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Your driving ability shouldnt be dictated by whether the car is FWD or RWD in fact for almost all driving conditions you probably wouldnt notice the difference however if pushed to the limit the FWD will understeer and the RWD will oversteer ,
the old NASCAR saying is with understeer you hit the wall with the front of the car.
With oversteer you hit the wall with the back of the car..
I love it. Coming into a discussion forum and being condescending because people are discussing things.
Sorry to have offended you, ye of few posts. If you check my history, you'll see that I am generally quite active and helpful in the automotive forums when it comes to legit questions and discussions. However, this particular topic has been hashed to death previously and really is nothing more than troll bait. Is it really necessary to post an inane question that anyone could find the real answer to with nothing more than a modicum of effort?
If you want the "real" answer, you could search for the previous threads about this or read the following:
FWD was adopted as it is a more compact solution, making it easier to build the car. Also, do to the benefit of being compact it allows for a car to have a larger interior relative to the overall dimension of a car than would be possible in a RWD or AWD setup. The added bonus is that it is a marginally more efficient setup do to less rotating parts and mechanical loss in the drivetrain. FWD's achilles heel is it's handling dynamics, exacerbated by poor weight distribution. One ancilliary benefit is that it affords better traction in poor weather since the vehicles weight is centered over the front axle.
RWD is the enthusiasts choice as it affords the best weight balance and handling dynamics. However, it is more costly to build, slightly less efficient than an otherwise comparable FWD setup and compromises interior space do to the necessity of a tunnel for the trans and driveshaft.
Which is "better" is entirely situationally dependent. In general, if you care about performance and handling dynamics above all else RWD will be a better match. If you don't care about those things, FWD will suit you just fine.
Up next for debate...Bush vs. Obama, which is better?
Front wheel drive is bad physics. Not just bad physics, horrible physics.
Just as a question, when was the last horse pushed carriage you saw? And have you tried to push a rope up a hill?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Deez Nuttz
The one time I decided to change the plug wires in a FWD and found the distributor cap was on the fire wall side plus the only way of getting to it was to pull the engine which mounted in from above, is when I decided no more FWD cars.
When was the last time you changed the plug wires on a 4th gen Camaro/Firebird and tried to get to the distributor cap way back under the cowl? Even on the LS1 cars that had individual coil packs, it's a PITA to reach the rear cyls:
I changed the plug wires on a FWD Cavalier and they were all right there in front and easy to get to. Here's a Honda one. How hard s it to get to the spark plugs?
How about the plugs and distributor cap in this common FWD car?
So let's not make easily countered broad generalizations, ok?
Those of you that claim to have better traction in snow with RWD, what type of vehicle were you in?
I myself like RWD. Aside from the reasons already posted, when working on the engine, it seems RWD's are easier.
The one time I decided to change the plug wires in a FWD and found the distributor cap was on the fire wall side plus the only way of getting to it was to pull the engine which mounted in from above, is when I decided no more FWD cars.
So out of hundreds of FWD vehicles on the market today - you reject them because the distributor cap was hard to reach on ONE?
If you trip while wearing Nike shoes does that mean all Nike shoes are terrible?
On the specific issue of under the hood maintenance, everything I need to do is accessible on the FWD vehicles in my family, current and past. Our old Miata RWD is super accessible, but I'd hardly say I'd choose the Miata for that reason alone.
Although I prefer driving RWD vehicles, it should be completely obvious to everyone here that FWD is more than adequate for most drivers around the world. For these people the FWD advantages outweigh the disadvantages, most already described above (esp. by NJGoat).
The majority of drivers are well served by constant understeer, a nearly flat floor, lower cost, etc. Enthusiasts probably are better served by RWD or AWD.
Front wheel drive is bad physics. Not just bad physics, horrible physics. Having the traction and steering on one axle is just stupid. However, taking into account how cheap and uncreative auto makers are, the benefits of FWD in cost and interior room make it a good compromise for people movers operated well below the margins of performance by persons who do know know or care about the greater control, driving ease and comfort of RWD.
I'd say FWD is great in a minivan.
I have to ask, have you ever driven any of the VAG FWD cars? FWD can make up into a decent sporty car, it's harder to do, and many FWD setups like in minivans didn't get much/any development for good dynamics - but go drive a GTI of any year and see if it's not quite acceptable in terms of handling and dynamics.
For brute acceleration, of course, FWD is just bad physics - you occasionally see people drag racing FWD cars but they typically don't do very well.
My old Scirocco is a good handler, not as good as the M3 of course, but it's not an understeering penalty box either.
Front wheel drive is bad physics. Not just bad physics, horrible physics. Having the traction and steering on one axle is just stupid.
I'd like to elaborate on that. Just thinking intuitively (I'm no physicist), as a car (or anything else) accelerates, the weight of the thing is shifted backwards because of Newton's laws of inertia. You see it on a car when the front lifts up and the rear squats down during a quick take off. So, with FWD you essentially have weight lifted off the front tires just when you need weight there the most for traction. With RWD the weight of inertia pushes on the rear tires so they grip and get you moving better.
When the front tires have double duty of propelling the car and steering it, they simply won't do either exteremly well. 'Tis better to divide up the work.
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