What causes FWD to have less traction than RWD?
11-13-2003, 08:43 AM
#1
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 80
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
What causes FWD to have less traction than RWD?
????
and if RWD is better, then why doesnt Honda just make its cars RWD? Also, what is understeer/oversteer, and how does it pretain to FWD/RWD? Thanks.
and if RWD is better, then why doesnt Honda just make its cars RWD? Also, what is understeer/oversteer, and how does it pretain to FWD/RWD? Thanks.
11-13-2003, 08:57 AM
#2
Seni
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: N.Y. Queens
Posts: 3,401
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Well Don't know why honda makes its cars front wheel drive but what I do know is Most Common people prefer to have a front wheel drive car because of snow ! Much easyier to go going ! Umm in rain rear wheel drive you can not really step onit cause you can fish tail . hard to do that wiith a front wheel drive . Umm thats about all I know . LOL hope I help you a bit !
BUT WHY THEY MADE FRONT WHEEL DRIVE DON'T KNOW !
BUT WHY THEY MADE FRONT WHEEL DRIVE DON'T KNOW !
11-13-2003, 09:18 AM
#3
Push to shock!
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Palo Alto, CA
Posts: 4,583
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Honda does make two rear wheel drive cars, the S2000 and the NSX. As Honura was saying FWD is primarily about driving in bad weather. It puts the weight of the engine over the drive wheels so there's more traction. Also FWD cars have more of a tendency to understeer because of the amount of weight put front. Understeer is when the car doesn't turn as much as you would like it to. Oversteer is the opposite, the car turns more than you want it to. Understeer is usually the safer of the two ways to lose control because the car will just go in a semi straight line so you at least you know where you're going to end up. Oversteer you pretty much don't know where you're going to end up.
Oversteer and understeer is dependent on a lot of things besides FWD/RWD like weight balance and suspension stiffness, and how the car is driven. Surprisingly, Corvettes have understeer tendencies, not oversteer tendencies. I would say RWD's primary advantage in racing is getting off the line and out of corners because when you mash the gas the car tends to nose up, transferring weight to the rear and adding traction to the drive wheels. Besides that I don't think there are that many advantages to RWD over FWD.
Oversteer and understeer is dependent on a lot of things besides FWD/RWD like weight balance and suspension stiffness, and how the car is driven. Surprisingly, Corvettes have understeer tendencies, not oversteer tendencies. I would say RWD's primary advantage in racing is getting off the line and out of corners because when you mash the gas the car tends to nose up, transferring weight to the rear and adding traction to the drive wheels. Besides that I don't think there are that many advantages to RWD over FWD.
11-13-2003, 09:20 AM
#4
Sucka
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Fridley, MN
Posts: 1,397
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Re: What causes FWD to have less traction than RWD?
Originally posted by Billy4774
????
and if RWD is better, then why doesnt Honda just make its cars RWD? Also, what is understeer/oversteer, and how does it pretain to FWD/RWD? Thanks.
????
and if RWD is better, then why doesnt Honda just make its cars RWD? Also, what is understeer/oversteer, and how does it pretain to FWD/RWD? Thanks.
( = more grip). The opposite is true for FWD...when the weight shifts backwards, it takes weight off of the front wheels.
11-13-2003, 09:31 AM
#6
Honorary Moderator Alumni
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: Someplace with cones=AUTO
Posts: 8,735
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Also understeer is safer in the hands of the regular populus. Oversteer is meant for performance cars.
A FWD car will pull you out of snow better than a RWD pushing you cause you to spin.
A FWD car will pull you out of snow better than a RWD pushing you cause you to spin.
__________________
Sponsored by: KAM Racing Sports, Falken Tires, Progress Technology, Brady's High Performance, Taggart Performance Engineering, Rotora Brakes
Autocross is: 90% driver, 5% car, & 5% CRAZY MOJO!
Autocross Help Page
Sponsored by: KAM Racing Sports, Falken Tires, Progress Technology, Brady's High Performance, Taggart Performance Engineering, Rotora Brakes
Autocross is: 90% driver, 5% car, & 5% CRAZY MOJO!
Autocross Help Page
11-13-2003, 10:07 AM
#8
The Comic Guy
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Davis, CA
Posts: 967
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally they made FWD to build an economic car. Cheaper to build (less moving parts) and easier on gas (again, less moving parts). No one took FWD racing seriously until the Type R. Now people realize the benfits of both FWD and RWD. If you want to see for yourself, the safest way to to go play Gran Turismo 3!
