Why RWD?

[KAMAK 10+ year member]

Ok i was wondering why rear wheel drive cars are more prefered buy alot of people on this forum. I am not saying i dont like real wheel drive its just that front seems more practical. Ofcoarse, i do live in norther MI so winters are a biatch with RWD cars. I am not trying to say one is better than the other i just want to know why rwd is prefered, because i am clueless.

oh yeah, my most favorite car is RWD so i'm not saying i hate it. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif (check avitar)

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[paikiah 5,000+ posts]

Actually, you've got a point there... FWD IS more aprctical than RWD. Low mnftring costs, understeer tendencies don't catch less advanced drivers offguard (unless lift off during understeer in which case the back snaps out), no transmission hump in the cabin. less weight due to lack of axles, etc.

Thing is, if you've been on tracks, you will know why RWD would be preferred by some. I'm not saying that ALL who recommend it can really handle, much less understand how to harness the cornering capbilities of the RWD layout, but physics will also tell you that a RWD will have beter acceleration. This is also why a posrche is such a monster at drags. The rear engine has weight transferred all the way at the back.

If american motorsports culture involved more an more corners in racing, I'm sure more mftrs would LOVE the idea of going FWD...cheaper.

 

[awalbert88 10+ year member]

Actually, you've got a point there... FWD IS more aprctical than RWD. Low mnftring costs, understeer tendencies don't catch less advanced drivers offguard (unless lift off during understeer in which case the back snaps out), no transmission hump in the cabin. less weight due to lack of axles, etc.
Thing is, if you've been on tracks, you will know why RWD would be preferred by some. I'm not saying that ALL who recommend it can really handle, much less understand how to harness the cornering capbilities of the RWD layout, but physics will also tell you that a RWD will have beter acceleration. This is also why a posrche is such a monster at drags. The rear engine has weight transferred all the way at the back.

If american motorsports culture involved more an more corners in racing, I'm sure more mftrs would LOVE the idea of going FWD...cheaper.

I despise FWD. RWD has vastly more predictable handling, will never suffer from torque steer, takes corners far better, and is a lot more fun to drive. I am more comfortable driving my RWD Mustang in the winter than I am driving my mom's FWD Focus, because I know *exactly* what the car will do in any given situation, and I know how to correct for any individual wheel losing traction. In FWD, you're only using two wheels to control the vehicle -- if one of them hits an ice patch, you lose 50% of your control. In RWD, all four wheels are doing something to control the vehicle, so even if both front wheels lose traction, you can still control the vehicle to an extent. AWD is the next logical progression in the "control" department, but RWD is way more fun //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif.

I learned to drive with FWDs, but after owning a RWD, I'll never go back.

 

[paikiah 5,000+ posts]

I despise FWD. RWD has vastly more predictable handling, will never suffer from torque steer, takes corners far better, and is a lot more fun to drive. I am more comfortable driving my RWD Mustang in the winter than I am driving my mom's FWD Focus, because I know *exactly* what the car will do in any given situation, and I know how to correct for any individual wheel losing traction. In FWD, you're only using two wheels to control the vehicle -- if one of them hits an ice patch, you lose 50% of your control. In RWD, all four wheels are doing something to control the vehicle, so even if both front wheels lose traction, you can still control the vehicle to an extent. AWD is the next logical progression in the "control" department, but RWD is way more fun //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif.
I learned to drive with FWDs, but after owning a RWD, I'll never go back.

actually, for a person who doesn't like understeer, you'd despise AWD as much as a FWD. It understeers just as bad, if not worse than a RWD. At LEAST with FWD, you can pull the handbrake/left foot braking or do a forced lift-off the accelerator to get the back coming to its sense. With AWD, you jsut gotta wait till christmas for the darn thing to pick up again.

Put ALL the darn LSD and other chips you want, AWD's should stick to rally, winter seasons and off-road applications.

Yes, RWD are still second best, following mid-engine cars (the lotus elise, as puny as the engine might be, the motorsports elise has caught up to the Z06 corvette in the nurburgring, until the castle straight anyhow). Also the hardest for a driving newbie to master.

 

[KAMAK 10+ year member]

I have driven both in the winter time and i found FWD to be easier. But then again the two cars i drove were my 97 monte (fwd) and a 1980 thunderbird. So i would like to drive a new RWD car just to see what its like. Oh has anyone heard anything about the 2005 monte carlos? I was on this one website and it said RWD v8? That would be awsome. (ps I'm a big monte fan if you couldnt tell, I also like the 2004 supercharged "ss") //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

 

[awalbert88 10+ year member]

I prefer rear wheel-drive in the winter, actually ... With my front-drive Suzuki in the snow/ice, I couldn't even make it up the hill I live on because of the lack of weight on the front axle. With my 200SX, all I have to do is take things slowly and it makes it up fine. If it has trouble, I just throw a couple sandbags in the back for a little extra traction. Can't exactly do that with a front-drive car ...
Also, I feel a lot more confident driving my RWD car than I did my FWD car in the snow/rain because I find it easier to correct a potentially bad situation.

Also, in summer, RWD is a HELL of a lot more fun than FWD ... Well, except for my rear tires, they don't like summer at all //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

Yep, you said it quite well.

FR layout is second only to MR, but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't want to be driving an MR in the winter - no weight on the steering wheels at all.

 

[Electrodynamic 10+ year member]

Just go play GT3 and you'll get a "feel" for how different drivetrains react. It's not real, obviously, but it's about the closest you can get without actually tossing around exotic cars.

I like RWD myself. If you have enough power in one you can almost always steer yourself in the right direction in a corner. If you own one, it's a blast kicking the rear around while squeeling tires. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

 

[Natheo 10+ year member]

but when your summers only 2 months long and you have a bajillion feet of snow for the other 57 months you might as well have fwd.

 

[Bavarian3 10+ year member]

but when your summers only 2 months long and you have a bajillion feet of snow for the other 57 months you might as well have fwd.

yeh that would ****..

Thank god to be in Kali