FWD vs RWD

[luxobarge]

RWD or FWD it doesnt matter... if the person behind the wheel cant drive the car is going to be slow.


Personal preference is to RWD... personally i dont like the steering feedback given by FWD's. FWD's are easier (IMO) to drive on the limit, the threshold before something goes wrong seems to be much greater than if you were in a RWD.

[Silver-Arrowz]

I find FWD easier to drive at the limit. Brake early to balance the car, turn in and power out once I hit the apex. If the car understeers then nothing a little left foot braking can't fix.

With RWD I like to trail brake in but when you power out I find you can't give as much throttle as a FWD car. Maybe because the RWD car is more powerful on most occasions, but also because to correct oversteer on a RWD car you can't just lift off abruptly and jump on the brakes. Lift off and you cause snap understeer. Left foot brake and you spin. You have to gently get off the accelerator and once the rear wheels grip you can start correcting procedures.

It's all about weight distribution on 4 wheels.

[luxobarge]

but also because to correct oversteer on a RWD car you can't just lift off abruptly and jump on the brakes. Lift off and you cause snap understeer. Left foot brake and you spin. You have to gently get off the accelerator and once the rear wheels grip you can start correcting procedures.

Hmmm, dont know what RWD's you have been driving... anytime i get snap oversteer in the mx5 (and thats alot) i simply counter steer and if needed lift off the throttle... then theres always the option to touch the brakes to help bring you back in line. (thats regardless of speed aswell... it works at 70kmh around a tight bend or at 135kmh on turn 2 at QR).

Hmm and jumping on the brakes (RWD or FWD) will generally send you into a spin...

[SHOGUNOVDDRK]

I actually got caught out on that a few times in the wet too in a fwd.

Come around a corner with all the weight to the rear accelerating all of a sudden you lift off (hence the term lift over steer) or brake and the weight will all suddenly transfer back to the front. Results in the rear getting really really light and all of a sudden trying to overtake the front end Scary if you are not expecting it! Worse in cars with soft springs prone to weight transfer.

got caught out in the rain at wisemans ferry last week (fog and rain arent nice)

and didnt really have this problem infact my ass started sliding on the last 2 hairpins

Blitz: have you ever had an accident?

in my experiences you dont accelerate if your understeering you either A) clutch kick (wouldnt be too advised for fwd unless you know what your doing) B) BRAKE

you keep accelerating and you will be meeting your friend tree with a there pet oww my ass hurts

[honda_ek4]

It's easier to drive a FWD fast.

Will require a bit more skill to drive a RWD fast.

[SHOGUNOVDDRK]

Will require a bit more skill to drive a RWD fast.

quoted for truth

[Omotesando]

Shorter wheel-base - FWD easier to drive. eg. hot hatches.

Normal or longer wheel-base - RWD is 'better' to drive I think. Not necessarily faster but less natural understeer.

Having driven both types, I prefer RWD in general because of better turn in and better handling response. Most of Honda's FWD cars however are exception, esp the Type Rs. they will handle better than most RWDs and corner better. However they out handle much more other FWDs as a comparison.

[kraiye]

^^^
therefore, civic > pulsar
lol!

i like my FWD in small cars but big cars for most i think are better off RWD.
larger FWD cars seem slower to respond to corrections (almost clumsy) - magna's for example should be RWD (of course is always an exception)

[Limbo]

This is what i've found.
Driving fast - yeah so long as they are easy corners FWD is easier to be quicker. When it comes to very sharp corners i've found the RWD to be able to oversteer thru abit quicker.

Driving at limits - I've found that FWD is hard to correct when at limits, but easy to predict when your at your limit. RWD is harder to predict the limits but when you loose it is easier to recover.

Main drawback to FWD is that your tyres take alot of punishment, where as with RWD they are distributed abit more, due to having to steer and drive at the same time. Having so much pressure on the tyres makes longer tracks harder in a FWD as you loose grip more. In short tracks FWD seems to be just as good.

ALso i read somewhere that drivetrain loss on a FWD is less than a RWD.

Until the day they make super tyres that don't loose grip then RWD will always have a slight upper hand.

DOn't mean that FWD can't beat a RWD

[e240]

Driving at limits - I've found that FWD is hard to correct when at limits, but easy to predict when your at your limit. RWD is harder to predict the limits but when you loose it is easier to recover.

That sums it up nicely, it is difficult to drive a FWD at its limit, not your limit. Many of us mistake that driving at our limit is the car's limit, but the fact that most of us are not able to drive to the FWD car's limit.

But I still like my FWD - Actually prefer it over a RWD :-p

[DuGong]

FWD VS RWD.. watch initial d when takumi vs that yellow civic..

i think that episode can give some real difference between the two, but the RWD ended up on top...

[DUST]

FWD VS RWD.. watch initial d when takumi vs that yellow civic..

i think that episode can give some real difference between the two, but the RWD ended up on top...

LOL!!! Please don't give reference about Initial D.............