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Thread: All Wheel drive better than Rear wheel

  1. #1
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    All Wheel drive better than Rear wheel

    In my experience, rear wheel drive is nowhere near the performance of the four wheel drive. Four wheel drive offers the unrivaled stability and outstanding grip on almost any surface, which is something no rear wheel drive car can attain. The supremacy is obvious in BMW's, which turn to pricy sleds when the snow falls. I'm wandering, what are your thoughts on this?

  2. #2
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    Rwd > Awd.
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  3. #3
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    2 words. MaD DoRIFTOZ
    I'm dropping out to create a company that starts with motorcycles, then cars, and forty years later signs a legendary Brazilian driver who has a public and expensive feud with his French teammate.

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tihomir
    The supremacy is obvious in BMW's, which turn to pricy sleds when the snow falls.
    since snow is non-existent here, and probably just a myth started by the northern hemisphere, that is never really a problem. unless you plan on going off road, AWD is in a lot of cases a redundant, weighty gimmick, utlized by manufacturers who can't refine a RWD chassis effectively.
    Andreas Preuninger, Manager of Porsche High Performance Cars: "Grandmas can use paddles. They aren't challenging."

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    Where are you going?
    i was waiting on a moment, but the moment never came. all the billion other moments, were just slipping all away. i must have been tripping, we're just slipping all away. just ego tripping.

  6. #6
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    But what about the AWD systems that have a 20-80 power distribution. Those seem like the best of both worlds. They have the regular RWD feel, while being able to shift to a power distribution more suitable for fine handling.

  7. #7
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    Isn't a 20/80 Front => Rear distribution essentially Rear Wheel Drive?
    Rockefella says:
    pat's sister is hawt
    David Fiset says:
    so is mine
    David Fiset says:
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  8. #8
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    NO! IT'S NOT!!! It is a power distribution of 20 percent of the power to the front wheels, while 80 percent of the power goes to the rear wheels.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tihomir
    NO! IT'S NOT!!!
    Stop yelling at me.
    Rockefella says:
    pat's sister is hawt
    David Fiset says:
    so is mine
    David Fiset says:
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  10. #10
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    Im not yelling, but i just dont like it when people pretend to know stuff, while they are positively clueless.

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tihomir
    But what about the AWD systems that have a 20-80 power distribution. Those seem like the best of both worlds. They have the regular RWD feel, while being able to shift to a power distribution more suitable for fine handling.
    so why not just have RWD then? rather than add weight and corrupt steering feel, you could just have a finely balanced rwd instead. or, just a decent traction control system.
    Andreas Preuninger, Manager of Porsche High Performance Cars: "Grandmas can use paddles. They aren't challenging."

  12. #12
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    How could RWD ever supplant AWD? Aside from the fact that RWD is better for acceleration, it has no other perks.

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tihomir
    How could RWD ever supplant AWD? Aside from the fact that RWD is better for acceleration, it has no other perks.
    in that case, why is the ferrari 430 a much faster, better handling car than gallardo? and why is the GT3/2 a much better drivers car than a 911 turbo? Why would nissan set the GTR to send ALL it's power to the rear wheels until things got hairy? Why are almost all race/f1 cars RWD?
    Andreas Preuninger, Manager of Porsche High Performance Cars: "Grandmas can use paddles. They aren't challenging."

  14. #14
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    As i said before, RWD definitevely exhibits a higher acceleration rate as compared to just about any other platform, be it FWD or AWD. And all the examples you submitted are on the upper high edge of automotive technology, where acceleration is one of the features that is necessary. For any level of driving below the profesional circuit, AWD is king.

    P.S. All race cars are not RWD, Rally cars are almost exclusively AWD, and i think Rally driving takes more skill than any sort of high speed racing on a clean and level concrete surface.

  15. #15
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    It all depends, on a dry surface in normal everyday driving, most drivers won't be able to tell the difference between one or the other. On a rainy day, an AWD system would be my choice, specially on a windy road.

    As far as snowy conditions go, an AWD car or SUV is preferable but may not be enough. I saw an interesting story this morning showing that AWD cars and trucks with all season tyres didn't fair very well at speeds even as low as 20 MPH in making turns or simple accident avoidance maneuvers. Once they switched to winter tyres, the handling improved dramatically. The turns and maneuvers they couldn't make with the all season rubber were easily made on winter tyres.

    My point, no matter what drive line system you may have, RWD or AWD, they are only as good as the tyres you slap on them IMO.
    "NEVER ALLOW SOMEONE TO BE YOUR PRIORITY, WHILE ALLOWING YOURSELF TO BE THEIR OPTION"

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