Are rear wheel drive cars a fuggin liability??

[dollywobbler]

I prefer front-wheel drive, but that's because about 99.9% of the cars I've owned or driven have been set up thus. I know where the limits are and while some FWD cars can tease the back end out, you have to be a bit of a tit (or driving on sheet ice) to make it happen. Front-wheel drive isn't ideal if you've got loads of power, but I very rarely do.

[dollywobbler]

I prefer front-wheel drive, but that's because about 99.9% of the cars I've owned or driven have been set up thus. I know where the limits are and while some FWD cars can tease the back end out, you have to be a bit of a tit (or driving on sheet ice) to make it happen. Front-wheel drive isn't ideal if you've got loads of power, but I very rarely do.

[Junkman]

FWD is for girls.

[Junkman]

FWD is for girls.

[Spiny Norman]

Topics like this are a really good read on Pistonheads, when all teh driving godz all chip in their tuppence worth...

 

I have to agree though, most of the powerful rwd cars I've ever owned for any length of time have at one stage had me at least at ninety degrees to my desired direction of travel, in circumstances that I doubt I'd have felt more than a slight wiggle from a fwd car.

 

Worst by far is the Merc I've got right now. 230-odd bhp and a comedy traction control system which does absolutely fuck all except flash its stupid little warning triangle once I'm already looking through the side window instead of the windscreen have been the cause of one or two moments of embarrassment if nothing else.

[Spiny Norman]

Topics like this are a really good read on Pistonheads, when all teh driving godz all chip in their tuppence worth...

 

I have to agree though, most of the powerful rwd cars I've ever owned for any length of time have at one stage had me at least at ninety degrees to my desired direction of travel, in circumstances that I doubt I'd have felt more than a slight wiggle from a fwd car.

 

Worst by far is the Merc I've got right now. 230-odd bhp and a comedy traction control system which does absolutely fuck all except flash its stupid little warning triangle once I'm already looking through the side window instead of the windscreen have been the cause of one or two moments of embarrassment if nothing else.

[cort16]

My SD1 hasn't given me any bother in this department yet mainly because the before I put away for winter I got out dragged by a Hyundai ATOZ and any kind of heavy power application just results in one wheel spinning furiously.

Come to think of it, it's normally been BMW's that have got me in the shit.

[cort16]

My SD1 hasn't given me any bother in this department yet mainly because the before I put away for winter I got out dragged by a Hyundai ATOZ and any kind of heavy power application just results in one wheel spinning furiously.

Come to think of it, it's normally been BMW's that have got me in the shit.

[dollywobbler]

It's what you're used to though. A mate used to live in Texas. Whenever it rained, he said it was a nightmare as driving down the road, you'd be constantly trying to avoid pirouetting Jeep Cherokees. On snow, a Texan would probably make a British BMW driver look quite the rally ace. I can't say a rear-wheel drive car has tried to kill me, but a Morris Minor did try and kill my wife. That accident wouldn't have happened in her Mini. It's a different skill set really, but FWD is the safer option for a numpty.

 

(incidentally, the only car I've REALLY lost control of on a public road was permo four-wheel drive).

[dollywobbler]

It's what you're used to though. A mate used to live in Texas. Whenever it rained, he said it was a nightmare as driving down the road, you'd be constantly trying to avoid pirouetting Jeep Cherokees. On snow, a Texan would probably make a British BMW driver look quite the rally ace. I can't say a rear-wheel drive car has tried to kill me, but a Morris Minor did try and kill my wife. That accident wouldn't have happened in her Mini. It's a different skill set really, but FWD is the safer option for a numpty.

 

(incidentally, the only car I've REALLY lost control of on a public road was permo four-wheel drive).

[cort16]

No winter tyres, the road was dry but I'm not saying I was driving exactly light footed. I just recon that given the same conditions and speed there's more chance of getting into bother in a rwd car.

[cort16]

No winter tyres, the road was dry but I'm not saying I was driving exactly light footed. I just recon that given the same conditions and speed there's more chance of getting into bother in a rwd car.

[Lacquer Peel]

People are a liability.

[Lacquer Peel]

People are a liability.

