FWD vs. RWD. vs. AWD

[MRR]

Which is the best for performance

Front Wheel Drive
Rear Wheel Drive
All Wheel Drive

[CHEESE-TACULAR]

i would say RWD most of the time but 4WD would be better on occasions

[:Exige:]

IMO Rear wheel drive on tarmac, 4wd on loose surfaces and FWD nowhere 4WD gets you off the line quicker but normally RWD will do better the rest of the way. I believe RWD is better for cornering.

[CHEESE-TACULAR]

dont RWD getr you off the line Quicker?

[Bob]

4WD has gets off the line fastest because it uses all four wheels for maximum traction, but during acceleration, weight shifts to the rear, wasting part of the power a 4WD sends to the front wheels, so RWD is better after the start

[Bob]

RWD also usually corners better than 4WD because accelerating while turning in a 4WD car means less of the traction can be applied to cornering, while a RWD car doesnt use any front wheel traction to accelerate

[QuattroMan]

Originally Posted by MRR

Which is the best for performance

Front Wheel Drive
Rear Wheel Drive
All Wheel Drive

Drive an Audi RS6 then youll know what all wheels can do..

[CHEESE-TACULAR]

Originally Posted by Bob

4WD has gets off the line fastest because it uses all four wheels for maximum traction, but during acceleration, weight shifts to the rear, wasting part of the power a 4WD sends to the front wheels, so RWD is better after the start .

but isnt thet what you dont want? with maximum traction the wheels dont spin a little and the tires dont get to heat up a bit

[6'bore]

Originally Posted by QUATTRO MAN

Drive an Audi RS6 then youll know what all wheels can do..

I think that all in all, audi real wheel drive system is very good. I works really well on my dads TT and he says it handles better than his BMW 3 series.

[KnifeEdge_2K1]

awd is superior because it lowers the tractive force at each wheel compared to the other 2 drivetrains and lowers the slip angle allowing you go go faster through a corner without over or understeering, the only disadvantage awd has is the higher drivetrain losses but considering all the advantages it has that's something im willing to give up, its usually like 10-12% drivetrain loss from a 2wd and 15-18% on an awd

[CHEESE-TACULAR]

one things for sure-all adults i talk to say that RWD is way more fun

[KnifeEdge_2K1]

technically fwd is better then rwd in tight and slow corners since it has most of the weight over the front where as a rwd has verry little weight bias, the fwd car can handbrake turn without lowering the engine speed much and on some occasions doesnt require clutching in at all where as a rwd must (an awd may or may not be able to do this depending on the type of center dif), on slow corners the fwd can enter at a higher speed and just lift off for extra grip and lift off oversteer while if the rwd car were to try the same thing it'd spin

with all that said nothing can really be determined because not enough information is given (im assuming front engine in all my compars) the weight distribution, engine placement, weight of the car, type of tyres, suspensions, ect must all be taken into consideration but in general awd>rwd>fwd

[KnifeEdge_2K1]

Originally Posted by CHEESE-TACULAR

one things for sure-all adults i talk to say that RWD is way more fun

thats true since its the easiest drivetrain to do tail out madness, a properly configured suspension or rear biased center dif on an awd car can also accomplish the same thing tho not as good as the rwd

[my porsche]

Originally Posted by :Exige:

4WD gets you off the line quicker

jeremey clarkson was driving the murcielago and he said since it is 4wd you have to go slower off the line, i was like what? what did he mean i thought it was the opposite

[RazaBlade]

what he was saying was stopping from burning the clutch, which i dont actually know what that is...but hey
one thing though, for a RWD, theres also front-engined RWD, mid-engined and rear (in the porsches). differentiation in those would be useful too