RWD vs FWD...

[jcsaleen]

Which is faster around turns? I've been having a debate and to me the fact stands Rwd is faster.

Mods figured this would be the best spot to attract attention and still relate to topic...

[Juiced383]

I 100% prefer RWD. Oversteer is alot easier to handle than understeer

[Moppie]

Originally Posted by Juiced383

Oversteer is alot easier to handle than understeer

A Properly set up FWD will oversteer just as well as a poorly set up RWD.
And Vice versa with understeer.



If your talking road cars then there is very little differnce, both have thier advantages and disadvantages when it comes to cornering, and there are situations that favour one over the other.


However if your talking very high end levels of motorsport, like F1, then RWD offers more advantages, and is considered to be considerably faster.

[kman10587]

This is argument is pointless, beaten to death, and has no clear-cut answer, so just delete it now before it gets ugly.

[jcsaleen]

Thats the point...

I want to see some good debate... Not yelling @ one another back it up with some facts.. Facts people facts!

[shnailpower]

wat is easier to do, push something or pull something?

[Andee_G]

pull

seriously, why do you think you row boats backwards?

[deadbolt_35]

as far as i know, there are no forms of auto racing where fwd is dominant, or even relevant. that's all the proof that i need.

[DinanM3_S2]

I dont completely understand the physics, but there is tons of indirect evidence out there. Why do you think that virtually no sports cars over $30,000 (and many under) are FWD. There are no FWD Porsches, BMWs, Ferraris, or Mercedes? Why is the Corvette, 350z, RX8, MX5, Mustang, Camaro, etc RWD? It seems to me that it would be alot easier to make all of those cars FWD, but in the name of performance they stick to RWD.

More evidence car be found in motorsports, where companies pour tons of money into developing top notch performance cars. F1, Nascar, LeMans/ALMS, CART, etc all are RWD.

I can't explain it, but the people who actually build the fastest cars on the planet make em RWD, not FWD.

[k3smostwanted]

Originally Posted by DinanM3_S2

I dont completely understand the physics, but there is tons of indirect evidence out there. Why do you think that virtually no sports cars over $30,000 (and many under) are FWD. There are no FWD Porsches, BMWs, Ferraris, or Mercedes? Why is the Corvette, 350z, RX8, MX5, Mustang, Camaro, etc RWD? It seems to me that it would be alot easier to make all of those cars FWD, but in the name of performance they stick to RWD.

More evidence car be found in motorsports, where companies pour tons of money into developing top notch performance cars. F1, Nascar, LeMans/ALMS, CART, etc all are RWD.

I can't explain it, but the people who actually build the fastest cars on the planet make em RWD, not FWD.

i totally agree BUT for arguments sake...

some of these cars are offered with rather large engines as in V12's, big V8's, or in MR platforms. im sure it could be done but how easy could someone create an engine bay in a averaged width car, with a V12, with the motor still able to practically have maitenance done on while in the car.

i think alot of these sports cars utilize RWD for traction purposes on the street in which most of these cars are purchased for. i know with my FWD Grand Prix GTP i can spin the tires through 1st gear with LSD. i couldnt even imagine trying to put 400hp+ to the ground on the street.

these ideas obviously do not apply to all the cars listed.

in my opinion...i think FWD cars handle better for inexperienced drivers (as in non professional drivers who just are out having fun in a tuned street car) because i think it is easier to control an understeering car rather than an oversteering RWD car which can be a bit scary for a novice driver. but for professional drivers...they can make the better handling characteristics of a RWD car come alive because they have the experience and knowledge to handle it the way it was designed to handle.

my

[kman10587]

I can't explain it, but the people who actually build the fastest cars on the planet make em RWD, not FWD.

There's a problem, though - not every motorsport utilizes the absolute fastest cars on the street. Hell, some motorsports don't even use asphalt. I won't argue that in high-level NASCAR and F1 racing, rear-wheel-drive is the way to go, but in low-level autocross racing, rally racing, or cheap street speed, front-wheel-drive is just as good, and in some cases superior, to front-wheel-drive. You don't really wanna be sending power to the rear wheels when you're already sliding out from the dirt, and in a low-speed, tight-turn form of racing like autocrossing, front-wheel-drive cars are very competitive in their classes. And really, compared to similarly-priced rear-wheel-drive sports cars, cars like Honda's Integra Type R, Peugeot's 205 RC, and Alfa Romeo's 156 are pretty damn impressive.

So, in closing, there is still no answer to this question, and there will probably never be, because really, there are far too many types of racing and variation in car designs to label one drivetrain as superior to another. Is rear-wheel-drive the more logical choice for making a high-performance, paved-track sports car? Yes, but that doesn't mean it's the only way. Just keep an open mind, people, no matter what the magazines try and tell you.

[Moppie]

Most sports cars are made in RWD because the public believes that sports cars should be RWD.



When it comes down to basic physics then RWD offers several advantages of FWD.
It means the work being done by the tyres is shared more evenly between the front and rear.
In a FWD the front tyres have to maintian lateral grip, steer the car, and acclerate it, while the back tyres only have to maintian lateral grip.
This means they are more likely to lose traction assuming all other things are equal.
In a RWD car they only have to steer and maintain lateral grip, while the back tyres have to acclerate it and prodvide lateral grip, in threory the chassis is more balanced.

Of course handling is never that simple, FWD cars tend to be lighter than an equivilant RWDs, and the lighter weight works to balance out some of the other problems.

The WRC F2 class has shown that on Tarmac FWD can be just as fast as AWD, when the class first debut the cars were running similar power levels to the WRC Grp A cars, but were only FWD, and were consistantly faster on several tarmac events.

British, German, World and Two Litre Touring car classes have also proven beyond a doubt that FWD cars can be just as fast, if not faster than RWD in competitive motorsport.

But then if you look at F1 there are no FWD cars, part of it is because the rules make it difficult, and part of it is because putting 700hp to the road, while pulling 3gs and steering the car is beyond the limits of what you can expect a pair of tyres to cope with.


250hp is condisidered the limit for a FWD street car if it is to retain balanced and stable road manners.
About 400hp is the limit for a FWD race car if it is to maintian civilised levels of control.
RWD however has no such limits.


So it depends on what level you are comparing the cars at.


And of course you can not really add much to this debate unless you have a driven wide selection of both RWD and FWD cars.
Many of the claimed disadvantages found in FWD are not a function of the cars drive lay out, but a result of manufactors design requirments.
Understeer is often designed into many cars to make them more stable and user friendly.
As an exmaple a EX Honda Civic will understeer when pushed, not becuase its FWD, but becuase Honda designed it that way.
A Type R Honda Civic will over steer when pushed to the limit, because Honda designed it that way.

[drunken monkey]

Originally Posted by Moppie

And of course you can not really add much to this debate unless you have a driven wide selection of both RWD and FWD cars.

a truer word has never been said.

[SuperHighOutput]

I'd have to say rwd is superior for the most part. RWD cars are generally more balanced as far as weight distribution, and as stated the work load for the tires is split more evenly between the front and rear in a rwd car.

[jcsaleen]

Here's my logic...

What happens when enertia hits? The weight is pushed to the rear...