[Des]

I don't recall getting in any bother in RWD cars, but maybe it's a combination of driving like a pussy, luck and good tyres. FWD is clearly the best option for the brainless masses out there, far safer for the inepts, RWD is better, but only if the driver has the crazy skills to harness its awesome potential, and that's where it goes wrong when in the hands of arseholes who think they're a bit tasty.

[Des]

I don't recall getting in any bother in RWD cars, but maybe it's a combination of driving like a pussy, luck and good tyres. FWD is clearly the best option for the brainless masses out there, far safer for the inepts, RWD is better, but only if the driver has the crazy skills to harness its awesome potential, and that's where it goes wrong when in the hands of arseholes who think they're a bit tasty.

[Richard]

Four-wheel drive is the safest option.

 

Is that what would be called an Audi Quattro nowadays? Our recently retired chief constable is currently trying to wriggle out of a careless driving charge after losing control of her Audi Quattro and hitting another car. She is trying to blame the car too.

[Richard]

Four-wheel drive is the safest option.

 

Is that what would be called an Audi Quattro nowadays? Our recently retired chief constable is currently trying to wriggle out of a careless driving charge after losing control of her Audi Quattro and hitting another car. She is trying to blame the car too.

[Barry Cade]

RWD all day long, for me FWD is just shit. Growing up in a new town which has a roundabout every 100 yards, and after test pass came a long line of Manta's, Ascona'sMk2 ezzcorts and then moving on to the twitchy and nervous X1/9 I became a drift king when it was still called "getting the erse oot". Then I got an x1/9 with a Turbo and quickly learned that twitchy mid engined cars which spin in their own length,a bleed valve which took it to about 160BHP with a hair trigger throttle meant INSTANT 360 ACTION.

 

Still have a lot of fun in the RWD Vito. ASR and ESP permanent OFF.

 

 

 

If it was only the driver in that TiTTy, should the passengers airbags have gone off??

[Barry Cade]

RWD all day long, for me FWD is just shit. Growing up in a new town which has a roundabout every 100 yards, and after test pass came a long line of Manta's, Ascona'sMk2 ezzcorts and then moving on to the twitchy and nervous X1/9 I became a drift king when it was still called "getting the erse oot". Then I got an x1/9 with a Turbo and quickly learned that twitchy mid engined cars which spin in their own length,a bleed valve which took it to about 160BHP with a hair trigger throttle meant INSTANT 360 ACTION.

 

Still have a lot of fun in the RWD Vito. ASR and ESP permanent OFF.

 

 

 

If it was only the driver in that TiTTy, should the passengers airbags have gone off??

[Spiny Norman]

I remember at the original launch of THE Audi Quattro back in 1980 a surprising number of them got totalled.

 

In a way the wayward BMW or understeery Golf are much safer because they give you plenty warning when things are about to get brown-trousered. Back in 1980 a Quattro must have seemed like it came from another planet, right up to the point where physics said "Fuck it, we're going into that tree", and when the inevitable did happen you were going about 30mph faster than you'd have been had you been piloting an 'ordinary' car, with predictable results.

 

The original TT was a real horror handling wise, far worse than a fwd Fiat Coupe or a rwd BMW 3 series. The early ones even killed a few paying customers on the roads with their evil handling, a fact that Audi managed to just about keep hushed up in contrast to the Mercedes A class debacle in which a journalist hurt his arm slightly carrying out an extreme manoeuvre on a test track that few motorists would ever try on a public road.

 

Far too often, OMGRWD handling just means driving like a tit. fwd cars are far more precise and safer when things get a bit iffy, particularly for the inexperienced or inattentive driver.

[Spiny Norman]

I remember at the original launch of THE Audi Quattro back in 1980 a surprising number of them got totalled.

 

In a way the wayward BMW or understeery Golf are much safer because they give you plenty warning when things are about to get brown-trousered. Back in 1980 a Quattro must have seemed like it came from another planet, right up to the point where physics said "Fuck it, we're going into that tree", and when the inevitable did happen you were going about 30mph faster than you'd have been had you been piloting an 'ordinary' car, with predictable results.

