what to expect with RWD

[Harvey Mushman00]

s m said:

2.8i Capri ?

Oh yes, a couple of 3.0S models first then a 2.8 followed by more rear wheel drive hooligans, and no electronics, admittedly less power but then again crap tyres to even things up, happy days..........................

[siovey]

Just respect it in the wet and you'll be fine

[njw1]

Harvey Mushman00 said:

s m said:

2.8i Capri ?

Oh yes, a couple of 3.0S models first then a 2.8 followed by more rear wheel drive hooligans, and no electronics, admittedly less power but then again crap tyres to even things up, happy days..........................

I had a Sierra a few years ago that I fitted with a tuned 2.8 Cologne, it probably produced about 170bhp at most but had bucket loads of instant low down torque. The car still had it's original 1.8 diff so was very short geared and had absolutely no driver aids (not even power steering!). I can remember dropping from 5th to 4th one day at about 80mph on a damp road and the back end decided it would rather be in front. I learnt more about car control in those couple of seconds than I have in my entire driving career. That car was honestly more tail happy than my e39 M5 with the t/c switched off (and it had to be switched off if you wanted to make progress as it was too intrusive).

[Kawasicki]

expect to be surprised with how much traction you have compared to a fwd car

do a car control day, get to know the balance of the car under and over the limit, enjoy

[Who me ?]

Respect the lack of grip, and LEARN how to drive. 50 odd years ago, I learned to drive in a RWD old Wolseley- only 45 or so BHP- but on wet roads etc, that's more than enough to teach you RESPECT .

[ScoobyChris]

Don't put RWD on a pedestal.

Stay smooth with inputs and it'll be a joy to own and you'll enjoy steering uncluttered by torque steer and the car squatting down and going. Of course, if you're silly and stamp on the throttle and wind on massive amounts of lock you'll trigger the traction control but it'll reign in and all will be well.

Chris (M140i )

[TameRacingDriver]

Each to their own, obviously, but for me, RWD car much nicer to drive at all times. If you get a nice handling RWD car its just lovely to drive even with relatively low power. I've got all of 140 bhp and it seriously doesn't matter because it just handles so nicely. As others say, smooth inputs, perhaps slow in, fast out of corners until you gain confidence, and honestly you wont look back.. probably

[SVS]

Am I the only person a little bit saddened by all the comments inferring a reliance on electronics to keep RWD under control?

ScoobyChris said:

Don't put RWD on a pedestal.
Stay smooth with inputs and it'll be a joy to own ... if you're silly ... you'll trigger the traction control but it'll reign in and all will be well.

I completely agree about not putting RWD on a pedestal and the importance of being smooth.

Obviously, if you're too silly or lack sufficient smoothness, then traction control has its limits and all won't be well

[Mr2Mike]

Harvey Mushman00 said:

Oh yes, a couple of 3.0S models first then a 2.8 followed by more rear wheel drive hooligans, and no electronics, admittedly less power but then again crap tyres to even things up, happy days..........................

I drove a 2.8i on a 3000mile trip around Europe many years ago, expecting it to be an absolute hoot on the twisty alpine roads. The truth is that it was very prone to understeer with that massively heavy V6, and you had to really provoke it to get the back end loose.

[8bit]

Wills2 said:

Being pushed along is so much better than being pulled.

This. The sensation of being driven round a corner as opposed to being dragged is still rewarding after almost 4 years in a RWD car.

[Alias218]

The first time I drove a RWD car I lost control, crashed and died. Very unfortunate really.

Seriously though, RWD is fine so long as you don't overestimate your skills. FWD is far more forgiving - in a RWD before you know it your rear end can suddenly become your front end and you will find yourself looking at the car behind you. Take time to explore the limits of your car and use smooth inputs, particularly in the wet.

[Regiment]

I went from a 70hp 1.2 Clio to a Ford Mustang GT with 421hp, take it easy and don't be stupid.

[s m]

Harvey Mushman00 said:

s m said:

2.8i Capri ?

Oh yes, a couple of 3.0S models first then a 2.8 followed by more rear wheel drive hooligans, and no electronics, admittedly less power but then again crap tyres to even things up, happy days..........................

The 3 litres had quite skinny tyres as standard....plus they have a big wodge of low down torque compared to the revvier 2.8 lump with fatter 205s.
Brooklands is a fun car with the smaller 195s and the slippy diff

[pimpchez]

This afternoon i jumped out my fiat derv into a newish 330d .Sport + mode was promptly selected and even in the drisel i am still alive and the car returned without damage.Yes the back end did do a little wiggle and a little bit of corrective action applied.

Point is , drive to conditions and it will always be alright.

[Strudul]

As long as the traction control is on, you've got nothing to worry about. You can be as silly as you like and the car will fix everything.

Traction control off is another story and you will spin and die if you aren't careful.

[SVS]

Strudul said:

As long as the traction control is on, you've got nothing to worry about. You can be as silly as you like and the car will fix everything.

Unfortunately, even traction control has its limits and can't fix every circumstance.

[Strudul]

SVS said:

Unfortunately, even traction control has its limits and can't fix every circumstance.

Well obviously. If you launch into a tight corner at 130 in icy conditions you're fked regardless, but it was a question of the dangers compared to FWD / AWD, where you would be just as screwed in that situation.

Point is, you don't really need to worry about which wheels are driven.

[spookly]

Just get yourself down to a local go kart track that has reasonably fast karts. Get used to provoking and correcting oversteer. Then try not to repeat it on the road, as sooner or later you'll bin it.

Throwing the rear end about is fun, but even very experienced racing drivers get it wrong, and the road isn't the place to be doing it IMHO (yes, I have done this on the road in many cars).

Unless you are really honing about then I expect you won't lose the back end at all, unless you are really binary with throttle input.

[SVS]

Strudul said:

you don't really need to worry about which wheels are driven.

We'll have to agree to disagree on this. I'd argue that you should be mindful which wheels are driven.

I've done a reasonable amount on track, including ice circuits, but was once caught out by RWD at normal road speed. (Human error on my part.)

[Strudul]

SVS said:

We'll have to agree to disagree on this. I'd argue that you should be mindful which wheels are driven.

I've done a reasonable amount on track, including ice circuits, but was once caught out by RWD at normal road speed. (Human error on my part.)

Don't get me wrong, if you drive hard, especially in the wet, the back end will twitch and slip about all over the place with the power cutting out constantly, but the only time I've even come close to losing it was flooring it in 2nd round a roundabout in winter with mismatched budget tyres and the TC off.