Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 47
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

a friend of the family used to have a pulsar ET turbo (FWD)

let me explain his dilemma... its wet turning across an intersection, mate turns steering wheel, car keeps going straight

$3000 later and it makes you wonder

if you lose it in a RWD car you can easily regain it. loste it in a FWD car and you better hope you have nothing within a 20m radius of where you are!

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/25752-fwd-vs-rwd/page/2/#findComment-547523
Share on other sites

Originally posted by WazR32GTSt

if you lose it in a RWD car you can easily regain it.

That's an exceptionally dangerous generalisation. I've seen the opposite, and it's the very reason I don't drive 10/10ths on the road in ANY car.

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/25752-fwd-vs-rwd/page/2/#findComment-547538
Share on other sites

Yeah same here. One day it was wet and I took a bend a little too hard in my Skyline and before I knew it, my car was facing the other way on the road. Now, normally I'm ok with handling the rear end sliding out, but this time it took me totally by surprise. Now, I never drive my car even slightly hard in the wet.

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/25752-fwd-vs-rwd/page/2/#findComment-547641
Share on other sites

Originally posted by WazR32GTSt

if you lose it in a RWD car you can easily regain it. loste it in a FWD car and you better hope you have nothing within a 20m radius of where you are!

i wonder how do u drive as u can EASILY regain the lose of yr line, u must be a pro racer or a drift expert.

a rwd WILL understeering and a fwd can oversteering.

but in fwd usually won't oversteering, so u only have to look after the understeering when u drive hard.

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/25752-fwd-vs-rwd/page/2/#findComment-547684
Share on other sites

If you are a slow sensible driver, FWD works fine. The handling characteristics are safe and predictable, and there will be more traction in the wet because most of the weight is on the driving wheels. The main disadvantage is chronic understeer, which is actually good. Even a poor driver will instinctively back off before the car goes totally out of control, so its safe for granny to drive. The main disadvantage is very high front tyre wear compared to anything else.

RWD is a better performance setup though. It will have more ultimate traction in the dry and better handling characteristics. For a young guy far better than FWD. But this assumes an IRS, rear disk brakes, and probably an LSD as well. It is going to be better for an enthusiast, but not so safe for a poor driver, especially in the wet with a lot of power.

4WD is by far the best overall package. Yes, it weighs about 80Kg more, but the drivetrain loss is very misleading. I can tell you for a fact that converting a FWD car to 4WD (Laser) resulted in an improvement in fuel economy and a massive reduction in tyre wear. I have read somewhere that driving all wheels consumes less power than trying to push or pull a pair of undriven wheels. It has something to do with the hysteresis losses in flexing the rubber in the tyres.

On a dyno, 4WD show lower power output than 2WD.

But if you put your 2WD on a 4 roller dyno and coupled the rollers somehow, so the driving wheels were forced to turn the loaded non driven wheels, net power output would be greatly reduced. And that is exactly what happens on the road.

You gain more from reduced tyre losses than you lose through a few more ball bearings and an extra diff. Few people realise this though.

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/25752-fwd-vs-rwd/page/2/#findComment-547725
Share on other sites

haha... don't think i have seen one convincing argument why to go for the RWD over the FWD and its probably true.

Generally RWD cars just have the capacity for more power. I think its mainly because of the usual transverse mount and requirement for a smaller gearbox mean you don't get totally hyper FWD cars, but maybe if its your first car that isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/25752-fwd-vs-rwd/page/2/#findComment-547761
Share on other sites

Well the best of luck.

His dad was probably driving before he was even born, and as you grow older your perspectives change quite a lot. (I am an old fart myself).

While "junior" is probably getting all excited about power to weight ratios, and standing quarter mile times, "granddad" just wants to get there safely, and without breaking down, or having to completely refill the fuel tank every three days.

After a while you are just happy to sit on, or just below the speed limit, and watch the crazy hoons tear past, followed three cars back by the uniformed copper in the unmarked police car. Hehehe.

You see the poor young guy pulled up a mile down the road, with the bonnet up, and the copper with his foot on the front bumper, busily writing on his clipboard. Been there, done that.

You become very philosophical in your old age.

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/25752-fwd-vs-rwd/page/2/#findComment-549813
Share on other sites

It would be hard to convince your dad (since he's buying) to get a RWD over a FWD....

It is true that FWD will tend to understeer when pushed hard around a corner, but do you know that frontal hit is much more safer than a sideway? The whole bonet area in modern cars will act an impact absorber, so the shockwave is not as great. As the matter of fact, car manufacturers design their cars to induce initial understeer to promote hitting a "target" with the crumple zone, even in RWD cars like Skyline (unless suspension has been modified).

On the other hand, RWD will tend to oversteer, which means you'll be facing either sideways or backwards towards what you're about to hit. If you spin 180 degrees and hit it backwards, it won't be too bad as the boot area also acts as a crumple zone

However.... the scary stuff...

If you hit whatever it is sideways.... occupants are more likely to get injured if their car is wrapped against a pole.

Not all FWD 2003 models are crappy... some are quite nice indeed. Get something in the hot hatches family, Golf R32 (coming soon), Focus, Clio, Astra... I wouldn't mind to get one if someone is buying me...

I've been driving on the road for 15 years, and most cars I saw in the news wrapped against a pole and badly injured (or killed) its occupants are RWD... I have no statistics to prove this but this is from my memory recollection watching TV news so far... I agree FWD is safer for city driving, and RWD is best left for sport/performance driving.

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/25752-fwd-vs-rwd/page/2/#findComment-550065
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now



  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • It is a kunfine Android screen . Does anyone know the wirering diagram of the fuga ??
    • just an update to this, poor man pays twice  Tried sanding down the pulleys but it didnt do the trick. Chucked another second hand alternator in the na car which I got for free off my mate and its fixed the squelling. Must have been unlucky with the bearings.    As for my turbo car, I managed to pick up a cwc rb alternator conversion bracket + LS alternator for 250 off marketplace, looked to be in really good nick. Installed it , started the car and its not charging the battery.... ( Im not good with auto elec stuff so im not sure if this was all I needed to do but I verified such by using a multimeter on the battery when the engine was running and I was only getting 12.2v )   I had to modify the earth strap for the new LS alternator , factory earth strap was a 10mm bolt which did not fit the bolt on the LS alternator which was double the size so I cut it off , went to repco bought some ring terminals that fit, crimped it onto the old earth strap and bolted it up to the alternator , started the car and same issue. Ran like shit and was reading 12.2 at the battery.  For a "plug and play" advertised kit thats not very plug and play but alas.  My question is , am I missing something ? Ive been reading that some people recommend upgrading the stock 80 amp alternator fuse to a 140 amp but I dont see how that would stop the alternator charging especially at idle not under load.  Regardless ive pulled it out and am going to get it bench tested by an auto elec tomorrow but it would be handy to know if ive missed something silly or have done something wrong.   
    • My wild guess is that you have popped off an intake pipe....check all of the hoses between the turbo and the throttle for splits or loose clamps.
    • Awesome, thanks for sharing!
    • To provide more specific help, more information is needed. What Android screen? What is its wiring diagram? Does the car's wiring have power at any required BAT and ACC wires, and is the loom's earth good?
×
×
  • Create New...