REAR WHEEL DRIVE
Discussion
I've not owned anything RWD yet although I am still on my first car, will be going into a 328i track project at 18 though.
Have driven plenty of RWD machinery though : TVR Tuscan Red Rose, S2000 and an MX5 on a track and TVR Griffith, C2 Corvette, Mx5 , S2000 , 350Z and a 318is with a welded diff on the road.
Not doing badly for my RWD count before the age of 18.
Have driven plenty of RWD machinery though : TVR Tuscan Red Rose, S2000 and an MX5 on a track and TVR Griffith, C2 Corvette, Mx5 , S2000 , 350Z and a 318is with a welded diff on the road.
Not doing badly for my RWD count before the age of 18.
Baryonyx said:
I thought this was a big load of rubbish but I have ended up agreeing with him. With the MX5, there was plenty of fun to be had with the low power and easily induced oversteer, but I do think RWD I slightly overhyped in terms of being the 'best' It's good, and I enjoy it but not to the extent that I couldn't drive a FWD car. The Volvo S60 2.0L T that I was driving this morning was extremely stable and planted in the corners and carried some great speeds through them and felt good too.
I had just as much fun on the B roads in my mk5 Fiesta Zetec S as I have done with my MX5.
I've started wondering along similar lines. I've loved drifting an E46 323 around some cones on an airfield, but I'd never drive that way on a public road. I don't have a goatee or a shaved head and I'm only 6'1" I had just as much fun on the B roads in my mk5 Fiesta Zetec S as I have done with my MX5.
so my god-like driving skills aren't in great supply. I can probably do OK in most emergencies but I'm not convinced I have the skills to rein the errant arse of an E46 as I would my Octavia vRS. I don't get as much feedback through the vRS's steering as from a good E46, but it's surprisingly forgiving if I go into a corner wrong speed/wrong gear and I still had a big grin on my face after the Cat and Fiddle. In an Elise, I'd probably have joined the sheep down the hill... 
Maybe I need to hand back my PH card; maybe I need more training. My only MR experience is an Exige trackday which I loved but only served to show me where I need to develop as a driver and the several ways I could get it badly wrong on a road. I'm certainly keen to give an MR/FR a go for my next car. But I only have room for one car and my GF/parents live about 300 miles apart with me in the middle. Taking a Boxster or a Z4 onto a motorway in a winter like last year's doesn't strike me as a fun option. Heck, I wouldn't have fancied that in a 3-series. The vRS or other FF cars may be the better bet for my life, and when I can afford it I'll have some FR/MR fun at trackdays.
Happy to be put straight or guided, but I reserve the right to giggle if you just say "Real petrolheads only drive RWD".
Give me a reason why it has to be that way, and a way to square MR/FR ownership with the need to have just one car. 
GravelBen said:
Must admit I still don't understand this fear of RWD which seems to permeate approximately 46% of PH these days. Its really not that scary!
Not scary, just have respect for things that can step out of line.On an uncertain road that I don't know in greasy conditions, sometimes a well-sorted FF is more fun than a lairy RWD car that you're concentrating harder to keep out of the surrounding scenery. I don't profess to be a driving god, so that last 5% of a decent FF's ability is more accessible to me.
I'm talking about stuff with a decent chassis here though. Some PH'ers would equate all FF cars with Nissan Micras or similar, which is a bit like judging all FR's as being like a Volvo 240.
blearyeyedboy said:
Not scary, just have respect for things that can step out of line.
On an uncertain road that I don't know in greasy conditions, sometimes a well-sorted FF is more fun than a lairy RWD car that you're concentrating harder to keep out of the surrounding scenery. I don't profess to be a driving god, so that last 5% of a decent FF's ability is more accessible to me.
I'm talking about stuff with a decent chassis here though. Some PH'ers would equate all FF cars with Nissan Micras or similar, which is a bit like judging all FR's as being like a Volvo 240.
Surely 'well-sorted vs lairy' makes your comparison unfair on its own without even considering driven wheels?On an uncertain road that I don't know in greasy conditions, sometimes a well-sorted FF is more fun than a lairy RWD car that you're concentrating harder to keep out of the surrounding scenery. I don't profess to be a driving god, so that last 5% of a decent FF's ability is more accessible to me.
I'm talking about stuff with a decent chassis here though. Some PH'ers would equate all FF cars with Nissan Micras or similar, which is a bit like judging all FR's as being like a Volvo 240.
Personally I'd much rather have the adjustability of RWD than the threat of plough-on FWD understeer with no solution except backing off and waiting for it to stop
- RWD does give more options for dealing with situations. I can only think of one occasion I've had unprovoked, unexpected oversteer (puddle while overtaking) and that was caught with a flick of the wrist. Personal preference is quite valid for your choice of course (I'm just as happy with AWD on the road), but the idea that RWD is inherently more dangerous or harder to drive is a fallacy IMO.
Some PHers seem to equate all RWD cars with a difflocked 450bhp 200SX...
Edited by GravelBen on Wednesday 11th May 05:02
blearyeyedboy said:
GravelBen said:
Must admit I still don't understand this fear of RWD which seems to permeate approximately 46% of PH these days. Its really not that scary!
Not scary, just have respect for things that can step out of line.On an uncertain road that I don't know in greasy conditions, sometimes a well-sorted FF is more fun than a lairy RWD car that you're concentrating harder to keep out of the surrounding scenery. I don't profess to be a driving god, so that last 5% of a decent FF's ability is more accessible to me.
I'm talking about stuff with a decent chassis here though. Some PH'ers would equate all FF cars with Nissan Micras or similar, which is a bit like judging all FR's as being like a Volvo 240.
In my experience a FWD car is just as likely to bite you as a RWD car. In fact, the one that bit me hardest was the FWD one that was the most determined to understeer, because it took when I eventually provoked it into some oversteer, the back end went out faster than it has on anything else I've ever driven. It must be said though that this car never threatened to spit me off the road even in the couple of occasions when I had to do some emergency manoeuvres. It only bit when I poked it really, really hard on purpose, at which point it almost seemed to either run out of ideas or throw its hands up in the air and give up trying to protect me from myself.
The ones that were the easiest to oversteer, FWD and RWD, were typically also the easiest ones to catch. That is, the ones that resisted oversteer the least felt the most comfortable when oversteering. I accept though that there's no reason for this to be true of all tail happy cars.
My point, the rest of the car makes more difference to how likely it is to bite you than the drivetrain configuration alone.
The ones that were the easiest to oversteer, FWD and RWD, were typically also the easiest ones to catch. That is, the ones that resisted oversteer the least felt the most comfortable when oversteering. I accept though that there's no reason for this to be true of all tail happy cars.
My point, the rest of the car makes more difference to how likely it is to bite you than the drivetrain configuration alone.
GravelBen said:
Must admit I still don't understand this fear of RWD which seems to permeate approximately 46% of PH these days. Its really not that scary!
The biggest problem with RWD is brain washinghttp://www.pistonheads.com/xforums/topic.asp?h=0&a...
58% of pistonheaders prefer to drive ssanyoung rodius to a intergra type R
thinfourth2 said:
The biggest problem with RWD is brain washing
http://www.pistonheads.com/xforums/topic.asp?h=0&a...
58% of pistonheaders prefer to drive ssanyoung rodius to a intergra type R
Or perhaps more accurately, 58% of pistonheaders think your poll was retarded. http://www.pistonheads.com/xforums/topic.asp?h=0&a...
58% of pistonheaders prefer to drive ssanyoung rodius to a intergra type R
Edited by GravelBen on Wednesday 11th May 10:03
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