4 wheel drive & the real world
Discussion
RobM77 said:
Definitely, yes; sorry if I wasn't clear enough with that. I was talking as generically as I could. You'd need a pretty extreme layout though to give a FWD car more traction than a RWD car under moderate to hard (0.5 to 1.0g) acceleration.Mind you, what I didn't say that you're quite right in pointing out is the ME or RE RWD has the static traction advantage of FWD (e.g. in snow), along with the dynamic traction advantage of RWD (e.g. wet or dry tarmac). Best of both worlds. Plus, RE/RWD offers the interior space of FWD as well. This is why the Beetle and 911 were and are so popular and capable.
I can’t be bothered to see what my view was..
But after driving large 4wd cars for years they can hustle along well enough but have more energy due to their weight. They will really reward smoothness. Try and drive it like a sports car, expecting instant reactions you can expect passengers to vomit all over your interior!
But after driving large 4wd cars for years they can hustle along well enough but have more energy due to their weight. They will really reward smoothness. Try and drive it like a sports car, expecting instant reactions you can expect passengers to vomit all over your interior!
In the wet, I always wish I had my Impreza STI. When I did and it was dry, I always wished I had my Megane RS250 Cup. Horses for courses.
To be fair, FWD cars these days are incredible and you need to be going some to struggle traction wise (apart from launching from a standing start).
To be fair, FWD cars these days are incredible and you need to be going some to struggle traction wise (apart from launching from a standing start).
I've just gone from 300bhp 4wd to 250bhp FWD.
It's actually very noticeable.
Pulling smartly out of a junction needs very careful throttle inputs now, and even overtaking (say 50-70mph WOT) feels a bit torque steery at times.
4wd was incredibly effective in these situations.
I think once you get past about 200bhp you either need some fancy diff or 4wb/RWD if you actually want to use the power.
It's actually very noticeable.
Pulling smartly out of a junction needs very careful throttle inputs now, and even overtaking (say 50-70mph WOT) feels a bit torque steery at times.
4wd was incredibly effective in these situations.
I think once you get past about 200bhp you either need some fancy diff or 4wb/RWD if you actually want to use the power.
blank said:
I've just gone from 300bhp 4wd to 250bhp FWD.
It's actually very noticeable.
Pulling smartly out of a junction needs very careful throttle inputs now, and even overtaking (say 50-70mph WOT) feels a bit torque steery at times.
4wd was incredibly effective in these situations.
I think once you get past about 200bhp you either need some fancy diff or 4wb/RWD if you actually want to use the power.
Out of interest, what is the 250bhp FWD car in question here?It's actually very noticeable.
Pulling smartly out of a junction needs very careful throttle inputs now, and even overtaking (say 50-70mph WOT) feels a bit torque steery at times.
4wd was incredibly effective in these situations.
I think once you get past about 200bhp you either need some fancy diff or 4wb/RWD if you actually want to use the power.
Megane RS / Civic Type R / Leon Cupra and the rest are all 300bhp these days and have great road manners. My old 320bhp Megane 250 put power down incredibly well with the factory LSD.
M.F.D said:
blank said:
I've just gone from 300bhp 4wd to 250bhp FWD.
It's actually very noticeable.
Pulling smartly out of a junction needs very careful throttle inputs now, and even overtaking (say 50-70mph WOT) feels a bit torque steery at times.
4wd was incredibly effective in these situations.
I think once you get past about 200bhp you either need some fancy diff or 4wb/RWD if you actually want to use the power.
Out of interest, what is the 250bhp FWD car in question here?It's actually very noticeable.
Pulling smartly out of a junction needs very careful throttle inputs now, and even overtaking (say 50-70mph WOT) feels a bit torque steery at times.
4wd was incredibly effective in these situations.
I think once you get past about 200bhp you either need some fancy diff or 4wb/RWD if you actually want to use the power.
Megane RS / Civic Type R / Leon Cupra and the rest are all 300bhp these days and have great road manners. My old 320bhp Megane 250 put power down incredibly well with the factory LSD.
I've gone from Leon Cupra Estate (300bhp 4wd) to Cupra Leon PHEV estate (245bhp FWD). It's a very noticeable difference in ability to put power down.
blank said:
It's a Cupra Leon PHEV (might actually be 245bhp now I think of it?)
I've gone from Leon Cupra Estate (300bhp 4wd) to Cupra Leon PHEV estate (245bhp FWD). It's a very noticeable difference in ability to put power down.
My wife has a 2021 Cupra Leon 1.4 eTSI PHEV aswell. It is indeed 245bhp.I've gone from Leon Cupra Estate (300bhp 4wd) to Cupra Leon PHEV estate (245bhp FWD). It's a very noticeable difference in ability to put power down.
Funny you should mention this, as I have noticed the same pulling out of junctions. I feel the car doesn't know what to do from a standstill. Pull away in electric power, then the ICE engine cuts in and the wheels just spin even when not trying to go quickly. Once moving, it's fine but it's unfortunately just this specific car I think....
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