what to expect with RWD

[talksthetorque]

aquarianone said:

Get some decent tyres, then have some fun exploring the limits of grip...

Get some crap tyres and do the same more often.

[CooperS]

Mr2Mike said:

I recently started driving a RWD Brabus* after being used to FWD hatchbacks for many years and it takes some getting used to. The worst thing is the horrendous understeer.



You can definitely get those things past understated but be careful in the wet




* Smart ForTwo

[Loyly]

You'll probably find it has a suprising amount of understeer that may or may not be mitigated by increasing throttle in the bend. Most RWD cars, espeically passenger cars, will tend to understeer first. An LSD can make a considerable difference to this, so take it slow and see how the car reacts im different conditions.

You'll probably be surprised at how inert the car feels, especially on fat, modern tyres. It'll some serious cack-handedness to get it out of shape.

[CABC]

Loyly said:

You'll probably be surprised at how inert the car feels, especially on fat, modern tyres. It'll some serious cack-handedness to get it out of shape.

if only someone made a rwd car on skinnier tyres with an LSD that felt anything but inert. shirley PH would fall in love...?

[phil1979]

Dave Hedgehog said:

Dannbodge said:

Don't worry too much about it.
ABS, TCS and DSC will keep 99% of teh problems under control.

Just don't be stupid

yep, most normal RWD cars are extremely well sorted, its often hard to tell that they are RWD

As above. In the last 2 months I have gone from a 1.9 diesel front-wheel drive to a 6.2 V8 petrol rwd. Unless you're really being a tool, with the electronic nannies disabled, you'll struggle to know which wheels are driven, let alone spill it.

[Silverbullet767]

rubez said:

yeah i seen the ZF box was put in one of those big luxury porsche's and was set up to be really smooth.

i'm sure i seen on here recently that BMW are ditching DCT are going back to this kind of auto box.

D moves up through the gears quickly for fuel consumption.
S will hold on to the revs if you are giving it the beans
M mode you can choose your gear with the paddles... which i fully intend on exploring! (not right away probably though)

there's an alpina flash you can do which make the ZF box as instantaneous as DCT (supposedly) but chris harris says it's plenty quick already.

Edited by rubez on Thursday 25th May 13:50

Don't bother with the alpine flash, there's a newer one available xhp flashtool http://www.xhpflashtool.com/ you can pick different maps.

[AMGJocky]

I wouldn't worry about it in the dry. My current car is the first RWD I've owned and the only time I've been 'caught' out was when I was a bit too keen with the go faster pedal in pouring rain.

Other than that, it doesn't take long to get accustomed! And as yours is 300+bhp I assume it's a nice motor, so don't put st rubber on it.

[rubez]

what is the true difference between a cheapo tyre and decent rubber?

is it simply less grip? or something more sinister? how much does fatness of the tyre compensate for them being cheap?

the BRZ/GT86 had skinny tyres on purpose (supposedly) to make it more fun, i.e. less grippy.

also, what is more important (for RWD) good rubber on the front or back? is mixing and matching a bad idea?

[Mr Gearchange]

You'll be fine.
Keep the TC/Stability on - you'll notice the yellow light blinking when its having to intervene which gives you a reasonable indication of when the back wheels start to get overwhelmed.

Then, after a few weeks of getting to know the car find a nice big empty quiet roundabout somewhere (Industrial estates are good for this), turn the TC off and explore the limits of grip in the dry.
Once you had got a good handle on this - try the same in the wet. Just make sure you're discrete about it, Plod take a dim view of people drifting roundabouts - even when there is no bugger anywhere in sight.

To be honest, the only way you're really going to get caught out (aside from driving like an utter moron) is turning the ESP off on a cold, wet greasy road.

[Silverbullet767]

rubez said:

what is the true difference between a cheapo tyre and decent rubber?

is it simply less grip? or something more sinister? how much does fatness of the tyre compensate for them being cheap?

the BRZ/GT86 had skinny tyres on purpose (supposedly) to make it more fun, i.e. less grippy.

also, what is more important (for RWD) good rubber on the front or back? is mixing and matching a bad idea?

It should have Michelin Pilot Super Sports from the factory, which are fantastic tyres. They've only just been replaces by the Michelin PS4S.

Don't buy cheap tyres.

[Dannbodge]

Silverbullet767 said:

It should have Michelin Pilot Super Sports from the factory, which are fantastic tyres. They've only just been replaces by the Michelin PS4S.

Don't buy cheap tyres.

That's only if it is a M135i, the older 135i (coupe) came with Bridgestone Re050 Rfts

[Olivera]

rubez said:

is there anything i should be wary of when driving my first RWD car?

only ever driven FWD and AWD. i noticed the feeling of grip and plantedness when i moved from FWD to AWD pretty much on the first corner..

There isn't any more grip and plantedness in AWD versus FWD More traction on the power out of a corner, yes.

[Master Bean]

You'll die immediately.

[Dr Doofenshmirtz]

Instead of driving head first into the hedge - you'll reverse into it.
And one day you WILL end up facing the wrong way on a roundabout - we've all done it.

[J4CKO]

Watch out for camber changes coming off roundabouts when you have your foot down, that can catch any driver out and provide situations even the ESP cant fully sort out.

Watch it int he wet, obvious, but especially in an auto as they tend to kick down and you arent always 100 percent as to how many gears it will change down and where it puts you in the power band, well in mine it can be a bit disconcerting triggering the ESP at 60/70 mph in a straight line, without it, that would possibly involve impromptu lane changes and parking in hedgerows, not sure how folk with V12 Jags and the like got on back in the day.

[tejr]

No LSD on a 135i right? Meh, it'll be like driving an fwd car most of the time tbh.

The only time the 530d caught me out was coming fast-ish off a roundabout on an off camber and slightly greasy stretch of road. Back end stepped out, DSC stepped it gently back in. No drama.

Tbh, even with an LSD the only cars I found un-predictable were those with a viscous diff.

[CaptainMorgan]

Surprised at some of the comments suggesting it'll be like a FWD car etc, when I borrowed a mates M140i I quickly found it to be reasonably twitchy when pushing on (decent tyres fitted). Of course driving about normally you'll be fine but build it up steadily and learn how the car reacts, give it a bit of respect, especially in the wet and on st roads.

[njw1]

Turn the traction control off and get on with it! *











(*don't do this until you are confident with the car! Seriously though, a rwd car is really nothing to be frightened of. )

[s m]

CABC said:

Loyly said:

You'll probably be surprised at how inert the car feels, especially on fat, modern tyres. It'll some serious cack-handedness to get it out of shape.

if only someone made a rwd car on skinnier tyres with an LSD that felt anything but inert. shirley PH would fall in love...?

2.8i Capri ?

[V8 FOU]

CABC said:

if only someone made a rwd car on skinnier tyres with an LSD that felt anything but inert. shirley PH would fall in love...?

They would. But everyone who hadn't driven one would complain about the lack of power. No one on PH would buy one, well, only a few, but loads of other people would.