Riddle me this- front wheel drive

Ok, I should have put SNOW in the thread title as it's really the biggest factor in FWD advantage. I forget there are people that live in areas that don't get 80-100" of snow a year.

 

front wheel drive cars are nice in snow cuz the heavy load is over the drive wheels. you give it too much gas and it just spins and goes..the rear doesnt want to race you there. not much danger or fanfare. better for the regular driver, great for the better driver.

now take an early porsche 911 with the rear engine weight and RWD..now we are talking excitement and fun.

nothing is funner around a racetrack.

i am not the best snow driver. i compensate by going slow.

 

Well that makes sense as well. I guess I am just fixating on drive ability in the snow, but the purpose of a truck is certainly not to be better in the snow, it's to haul stuff.

 

rear wheel drive having fun in snow
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Np_DIJNpS_E

 

im on the side of RWD but when given a chance to fuck with people and to mention top gear then why not right? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QT8Om9KNB2s

 

It really comes down to the person and how they drive, not the vehicle they are driving. I drove 8 years(before I got a Tacoma in the last 2 years) of small, two door hatchbacks that were front wheel drive. I never had any issues in the winter time.

 

This is wrong in so many ways. The inherent physics behind a front wheel drive car make it AWFUL in the snow compared to a rwd vehicle. It just gives the preception of it being "better" to inexperienced drivers. Due to the weight on the front wheels one can accelerate better in snow. After that the advantages pretty much end.

The key is the amount of friction your front tires can put out. If ANY of the amount is used to accelerate or steer or break its takes away from the available friction of the other abilities. Hence why if you start to slide off the road you can not re-direct the vehicle in FWD easily at all. The story goes on and on. I have to explain it to people every winter. Some people get it others dont.

 

If the vehicle (FWD, coasting into an intersection) keeps going forward when you initiate a turn and you put a steady foot on the gas those spinning front wheels help pull the car into the turn you were trying to initiate. It's not great driving (loosing traction is not optimal), but it gets the job done. Does it benefit the less experienced driver? Sure. Would the rear end slide out? Sure. Done it myself, and have seen it done. Best bet is slow and steady no matter the make or configuration.

 

Why would you answer thus?

He Asked About TRUCKS. As such, the Ridgeline and Pathfinder don't qualify.


***

In all seriousness, front wheel drive is great in the winter *if you can't have AWD*.

If you can have AWD/4-by mode, then it is by far superior and limited only by physics and driver balls.

However, as noted, 4-by doesn't cure stupid. FWD for the average dipshit distracted driver is a godsend. But for those of us that know how to drive and /or offroad, I have zero problems navigating winter with rear wheel, front heel, or 4-by.

Come to think of it, I didn't get my first front wheel drive until I was like 16.

 

My experience is just the opposite with front wheel drive. Spinning wheels have less traction than wheels rolling the speed of the vehicle. On any FWD try going into a corner too fast on snow, the front will want to run wide. Adding power causes almost total loss of traction and it'll go wider. On a rear drive it's called "fish tailing" (or drifting if under control).

What I particularly dislike about driving our Camry on snow and icy roads is going down a steep hill with corners. I like to down shift to a lower gear to help hold the car back but if the tires break loose the car accelerates on the skidding front tires. Not only have the front tires lost traction to help decelerate, I lose steering as well. The only thing to do is push the clutch in or click it in neutral and let the tires roll faster and regain enough traction to make the corner.

 

FWD cars are awesome in the snow

 

This thread reminded me of this video.... Tacoma at the end just kinda walks right on through hehe!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=942VXoWWWQI


Anyway.... now that the commercial break is over..... on with the thread!

 

I should have noted a speed. I'm talking 10-15. Too fast into a turn in snow is too fast into a turn for any vehicle, odds are good you're leaving the road. I'm thinking of those times in 3+ inches working my old Ford Tempo through town to get home.

 

FWD cars great handling slow speeds RWD cars great handling high speeds. One reason cop cars are rear drive. The reason cops use 4x4 trucks/SUV's in the winter is snow, also useful to pull the RWD cop cars out.

 

I remember seeing a lot of Impala cop cars in NYC which are FWD.

 

Only since 2000. I had to look that up.

It still makes my brain go, "Hey, waitasec..."

 

FWD is all about reducing the cost of manufacturing cars, not performance improvement or better handling. Tires do better when they are asked to do only one job, either driving or steering, not both.

Mike

 

Personally I prefer rwd in any condition. If you lose the front end for what ever reason, turning, braking ect, you can power out of the slide. If you lose the rear, you have the front to counter steer and lightly brake. In fwd, you really don't have that option if you loose the front in any condition.

I've driven everything from small to large cars both fwd and rwd. Trucks 2wd and 4. Suv's box trucks ambulances and fire trucks in all weather for extended periods. I am no pro, but always feel like I can control my vehicle if things get out if control, and I'm not driving like an ass hole. You drive like an ass, you will crash.


As far as why trucks are rwd, it to put the power to ground. If you load the bed under towing if hauling, your nose rises, taking the weight off the front drive wheels. The ability for good traction decreases as your load increases.

 

fwd is great for getting traction, but once you lose it, it's gone. you cannot "push" fwd the way you can rwd. a person driving reasonably will do better driving fwd than rwd. if you are doing time-trials and have practiced, rwd will get you up the mountain faster, as long as you don't stop.

one case in point: my 92 Toyota 4x4 vs dodge neon in the sand. 2wd for 2wd and factory tire pressures. fwd neon has no problem zooming to camp as I get out to air down and/ or lock my hubs. . . . .neon was also driven by a young lady who could barely drive the car safely on pavement

 

I really got a laugh out of this one!!!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXFZMGddENA