FWD Vs. RWD

[igotastove]

OK folks honestly speaking. Why is RWD preferred over FWD? what are the percks as compared?

[antwn_5k]

it depends on what you want to do with it. RWD is better off the line because the weight transitions to the back of the car off a launch etc.. did you just mean for drag racing?

[-The Stig-]

this discussion is going to get heated quick... I ask only that people keep it clean.... despite we discussing this numerous times... already...

It's a dead horse that's been beaten... but I'll allow it to go on as long as it stays civil.

[TatII]

RWD cars looks better and has better porportions

of course the reason why it looks so good is because the whole car is just better balanced front and rear, so they don't look weird from the side like some FWD's are.

[CBFryman]

RWD is better in all performance oriented aspects over FWD assumeing equal mass, weight distrobution, arodynamics, and suspension set up of the two cars being compared.

Almost every "performance" FWD car is an econo box or an econo box changed (either by the owner or the maker) for performance.

[Musashi3000GT]

I think the whole fwd vs. rwd vs. awd is irrelevent these days.

Supposedly, FWD is better for economical reasons. less parts to maintain, less moving parts means less drivetrain loss, easier to control ect.

RWD is better for power transition off the line, easier to corner cause the stress isnt just on the front tires, they do suffer more drivetrain loss then FWD though.

AWD best for off road, high cornering, high rev line launch but they die on the highways cause of drivetrain loss and such.

But like I said thats less true as every day goes by. The Bugati Veyron is capable of 253 MPH stock and its AWD....where the heck is the drivetrain loss? Skylines kill Hayabusas on a highway roll so again...wheres the parasitic loss?

You got FWD cars like the grand am series Cobalt SS killing Evos and STIs and Skylines at time attack challenges. You got civics owning Ferraries at the road course, Golf and Jettas killing Porsches and Lambos around a race track.

and you got RWD cars like my GTO running the same times around a Lotus race track as an STI.

These days its all about what the engineers invision and how the car gets developed. the drivetrain is more of a nostalgic thing I think, some people are die hard fans of RWD, some would rather FWD.

I cant tell you this much Ive driven every drivetrain there is including MR and when it comes time to get my wife her next car I'll be pushing for a FWD. Its safer all around, really hard to loose control in and I rather her understearing around a corner and climbing a curve then overstearing and flipping or something.
you ever seen police chase videos, the FWD cars are really hard to pit, even harder then the AWD ones!

[-The Stig-]

Originally Posted by Musashi3000GT

AWD best for off road, high cornering, high rev line launch but they die on the highways cause of drivetrain loss and such.

But like I said thats less true as every day goes by. The Bugati Veyron is capable of 253 MPH stock and its AWD....where the heck is the drivetrain loss? Skylines kill Hayabusas on a highway roll so again...wheres the parasitic loss?

Oi... we've had this discussion too... AWD really isn't happered on the top end.

Lets do a basic analogy... ok we've got a 240sx (RWD) with KA-T. And it's tuned to put down 250whp. And it's racing a... EVO VIII, which has a few goodies and has dyno'd at 250whp.

Alright, they both put down the same power... there for they go the same speed... what will kill the Evo (maybe) would be gearing... since it's a rally car at heart it's got naturally shorter gears. The 240sx, might be able to pull ahead due to taller gearing over all and win by a bit. Also, the EVO is a box... not the best aerodynamicly even though the make a big deal about it's sleakness. The 240sx, depending on the year is a bit more sleak, mainly due to it's 2 door coupe design.

Kinda make sense???


And the bit about the Veyron and the Skyline GT-R. They're AWD, yes, but they're not full time AWD. Their AWD systems activate when they sense a loss of power. So they're RWD 100% of the time except when extra traction is needed (launching, cornering.)

That's why the Veyron and the Skyline GT-R can go so fast on an open road.

[igotastove]

man i need to have the knowledge you guys have. iv'e only been in the car game for a few years.

[Musashi3000GT]

Right on Matt. your right about the gearing bit and the drivetrain bias, which explains what i was saying about engineering. the drivetrain dont matter as much as the sum of all its parts, cars are a harmony of many different parts.

Dosent the Mazdaspeed 6 have the opposite bias? its a FWD which kicks the rear diff in whenever it needs it.

[-The Stig-]

Originally Posted by Musashi3000GT

Right on Matt. your right about the gearing bit and the drivetrain bias, which explains what i was saying about engineering. the drivetrain dont matter as much as the sum of all its parts, cars are a harmony of many different parts.

Dosent the Mazdaspeed 6 have the opposite bias? its a FWD which kicks the rear diff in whenever it needs it.

Maybe, I don't know if hte Mazdaspeed 6 is constant AWD or only when needed... I suspect it's full time. But that car, once the aftermarket catches up with it, will be a hot little sedan.

[TatII]

the mazda speed 6 runs on a system similar to the Haldex system found in the R32 golf and the Audi TT, so yes it is a FWD biased AWD system. only sends power to the back wheels when theres no traction

[Neutrino]

Articlez let me make this very clear to you. You are in clear violation of the user guidelines you have agreed to by signing up to this forum.


Your activity has been logged and you have been traced. Upon any further infringement of guidelines your full activity will be reported to your ISP: http://www.smiaccess.net/contact.php and to its Pier 1 provider: http://www.paetec.com/6/6_1_1__1.html.


You have posted a clearly insulting picture defiling the memory of a highly respected member of this community, and furthermore that picture is clearly of pornographic nature in a community containing numerous minors.

You are to cease any and all previously described activity.

[TatII]

Originally Posted by Neutrino

Articlez let me make this very clear to you. You are in clear violation of the user guidelines you have agreed to by signing up to this forum.


Your activity has been logged and you have been traced. Upon any further infringement of guidelines your full activity will be reported to your ISP: http://www.smiaccess.net/contact.php and to its Pier 1 provider: http://www.paetec.com/6/6_1_1__1.html.


You have posted a clearly insulting picture defiling the memory of a highly respected member of this community, and furthermore that picture is clearly of pornographic nature in a community containing numerous minors.

You are to cease any and all previously described activity.

whoa what happend neutrino?

[Neutrino]

Originally Posted by TatII

whoa what happend neutrino?

My post is bellow a deleted post, which trust me, you do not want to see. The warning was mean for the member who posted that.

[beef_bourito]

the thing about fwd is that it, from a performance point of view, is not as good as rwd. when you accelerate the car "squats" so it shifts weight to the read wheels. this removes weight from the front wheels and you lose traction easier. that means you cant accelerate as quickly off the line or coming out of a corner. also, it means that the steering, the majority of the braking, and the aceleration are all done with the font wheels. that's mroe wear on them, which means more frequent pits, and lost time.

the reason that they are in cars is that it's easier to build, cheaper to build, and might be mroe efficient. that, from a road car point of view, is a great reason to build one.