Must be something you hate about cars?

[Rust Collector]

I’ve found that most RWD cars I’ve owned have been easier to perform under bonnet maintenance on than FWD cars.

I guess what that boils down to though is that longitudinally mounted engines tend to be easier to work on than transverse mounted engines, and RWD vehicles tend to be larger cars with bigger engine bays. Again, my experience rather than scientific fact, and of course there are some outliers that don’t meet the above statement.

Anyway, you’re all wrong; AWD is the best 😉

[Supernaut]

Nah, all of you can fuck off.

All my cars have an extra wheel mounted right in the centre of the floor, and that's the one that's driven.

[danthecapriman]

45 minutes ago, Supernaut said:

Nah, all of you can fuck off.

All my cars have an extra wheel mounted right in the centre of the floor, and that's the one that's driven.

I reckon someone will be along shortly ( @LightBulbFun) to tell us how 3 wheels are how it’s really done!😄

 

[Zelandeth]

Intermittent faults.  Especially when they resolutely refuse to manifest when you have a helper therefore you end up looking like an idiot and wasting their time as well as your own.

[Popsicle]

Gear changes on RWD's that are floor mounted are far smoother than any FWD or dash mounted set up I've ever experienced. Give me a mk1 or 2 Escort any day, I don't think a gear change has ever been better.

[danthecapriman]

9 hours ago, Popsicle said:

Gear changes on RWD's that are floor mounted are far smoother than any FWD or dash mounted set up I've ever experienced. Give me a mk1 or 2 Escort any day, I don't think a gear change has ever been better.

The 4 speed in my Capri is absolutely lovely to use. It’s perfectly positioned relative to the seat, and the action is so smooth. The 5 speed in a friends Capri never seemed as good though.

 

When I was at work it was always this kind of utter bell tip that used to piss me off. This kind of driver on the roads is what ruins it, and gets everyone else’s backs up. 
Mr entitled. I’m too important to follow the rules like everyone else.

 

[Metal Guru]

35 minutes ago, danthecapriman said:

The 4 speed in my Capri is absolutely lovely to use. It’s perfectly positioned relative to the seat, and the action is so smooth. The 5 speed in a friends Capri never seemed as good though.

 

When I was at work it was always this kind of utter bell tip that used to piss me off. This kind of driver on the roads is what ruins it, and gets everyone else’s backs up. 
Mr entitled. I’m too important to follow the rules like everyone else.

 

I know what you mean. Driving that enormous thing through a small town, holding everyone up.

[juular]

21 hours ago, Soundwave said:

In 99% of everyday driving situations, you're not going to notice the difference between FWD and RWD. 

In general I agree with this, but there's a few areas I think where day to day use is just nicer with a RWD.

The turning circle : RWDs have a huge advantage here in being able to do a 180 turn in the road, or fit into very tight car parks even with a relatively large car due to the improved maneuverability. Going from using a RWD daily then jumping into a FWD is really frustrating in this regard as there are things you just cannot do.

The balance : car dependent of course, but even just pootling along,  RWD steering just feels so much more natural. A nice sharp turn-in makes small roundabouts and awkward junctions safer and more pleasant to deal with.

If you do push on a bit, you don't need to be drifting it to notice the car generally feels a bit more stable having the weight spread out along the chassis. 

Tyre life: In my experience FWDs tend to eat front tyres, whereas RWD tends to be more even. 

All of these points are car dependent as I'm aware of many FWD cars that handle nicer than RWD ones and don't have excess front tyre wear. 

I also agree the RWD packaging can be annoying. I prefer not to have the transmission tunnel eating into the floor space.

[Metal Guru]

7 minutes ago, juular said:

In general I agree with this, but there's a few areas I think where day to day use is just nicer with a RWD.

The turning circle : RWDs have a huge advantage here in being able to do a 180 turn in the road, or fit into very tight car parks even with a relatively large car due to the improved maneuverability. Going from using a RWD daily then jumping into a FWD is really frustrating in this regard as there are things you just cannot do.

The balance : car dependent of course, but even just pootling along,  RWD steering just feels so much more natural. A nice sharp turn-in makes small roundabouts and awkward junctions safer and more pleasant to deal with.

If you do push on a bit, you don't need to be drifting it to notice the car generally feels a bit more stable having the weight spread out along the chassis. 

Tyre life: In my experience FWDs tend to eat front tyres, whereas RWD tends to be more even. 

All of these points are car dependent as I'm aware of many FWD cars that handle nicer than RWD ones and don't have excess front tyre wear. 

I also agree the RWD packaging can be annoying. I prefer not to have the transmission tunnel eating into the floor space.

