Is FWD really that bad?

[Little Beavis]

Torque steer is another phrase for axle windup........ most car makers take care of torque steer by adding a balancer shaft conected to the engine. FWD suffers the worst, I don't think AWD has much problem with it at all.

Good post.
Not to oversimplify this. . .but having two different "length" axles on a FWD adds to the torque steer. If they were both the same, you would have better balance, but as you can all see, that is difficult. . .and in RWD there is basically no other way, unless you were trying to @#$%& it up!

I will say that I've always liked RWD and AWD, but my MP3(T) with the Quaife and all I do is point and shoot. . .totally different beast.

 

[ZoomZoomH]

(werd)
My 914 stuck like a slot car, but once it let go, it was tough to reel it back in. That's a lot of weight swinging around back there. (I'm assuming you meant 914's because 911s are R/R)

ah yes, 911s are indeed RR's, even trickier to drive!

actually i didn't even consider them as RR's, but i guess there is a significant difference betwee MR and RR (braindead

 

[twilightprotege]

i think you'll find as well 911/996's etc have rear mounted engines not mid

 

[jflo]

i don't think FWD is very bad at all, although it does change the driving experience. before the miata was fixed, i had become accustomed to the MSP's FWD drivetrain and the way it reacted to throttle and such. in the miata, it's a whole other story because the front wheels don't grip and turn at the same time. it feels like the rear is just following the front wheels as they turn. in the MSP, it's like someone's tugging your car in the direction you want, albeit at a fast and quick pace.

FWD isn't all that bad- look at the proteges competing against the BMWs and IS300s. besides drivetrain layout, i think that chassis response has a lot to do with the way a car handles and behaves.

 

[jflo]

i think you'll find as well 911/996's etc have rear mounted engines not mid

911 is the name of the car. 996 is the generation of the car. 911s are truly rear mounted over the axle. the boxster is mid mounted, and the old 944s have the front-rear drivetrain.

 

[YuYuRena]

actually, FR is the more 'natural' setup for sporting driving, as it is much easier to achieve perfect 50/50 weight distribution in FR than it is with MR.

MR cars can be driven very fast (see Porsche), but they are tricky to control under that kind of speed.

I beg to differ on that note with FR is better with weight distribution. MR is having the engine as close to the center of the car, and usually the engineers try to get it as close to the CG and momentum of inertia and mount them low for lower CG. All you are left with on the four corners are the suspension and some other weight balance acts. Also, MR is cars that have the engine mounted in the middle. If you look at the 911, the engine is mounted behind the axle and that could cause a little bit of tall happy.

FWD is not bad, especially on a downhill drive, as we have an inherent grip advantage due to gravity. It's more about suspension with most of the setup, but naturally, when accelerating hard in a corner, FWD will always push, cuz of Newton. FWD is alright for most application, plus it leaves more passenger room.

 

[BlueMonsta]

I beg to differ on that note with FR is better with weight distribution. MR is having the engine as close to the center of the car, and usually the engineers try to get it as close to the CG and momentum of inertia and mount them low for lower CG. All you are left with on the four corners are the suspension and some other weight balance acts. Also, MR is cars that have the engine mounted in the middle. If you look at the 911, the engine is mounted behind the axle and that could cause a little bit of tall happy.

FWD is not bad, especially on a downhill drive, as we have an inherent grip advantage due to gravity. It's more about suspension with most of the setup, but naturally, when accelerating hard in a corner, FWD will always push, cuz of Newton. FWD is alright for most application, plus it leaves more passenger room.

u mean FWD will pull.... =p

 

[BlueMonsta]

FF is amazing to me

Every layout has it own adv /dis

its all about how to around the disadvtanges

during cornering, FF use the left foot braking technique (<-- kids do not try this at home), it reduces something... lol. It helps balance the car while keeping ur REV high.

I tried it once, but due to my stock gen 1 protege's super soft worn out suspension, it didnt work so well. i thought i was gonna spin out... lol.. (1st time trying so i didnt know how to react).

I personal like MR(4WD). Dunno a car that has that setup though. That setup seems amazing... but meh.

The ONE car that I know that has a perfect 50/50 distrubtion is the RX-8.

but yah FF is cool for me

 

[Maz2001MP]

This link should end the discussion. Let's see someone do this with an FWD car.
http://www.eighthundredpoundgorilla.com/driftbible.ram

The link doesnt work for me, but if its regarding FF drifting, it has been done..

I have this video clip from Japan.. I think I got it from carvid.net.. its of an 89-90 Civic Hatchback beating out a mildly modded S14..

This computer sucks and I would post the vid for a download but i'd be here for days...

 

[pr5owner]

ford RS200 MR 4WD 0-60 in 2.8 seconds only car that comes to mind.. hmm... S2000 is 50/50, not sure about the NSX

 

[ZoomZoomH]

most MR cars have some rear weight bias

Toyota MR2 has 45/55 F/R

 

[BlueMonsta]

ford RS200 MR 4WD 0-60 in 2.8 seconds only car that comes to mind.. hmm... S2000 is 50/50, not sure about the NSX

I thought S2000 was 49/51 or something like that...
but meh its close enough.
I still like the RX-8 more than anything else... lol, dun ask me why, cause I dunno.

2.8sec.. wow... tats the time it takes for my car to switch gears... lol (auto tranny screwed up... k it doesnt take 2.8.. more like .8 but still.. )

 

[jflo]

Every layout has it own adv /dis

its all about how to around the disadvtanges

during cornering, FF use the left foot braking technique (<-- kids do not try this at home), it reduces something... lol. It helps balance the car while keeping ur REV high.

I tried it once, but due to my stock gen 1 protege's super soft worn out suspension, it didnt work so well. i thought i was gonna spin out... lol.. (1st time trying so i didnt know how to react).

I personal like MR(4WD). Dunno a car that has that setup though. That setup seems amazing... but meh.

The ONE car that I know that has a perfect 50/50 distrubtion is the RX-8.

but yah FF is cool for me

lamborghini gallardo/murcielago are mid engined and have 4wd. the tommy kaira zzii is also set up the same way

 

[BlueMonsta]

lamborghini gallardo/murcielago are mid engined and have 4wd. the tommy kaira zzii is also set up the same way

cool..... that lambo has really good handles!

 

[toucci]

I actually like FWD for this car. It's a lot safer driving in the rain (don't have to worry about lift-throttle oversteer) and you can't easily spin it out. RWD is more fun but for an econobox like the protege FWD is better in my opinion.

 

[Natey]

u mean FWD will pull.... =p

I think YuYuRena was talking about understeer, or push. (peep)

 

[pro00]

the only thing i don't like about the fwd
is that the torque steer and the wheelhop
that is all. i like the handling, i am not sure if the weight ratio is really different
but, in overal auto X and handling, fwd is much better than rwd IMO

 

[BlueMonsta]

I think YuYuRena was talking about understeer, or push. (peep)

ooo... lol.. understeer.... I see I see...
but
FF is good enough for me... its better in snow than FR/RR/MR cars, for the average driver since it understeers.

 

[girth]

My MSP, and I'm sure all others have oversteer, I have never experienced understeer, the backend swings out way before that will happen.

Um, no.

 

[TurfBurn]

understeer and oversteer are largely factors of the suspension and the alignment settings. Everything can be adjusted. But yes typically a FWD car will suffer from understeer more prevalently due to the fact that you are using the same set of tires for your steering as well as your power application so they can only do so much.