Is RWD really better?

[IAMVTEC]

Discuss. I actually prefer FWD since its safer and makes for a bigger interior.

[Slow96GSR]

They both have pros and cons. Any system does.

[Rice_4_life]

im watchin this thread :P

[m3ntAL_l2]

*REPOST2THEFULLEXTENDOFTHENUBNESS*
http://www.ozhonda.com/forum/showthread.php?t=54848&highlight=rwd%2Afdw

[EuroAccord13]

You are clever to post in the Noob Forum :) So I'll leave it open as long as it doesn't turn out to be like the thread posted....

[panda[cRx]]

omfg, die iamvtec DIIIIIE!!!

[DreadAngel]

ROFLMFAOZOMGHI2UTOOBBQCHICKENNUGGET!!!

On a serious note, does it really matter? Its not a question of what drivetrain is better, its what the driver can get out of it. FWD can't contain massive amounts of power due to understeer however RWD can also be a hand full with too much power, all comes down to the driver period.

[flipmods]

Everyone is different, but personally I like FWD for safety with my driving style. I went through the Skyline phase and I found it very dangerous. So I put the same power in the front tyres on my lude and controlled it much better, only problem I found was getting traction:(

[Chi]

FWD is bad man, cos when u launch car it bunny hops alot and the interior gets out of wack.

RWD just slides on launch.


So RWD is better for that reason.

[Zilli]

RWD is more FUN

[BlueSiR]

how abt cornerin speed, whcih one is better

[aaronng]

FWD is bad man, cos when u launch car it bunny hops alot and the interior gets out of wack.

RWD just slides on launch.


So RWD is better for that reason.

And when the rear of the car starts to pivot out as you launch and you are too noob to catch it with countersteer, the front of your car will make love to the wall that is by the side, like that Ferrari 360 at burnout day vid.

[VTi_b0i]

how abt cornerin speed, whcih one is better

well if u hit a corner too fast in RWD u can drift and crash if u cant control it... RWD is alot more dangerous thern FWD but dam its so much fun :)

[DLO01]

Neither RWD or FWD are 'better'. And its silly to compare them in that sense.

Both have their pros and cons.

[aaronng]

how abt cornerin speed, whcih one is better

Cornering with or without throttle?
Without throttle, there are FWD cars that corner at higher speed than RWD cars.

With throttle, FWD with decent torque will understeer. RWD can either understeer or oversteer, depending on the setup.

[Paul1985]

Very interesting thread..
If you think that FWD cant corner well then just watch some of the best motoring videos... watch some of the s2k's, ITR's and worked EG's go!!

[EuroDude]

FWD vs RWD vs AWD video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPdUrWa_F0A


----------------------------------------
WhiteLine FWD vs RDW article http://www.whiteline.com.au/default.asp?page=/faqelse01.htm

FWD vs RWD – what’s the better system?

We are regularly asked this question so we thought it would make a good FAQ topic. The following has been copied from the most recent question and answer posted to our discussion group.

Is there a distinct advantage of one or the other when talking about Camry, Commodore sized cars....does one tow better, does one handle better etc etc or is it fundamentally down to setup.

What a great question, a good way for us to get into some serious trouble. Anyway, here goes…..

To answer this properly, it pays to first get a bit of industry background from the last 20 years. FWD was developed as a cost saving measure for vehicle manufacturers. Its cheaper to build a car with FWD for obvious reasons but also because the complete package can be lighter, smaller for a given target load volume capacity and will use less fuel. A FWD is also inherently more "Wally" friendly for the average driver as the natural balance is toward understeer. Panic reactions by the driver will result in more benign behaviour than you'd get from a RWD and it’s easier to keep it that way.

So, the manufacturers drive the demand by telling us all its a great thing, and in a big picture sense it is because cars a cheaper now than ever, they use less fuel and they're safer in both passive and active terms. But, WE enthusiasts all know something's just not right.

Early last decade the motorsport players were faced with a 2.0 litre FWD platform for developing a racing series with. They were quick to realise that the format created some fairly major technical hurdles in terms of chassis tuning etc. The most significant being that the same wheels that steer the car, now have to deliver drive torque as well. I've mentioned this before but it’s worth mentioning again. A tyre has a finite amount of grip available to deliver albeit proportionate to its load. Grip increases with load but at a diminishing rate, but then falls away dramatically when it reaches the limit of adhesion. With the same given load, a FWD front tyre has to proportion grip between lateral (cornering) and longtitudunal modes. That is, the harder you accelerate, the less grip you have left to corner with (this should start to really ring some bells in your head if you drive a FWD or a WRX with out a front anti-lift kit).

With a RWD, drive and steer are largely separated so there is greater inherent balance though poor chassis weight distribution can easily cancel out these benefits. This load/grip relationship becomes a bigger problem when you consider that a FWD can have up to 62% of its weight over the front wheels! Just think back to the last time you came into a corner too hot, under brakes and turned the wheel. What hapenned? Very little as far as cornering goes, right?

All this would suggest that RWD wins and FWD looses, but this is not the case because the racing industry responded to the reality of FWD being the dominant passenger car platform and started on a hugely steep and expensive development curve based around these problems. The result is the British Touring Car series as we know it, and the fact that a Super Tourer will run faster across the top of Mt Panorama than a V8 even with a huge power deficit, an impressive acheivement.