My Bini PHEV can be FWD, RWD or AWD.

[danthecapriman]

The transmission tunnel in rear drive has never once bothered me tbh. It’s not that big and intrusive, and besides what else would you really do with that strip down the middle between the seats?

All the benefits or rwd far outweigh the few negatives imho. Fwd just seems to have become so common because it’s easier and cheaper for manufacturers to build cars by assembling all the running gear up together onto a subframe then slotting it all up into the body. The layout of rwd means it’s much more labour and time intensive to assemble it all. 
Fwd imho, is a big enough reason for me not buy a car! It just doesn’t feel as nice and they’re generally far worse to work on.

[Asimo]

1 hour ago, juular said:

I prefer not to have the transmission tunnel eating into the floor space

I completely agree, but most cars have the floor and space between the seats full of horrible plastic bins, consoles, cup holders and screens even when there is no gearbox or "gear lever".  You can see right under all this stuff in my I-Pace!

SPACE is so much more comfortable than clutter!

 

[Volksy]

TBH there is quite a lot I hate,

But currently grinding my gears is that most cars produced after 2010, especially the growing number of SUV's, seem to have black out tints on most windows, meaning in situations, such as trying to pull out of the inside lane at a roundabout entrance, following a car through traffic management, such as chicanes temp lights, turning left out of junctions when another vehicle is waiting to turn right.... You can't 'see through' the car in front/to the side. 

I generally drive, and was taught to, by observing the car in front of the car in front. This is now impossible especially in local traffic.

In my opinion, this simple thing is vastly reducing traffic flow, as you cant really safely pull out of turnings/enter roundabouts often until the vehicle to your right has cleared. At traffic/speed management priority chicanes, which we have a lot of in Leeds, you pretty much have to stop everytime as you can't see if the oncoming traffic will allow you to 'follow through'.

[juular]

16 minutes ago, Asimo said:

I completely agree, but most cars have the floor and space between the seats full of horrible plastic bins, consoles, cup holders and screens even when there is no gearbox or "gear lever".  You can see right under all this stuff in my I-Pace!

SPACE is so much more comfortable than clutter!

 

Yes, this irks me too.

I like having a centre arm rest especially in an Auto, but it doesn't need to take up a third of the car.

The only vehicles that seem to take full advantage of no trans tunnel are vans. On these it's brilliant being able to get in either the passenger or drivers door and just slide along.

[juular]

51 minutes ago, Volksy said:

I generally drive, and was taught to, by observing the car in front of the car in front. This is now impossible especially in local traffic.

I was thinking of exactly this the other day.

I was trying to overtake some form of JLR blob doing its usual 40 everywhere behaviour, but I just couldn't see a bloody thing until I was effectively entirely out in the oncoming lane.

Same is true at roundabouts and everywhere else, you can't 'see round' these monstrosities to read the road ahead.

When I have one of them in front of me on a fast dual carriageway coming up to traffic lights or a roundabout I keep well back because I know the script. They'll be at the speed limit until the last second and then they'll be using 100% braking power to avoid hitting the queue at the lights that they could see miles away but didn't react to.

With smaller cars in front you can visually see it unfolding so can plan a more gradual stop, stick hazards on etc.

[Volksy]

7 minutes ago, juular said:

100% braking power to avoid hitting the queue at the lights that they could see miles away but didn't react to.

With smaller cars in front you can visually see it unfolding so can plan a more gradual stop, stick hazards on etc.

Also more cars these days are autos, so brake lights tend to be on a lot more, coupled with the inability to see what the blob in front is reacting to, making it difficult to judge. 

I guess it doesn't help, that my Merc - although a massive car in its day - is actually very low down in comparison to most newer vehicles. It's only visible in car parks by how far it sticks out, rather than above the surrounding cars. 🤣

[MorrisItalSLX]

I hate working on dashboards.

Broken clips, sharp edges, wiring spaghetti, hidden fasteners, tight spaces and the fuckers always squeak and rattle when you’re done.

[danthecapriman]

Modern headlights. 
They’re absolutely awful if you’re driving at night with them behind you or coming towards you. Eye piercingly bright. 
When I used to do standby at work during night I used to get headaches if I’d been driving around a lot with headlights in my eyes for long periods.

[Talbot]

Attitudes of some drivers.  Self-entitled cunts who think they own the road and everyone else should get out of the way for them.  Zero patience and tolerance of anyone else.

IMO modern NVH and isolation has caused a lot of this.  Everyone drives in their own little bubble and fuck everyone else.

Makes me want to drive an armoured personnel carrier into them, just to make them realise they actually need to have some consideration of other road users.