Do folk really perceive RWD to be dangerous?

[e21Mark]

Spoke to friend of the woman next door and asked him about his Clio Sport. In conversation he mentioned how he would never consider a BMW down to their being RWD and inherently dangerous. He went on to describe how the rear can step out without warning, due to the poor design.

I've also noted a few posts on here, with comments that suggest semi-trailing arms to be the work of Satan, despite cars like the E30 M3 having them.

I grew up with RWD being the norm', so never really gave it a second thought, but do some folk really consider RWD to be dangerous?

[e21Mark]

thegreenhell said:

StuntmanMike said:

OP, I learned long ago in life, never discuss cars with fkwits.

This is an absolute truth.

Lesson learned.

Hol said:

e21Mark in opening post said:

Spoke to friend of the woman next door and asked him about his Clio Sport. In conversation he mentioned how he would never consider a BMW down to their being RWD and inherently dangerous. He went on to describe how the rear can step out without warning, due to the poor design.

I've also noted a few posts on here, with comments that suggest semi-trailing arms to be the work of Satan, despite cars like the E30 M3 having them.

I grew up with RWD being the norm', so never really gave it a second thought, but do some folk really consider RWD to be dangerous?

There is the confusion - right there.

The wife having owned an early 182 Cup when it was new, I think that he is basing his entire premise on HIS car.

Till that point, I had just not spoken first hand, to someone who just felt RWD was so dangerous. He was of the opinion you could simply find yourself being spat off the road at any time. I offered to take him for a spin in my E30 M3 and you'd have thought I'd asked if he wanted to lick ps off a nettle!

I guess it's also that when I was new to cars, whether it was RWD or FWD wasn't a big deal, as RWD was the norm?

[e21Mark]

beanbag said:

e21Mark said:

Spoke to friend of the woman next door and asked him about his Clio Sport. In conversation he mentioned how he would never consider a BMW down to their being RWD and inherently dangerous. He went on to describe how the rear can step out without warning, due to the poor design.

I've also noted a few posts on here, with comments that suggest semi-trailing arms to be the work of Satan, despite cars like the E30 M3 having them.

I grew up with RWD being the norm', so never really gave it a second thought, but do some folk really consider RWD to be dangerous?

I would say your friend has no idea how to drive safely if he cannot manage a RWD car.

My mother is (in my opinion), a shocking driver. The last 5 cars she's had have been BMW's. She's never had any problems with them. Also keep in mind her first (and also my first car), was an E30 with no traction control or ABS. Pure, raw, RWD. Not one problem and even in snow during the winter months.

I've also had numerous people slate my choice of a BMW when I bought mine in Austria stating they would never choose such a car in snowy conditions. I had one mishap down to driver error on my part, and I never had trouble getting up slopes or getting about in the ski resorts. I used winter tyres and sometimes chains without any issues.

Ultimately, your friend is talking total bks.

Agreed. (He's not my friend though )

[e21Mark]

Isn't the snow problem down to wide tyres rather than which are driven wheels?

[e21Mark]

My old 316 had 165/70's and was great in heavy snow.

[e21Mark]

unpc said:

Baryonyx said:

NiceCupOfTea said:

What I've never understood:

E36 compact and z3 roadster - crap handling and rear suspension
E30 - excellent fun tail out handling

Same rear end isn't it?

That is a good point. I've always thought the snide remarks directed at the Z3's rear suspension were a bit iffy considering the E30 is a reasonable handler and the Z3 was never meant to handle with the finesse of a Boxster or whatever (it was conceived as a GT for the US market IIRC).

Did the Z3 also have a slightly wider rear track and tyres?

Dunno where this myth came from. I had an E30 325i back in the day and it handled quite badly on the limit and was quite unpredictable. A mate's E30 M3 that I drove many thousands of miles in, was sublime. There was nothing wrong with the geometry of my car but fundamentally cooking E30s were pretty rubbish. I guess the more limited wheel travel of the M3 helped reduce the camber change.

I can't say I agree. E30's remain so popular thanks, in no small part, to their chassis and predictable handling with the only real negative being the slow steering ratio.

[e21Mark]

I always found RWD more intuitive on the limit. Accelerating, to try and counteract oversteer in a front driven car, seemed counterintuitive by comparison. Whereas lifting off, or simply turning into a skid, just seemed like a natural reaction.

[e21Mark]

s m said:

HertsBiker said:

Look how skinny the tyres were in1987 on the M3 !

There was an option of slightly bigger 16" wheels with 225 section tyres on the M3 - was used on the Evolution cars.

However 205 section tyres were pretty common on all the similar size/weight sports saloons of the time with 200bhp, such as the Merc 190 2.5-16, Sierra Cosworth, Carlton Gsi 24v

I recall seeing the 2.8i Capri's 205's (back in '83) and wishing I could replace the 185/70's on my ropey MK1.