It's poignant to also point out at this stage that in World class rally terms, tarmac stages are generally won by the FWD's not the 4WD's. That's because grip is no substitute for good handling, something which the FWD developers have elevated to a science. This is not to say that a RWD would not ultimately be faster than a FWD but only if you could deliver the power to the rear with a similar overall power to weight ratio as the FWD, and that's highly unlikely. The most effective example showing the pinnacle of what is acheivable can be found in F1, but these cars use a mid engine RWD layout which delivers a good compromise between total weight and its distribution.

A guy said that FWD is more expensive to repair, but given the new RWD IRS systems use nearly twice as many joints, surely this must be a suspect comment. Might have been true with the old rigid axles, however tail-shaft vibration was and still is a problem .

This is a difficult one. My personal suspicion is that FWD would be marginally dearer due to the use of CV joints in the drive-shafts. These things are a relative marvel in engineering terms as they do a huge amount of work and still manage to last a reasonable period of time. But this would also apply to 4WD and IRS RWD. The counter to this is the extra cost of maintenance resulting from the extra weight of a RWD.

Volvo & SAAB actively promote fwd as safer in mud, snow & ice, certainly Scandinavian rally and f1 drivers are amongst the best !

Yes, this is probably true, but not as safe as AWD or 4WD. But, given a choice between RWD or FWD and forced to make a generalisation I would have to agree with that due to the issues raised earlier.

What about for towing?

As far as towing goes, FWD is definitely a looser as the extra weight over the rear axle acts to raise the front, taking load off the wheels that need it the most. Even when using towing aids and weight distribution couplings, it’s always a compromise. Being a trailer boat owner, I often see a FWD madly spinning its front wheels while trying to drag a boat out of the ramp. If you do own a FWD and choose to tow a reasonable load, it would pay to invest in a weight distribution hitch system as they work very well and allow for safe enthusiastic driving even when towing.
The science of FWD suspension and chassis tuning in sedans is in many cases more advanced than RWD but it has a very short development history. FWD lap times have only come down dramatically in the last 5-10 years so the technology is still very young and fresh. I am proud to say that Whiteline jumped on this wagon over 5 years ago recognising the inevitable and started investing time and research into following international motorsport trends and the technical solutions employed to address these problems. I do not mean to boast as we still have a great deal to learn, but it took Subaru till '98 to increase the size of the rear swaybar of the WRX, something we and many others have been advocating since '95.

[aaronng]

There was a racing series in the US where one team ran 2 identical packages, but one with FWD and the other with RWD. With the same power output, they found that FWD could enter corners quicker and was more stable. RWD on the other hand had to enter slower, but was able to apply power out of the corner earlier than FWD. When doing the timed lap, RWD was quicker than FWD by less than 0.5 seconds on a 1.5 minute course. So FWD is not a slow layout.

[vti_ek9]

Very interesting thread..
If you think that FWD cant corner well then just watch some of the best motoring videos... watch some of the s2k's, ITR's and worked EG's go!!




errrr....s2k is rwd

[civic_mods]

if u are drift king,yes,FR is better

[Zilli]

the moment this thread turned into a question of speed the thread title shoudlve been changed too

"whos a better driver"

the driver is the defining factor in this... someone who races front wheel drives against the same in a rwd, with closely matched cars, it would be a great race to watch

front engine rear drive is the staple of motor racing

you cant debate that

[aimre]

well if u hit a corner too fast in RWD u can drift and crash if u cant control it... RWD is alot more dangerous thern FWD but dam its so much fun :)


ummm... no, even in a RWD if u hit a corner to fast, you will understeer. You will start to "drift" if u put too much power down when EXITING the corner in RWD.

[notorious_ahmie]

i personally prefer FWD..thats why i converted my 180sx to it. Even though burnouts where so easy to do and dori dori was easily controlled by myself, i had enuff of it. I wanted to go hard around corners..so i undertook the conversion. and now my car hammers through the corners..but as chi said..everytime i try to launch..my headunit keeps falling out..i dont know why :( can any1 help?












NAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTT

your a gronk iampussytec.. do u want me to diss u again?

part 3 of my infamous dissin
iamvtec on ur face i be pissin
im straight spittin on tha mic u seee
thought u wouldnt come back and now uve dissappointed me
a lesson i thought i taught u wat ya doin back
see this is a lil sample of my infamous mic attack


BOOYAKASHA

[Paul1985]

errrr....s2k is rwd

oops!
my bad... lol

[destrukshn]

iamvtec.
fwd and rwd.
which one is better? in who's eyes are you talkin about?
my opinion, it's down the personal preference.
but also, what purpose?
drags? rwd.
circuit? rwd, if people are gonna say, FWD are good as well, yes they are good, but not as good as rwd, that's why all the race major race cars are rwd e.g. gtc, f1, supercars etc.
street? personal preferance.

[civic_mods]

i personally prefer FWD..thats why i converted my 180sx to it.


are u serious???/
ur 180sx is FRont Wheel Drive???? FWD????

[EuroDude]

are u serious???/
ur 180sx is FRont Wheel Drive???? FWD????

He was joking, hence the NNNAAAAAAATTT text ;)

[panda[cRx]]

omfg (-_-)

[notorious_ahmie]

i was doin a borat..who honestly takes iamhomo character seriously..neways rwd ftw!

[jdm_kid]

RWD is for FUN ! :D

[aaronng]

OMG, even a noob forum thread has gone offtopic.....

Closed!