 

The original TT was a real horror handling wise, far worse than a fwd Fiat Coupe or a rwd BMW 3 series. The early ones even killed a few paying customers on the roads with their evil handling, a fact that Audi managed to just about keep hushed up in contrast to the Mercedes A class debacle in which a journalist hurt his arm slightly carrying out an extreme manoeuvre on a test track that few motorists would ever try on a public road.

 

Far too often, OMGRWD handling just means driving like a tit. fwd cars are far more precise and safer when things get a bit iffy, particularly for the inexperienced or inattentive driver.

[pandamonium]

People are a liability.

 

This.

 

I've had loads of scary moments in both FWD and RWD. I've driven on crappy and mismatched tyres. I've pushed cars to their limits.

 

But at the end of it all, my sense of self preservation and pure luck have kept me alive until now!

[pandamonium]

People are a liability.

 

This.

 

I've had loads of scary moments in both FWD and RWD. I've driven on crappy and mismatched tyres. I've pushed cars to their limits.

 

But at the end of it all, my sense of self preservation and pure luck have kept me alive until now!

[Des]

Now I think of it a well engineered FWD is pretty good, but most are cheaply engineered shit with odd length driveshafts and the engine stuffed over toward the drivers side, just as RWD with cart springs is a bit crap. A car built to perform will have an advantage by being RWD.

 

These pictures should settle the argument, or at least clarify the difference between the two better than can be expressed by mere words, which would you rather be seen on by all of your friends and family?

 

 

 

FWD

 

 

RWD

[Des]

Now I think of it a well engineered FWD is pretty good, but most are cheaply engineered shit with odd length driveshafts and the engine stuffed over toward the drivers side, just as RWD with cart springs is a bit crap. A car built to perform will have an advantage by being RWD.

 

These pictures should settle the argument, or at least clarify the difference between the two better than can be expressed by mere words, which would you rather be seen on by all of your friends and family?

 

 

 

FWD

 

 

RWD

[Guest]

Is that an, er..., bike?

 

On Pistonheads and elsewhere, FWD is the drive of SHAME, but we can be more relaxed, especially as most of our cars are too shagged to drive anywhere anyway.

 

I like Italian FWD cars that pretend to be RWD. The Lancia Fulvia is one such, and the Beta does a pretty good FWD RWD impression. Frenchies, too: the Puglet 205 is another FWD legend that allows you to do RWD type of loonage and crashage.

 

Mid engined RWD cars are Joe Cool, until they reach their departure point, at which juncture they go OMGSPINNIN with nary a moment's warning. Try driving an early Lotus Elsie with phat tyres in the rain at over 40 mph. Faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaacccccccccckkkkkkkkkk....

[Guest]

Is that an, er..., bike?

 

On Pistonheads and elsewhere, FWD is the drive of SHAME, but we can be more relaxed, especially as most of our cars are too shagged to drive anywhere anyway.

 

I like Italian FWD cars that pretend to be RWD. The Lancia Fulvia is one such, and the Beta does a pretty good FWD RWD impression. Frenchies, too: the Puglet 205 is another FWD legend that allows you to do RWD type of loonage and crashage.

 

Mid engined RWD cars are Joe Cool, until they reach their departure point, at which juncture they go OMGSPINNIN with nary a moment's warning. Try driving an early Lotus Elsie with phat tyres in the rain at over 40 mph. Faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaacccccccccckkkkkkkkkk....

[RedSparrow]

My theory is that too many numbskulls think HUURR RWD IS DA BEST based on the fact that they heard Clarkson say it. The same people consider themselves to be expert drivers when in fact they are usually moronic liabilities, hence why they end up in hedges or killing people.

RWD is fine and can be fun if you know what you're doing - I'm in no way an expert driver so treat RWD cars with the respect they deserve.

[RedSparrow]

My theory is that too many numbskulls think HUURR RWD IS DA BEST based on the fact that they heard Clarkson say it. The same people consider themselves to be expert drivers when in fact they are usually moronic liabilities, hence why they end up in hedges or killing people.

RWD is fine and can be fun if you know what you're doing - I'm in no way an expert driver so treat RWD cars with the respect they deserve.