Let me attempt to explain. The ET in the quarter mile is all about the first two gears. That is, the launch and the 1-2 shift. ET is very dependant on those two things. The mph is all about the top end of the track. Let me try to illustrate these points before we get into the AWD vs FWD debate.
I'll use examples that I have personally expereinced with my car, but this happens for everyone, and its been well documented, well known, and the reason behind it are known. That being said...
If you screw up the first part of the run ET goes to hell, but mph is largly unnafected. Example. My clutch wasnt holding so I had to baby the launch and the 1-2 shift. ET was in the 15s, but mph was 119, which is good for mid 11s. The 60 foot time was a 2.8 or so. I could give multiple other examples of this.
If you bollix the last half of the run, mph will suffer, but ET wont change a whole lot. Example. I broke on the 3-4 shift when I was running consistent 12.7s. MPH was hurt, only 80 instead of 108 or so. But ET was still 12.8. I could give many examples of this too...
So now that we have established that, lets talk about AWD vs FWD.
AWD is all about getting the job done off the line. Look at your typical front driver, and this goes for any of them, not just DSMs. On street tires you are lucky to break 2.3s... On my car with street tires I run 1.5s to 1.6s, with the average Joe still getting at least 1.8s on a normal run. Now consider that ET is largely dependant on the launch and the 1-2 gear. Its widely known and accepted that for every tenth you take off your sixty foot, you can take two to three tenths off the ET. So in the extreme case of my 1.5 vs a FWDs 2.3, thats 1.6 seconds to be gained just because it launches harder! So you see, you're simply underestimating the advantage the AWD car has for ET. And you can see this at the track every night. I absolutely destroy everything off the line. Even a mid 9 second Monte with massive slicks and RWD I ran that pulled his front wheels up for 50 feet ran a 1.66 to my 1.56.
So FWD doesnt have a chance... For AWD vs FWD I have some baddass videos of my runs that illsutrate it, but the site that was hosting them tossed em.
Now for mph, the FWD tends to do just a bit better. Why? The front half of the track doesnt matter and the lower weight allows a slightly higher mph. But mph doesnt win races, ET does
Hope this clarifies things a bit.
