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RWD is better than FWD in rain???

23K views 39 replies 22 participants last post by  ckolsen  
#1 ·
A friend of mine told me that RWD is better than FWD in rain, after he watched Top Gear FWD vs RWD vs AWD show. He said it is law of physics that RWD is better than FWD in rain/wet. any inputs?

I know RWD is better than FWD in dry, but not sure in rain. any inputs?
 
#5 ·
- FWD all the way....
 
#9 ·
- I think it would be a fact that FWD is more "stable" (whatever the word im trying to use) than a RWD vehicle...
 
#12 ·
goldznnz said:
this thread is like asking if you want a chic with a BIG AZH or BIG BOOBS.

sometimes you can only have one or the other.

if you want both then awd is highly recommened! :eek:

for me, i take ANYTHING :p
- big ass and big boobs can be found here in san diego... called a MEXICAN :crazy:
 
#13 ·
dut said:
goldznnz said:
this thread is like asking if you want a chic with a BIG AZH or BIG BOOBS.

sometimes you can only have one or the other.

if you want both then awd is highly recommened! :eek:

for me, i take ANYTHING :p
- big ass and big boobs can be found here in san diego... called a MEXICAN :crazy:
:eek: :eek:


:lol: .... mostly in your neighborhood dut.
 
#14 ·
man last time i was in cali was a year or so ago

yeah dose me-i-canas got B52's up front, and dat bull ride strap in the BACK :lol:

it just those hairy arms that can freak me out sometimes :lol:

up in hawaii, nuttin but asian ho' and those waikiki hookers :eek:

try driven you lexus by them, dose hoe's be runnin up to your ride and asking you that famous question,"

WANT A DATE? :D

just thought is share with all

-peace
 
#15 ·
- yea, but I like asians only.. hahahaha
- asian hookers??? send me one :crazy:
 
#18 ·
Well if your racing and a race car driver, then rwd might still give you better handling....

But for normal street driving, I would say FWD is safer for the average person.

When your front wheels slip, you usually have an understeer situation.
When your rear wheels slip, you usually have oversteer.

And generally, understeer is considered "safer" than oversteer.
 
#19 ·
I think it's more tire dependent than drive wheel dependent. My bmw is a lot better in the rain than my GSR was, but I think it's the tires. A skilled driver is probably faster in the rain in rwd.

In my accident reconstruction class, we did calculations that showed that front drive cars are actually more stable in that they tend to resist rotational moments - the front wheels actually pull the car back into the straight ahead direction. Rear wheels act to push the car in the direction of the spin. But all these effects are easily overwhelmed by the throttle inputs of a bad driver. :wink:
 
#20 ·
Each has its advantages as well as disadvantages.

The tires can only provide so much traction, which is especially important in wet conditions.
In FWD, front tires steer, as well as drive, as well as carry most of the weight on them.
In RWD, front wheels steer, rear drive, weight is distributed close to evenly.

Generally, FWD is safer because it does not require as much experience to handle than RWD. Understeering from FWD is easier to control than RWD's oversteering from experience perspective.

Weight shifting also plays a big role. When accelerating - weight shifts to the rear wheels, when braking - to the front. In RWD, slight engine braking during a turn would create more weight transfer to the front, creating a better grip (do not do this with e-shift).


I would also like to throw in the fact that Manual Transmission allows better ability to control oversteer or understeer. There are 2 reasons:
1) When wheels loose traction, they spin at the constant speed, rather than accelerating.
2) Clutch can be used to disengage engine input to avoid acceleration or engine braking to provide neutral handling.
 
#21 ·
runnerx said:
I know RWD is better than FWD in dry, but not sure in rain. any inputs?
Why would that matter? Physics doesn't change in different weather. Friciton does, but that doesn't affect how a car behaves. It is just that most people do not drive at the traction limts on dry pavement, but sometimes do on wet pavement. They are fooling themselves into thinking certain drivetrains are inferior under different conditions.
 
#22 ·
having a rwd car made me a better driver i think, especially in the winter.
everybody kept telling me not to get the car for winter here in MI.
picked up a set of good snow tires and had 0 problems last year.
tires make all the difference.
 
#23 ·
runnerx said:
A friend of mine told me that RWD is better than FWD in rain, after he watched Top Gear FWD vs RWD vs AWD show. He said it is law of physics that RWD is better than FWD in rain/wet. any inputs?

I know RWD is better than FWD in dry, but not sure in rain. any inputs?
If we are talking about about a racing environment with a professional driver and equal tires, then yes, RWD will typically post faster times than FWD on a road course. This is because with limited traction, if you are already at the limits of adhesion turning with the front tires, you have to wait much longer before applying any gas when exiting a turn....unless you want to understeer and plow ahead. In RWD cars, you can get on the gas much much earlier since the front tires tire does not have to do double duty. This is what will make the differences in track times....being able to able to accelerate out of a turn earlier and stronger.

On the street, FWD cars are inherently more stable and easier to handle at the limit for the avg Joe.
 
#24 ·
The average Joe doesn't drive even 7/10ths - while people on this forum might drive 8/10ths or 9/10ths. So for Joe, maybe it doesn't matter, front drive or rear drive. Also, most rear drive cars these days have stability control, so in emergencies, all you have to do is steer, and not worry about countersteering or throttle input.
Most front drive cars are 60/40 or 65/45 weight balanced, which means they don't handle as well either, regardless of front/rear drive.

TeCKis300 said:
If we are talking about about a racing environment with a professional driver and equal tires, then yes, RWD will typically post faster times than FWD on a road course. This is because with limited traction, if you are already at the limits of adhesion turning with the front tires, you have to wait much longer before applying any gas when exiting a turn....unless you want to understeer and plow ahead. In RWD cars, you can get on the gas much much earlier since the front tires tire does not have to do double duty. This is what will make the differences in track times....being able to able to accelerate out of a turn earlier and stronger.

On the street, FWD cars are inherently more stable and easier to handle at the limit for the avg Joe.
 
#25 ·
Hell no. RWD sucks in the rain. I was driving in austin last week with the traction control off. I know I know. first mistake. i took a turn kinda quick to get on the service road of I-35. As soon as i let off the clutch i lost the back end. Then i over compensated for it. Second mistake and ended up pulling a 180. I was damn lucky that no one was near. But it ended ok and i put my tail between my legs and cleaned the shit out of the passengers pants and learned a lesson for it.
 
#26 ·
charcoalis300 said:
Hell no. RWD sucks in the rain. I was driving in austin last week with the traction control off. I know I know. first mistake. i took a turn kinda quick to get on the service road of I-35. As soon as i let off the clutch i lost the back end. Then i over compensated for it. Second mistake and ended up pulling a 180. I was damn lucky that no one was near. But it ended ok and i put my tail between my legs and cleaned the sh*t out of the passengers pants and learned a lesson for it.

I think we can safely say that you were already driving faster than most FWD cars would have survived...