

spoken like a true gear head...

but

didnt i say that in my post? hahaha :licker:

"There are two kinds of pedestrians... the quick and the dead."
:hehehe: :hehehe: :hehehe: :hehehe:

"There are two kinds of ricers..... the blatant and the ignorant."

Originally posted by R1-rider
"There are two kinds of ricers..... the blatant and the ignorant."

"there are two types of motorcycle riders......the ones that misuse the word "blantant" in a sentence and the ones that wouldn't know ignorance if it bit them on their dumb ass"

Originally posted by street_racer_00


"there are two types of motorcycle riders......the ones that misuse the word "blantant" in a sentence and the ones that wouldn't know ignorance if it bit them on their dumb ass"

Sigh, maybe you should go look up blatant in the dictionary (if you can find it since your spelling doesn't seem to be very good) before you go spouting off.

So please, by all means key me in to whatever I am ignorant about, I would love to be pulled out of the abyss of fiction I seem to be living in.

Originally posted by R1-rider


Sigh, maybe you should go look up blatant in the dictionary (if you can find it since your spelling doesn't seem to be very good) before you go spouting off.

So please, by all means key me in to whatever I am ignorant about, I would love to be pulled out of the abyss of fiction I seem to be living in.

I am a dictionary. Blantant: upfront, brutally honest, reckless, flippant, insensitive etc. etc. etc.

And since you think you are being a smart ass. Abyss: nothingness, emptyness, neverland, black hole, etc. etc. etc.

Well, good luck finding "blantant" in the dictionary. Let me go ahead and help you though and give you a websters defintion.

bla·tant - Unpleasantly loud and noisy / completely obvious
a·byss - An immeasurably deep chasm, depth, or void / bottomless gulf, pit

So now, let us go ahead and transfer the meanings into my original sentences.

"So please, by all means key me in to whatever I am ignorant about, I would love to be pulled out of the (bottomless gulf) of fiction I seem to be living in."

"There are two kinds of ricers..... the (completely obvious) and the ignorant."

Well, obviously you are not a human dictionary as you cannot even spell words correctly. And you seem to fail quiet miserably at composition. So please, all games aside, tell me what I am ignorant of, I am quite curious as to what it is.

bottomless gulf.....right......and if you had actually read what I wrote, you would see that I didn't say anything about you being ignorant, just you being blind to ignorance. Oh yeah, and you can be so "loud and noisy" on a forum where you are typing. Come on....oh yeah, and I wouldn't call a type-o (blantant, blatant) an inability to spell.

Next on Fox... When Spelling Bee Students Attack...


Student #1"Ignoramus... I G N - "


Student #2 "ULAAAAHOOOOOooooooooooooooooooooo" *attacks with hatchet*



i'd pay money to see that.

Originally posted by R1-rider
"There are two kinds of ricers..... the blatant and the ignorant."

Enough with the cheep shots, youve really been going overboard attacking streetracer. What are you trying to prove, that you can be a bully, or a blantent repugnant (sp) oaf?

Maby you should take yourself out of the spellcheck and thesaursis and talk about cars, etc here, NOT just be here to flame.

well none of this would have happened if streetricer00 hadnt changed the topic anyways by saying some completely unrelated
so lets get back on topic now

Originally posted by street_racer_00
"There are two kinds of pedestrians... the quick and the dead."
:hehehe: :hehehe: :hehehe: :hehehe:

hahha im gonna get that in a sticker on my next car
you dont understand how many pedestrians ive nudged and almost hit :devil:

Originally posted by TerminalVelocity


Enough with the cheep shots, youve really been going overboard attacking streetracer. What are you trying to prove, that you can be a bully, or a blantent repugnant (sp) oaf?

Maby you should take yourself out of the spellcheck and thesaursis and talk about cars, etc here, NOT just be here to flame.

My original post was a spoof off of streetracer correct, however it wasnt' directed soley towards him. And yes, I do suppose I have been a little bit harsh on him and should just let things be. I really don't try to bully, however I can see how it has escalated into me appearing as such. However if you get attacked over the internet does it really mean anything? I get made fun of all the time as well, however when I shut my computer off, I realize that I am very happy with my life, and people can try to laugh at me all they want.

I love to talk about cars, and that is the main reason I come to this forum, and many of the other ones I go to. However this one just seems to be full of idiotic threads (suicide lane racing), which really puts me off.

And no I don't use spellcheck or a thesaurus, I work for AMEX as a tech writer.

Well, this fourm, much like the street racing scene, is filled with many imbeciles. Its also filled with many bright people who sometimes say not so bright things. I love talking about cars, and it seems like all the good talk is here, on the thunderbird fourm, theres a post maby once a month it seems. And even then I answer a question, and thats just it. I would appreciate it if you did cut Street racer a break, and I am sure he would as well.

And as for you being a tech writer, good job

My mom is an english major and a book doctor professionally, so I rebeled against spelling correctly and proper grammer at a young age ;) .

FWD will always have one big disadvantage... its fwd. poor traction in most any performance situation. its best for economy, thats about it.

awd OWNZ on the street, trust me i know!

RWD is best on the track.