markulele

Most luxury/performance cars nowadays are RWD.

Has anyone driven any rwd with stability control on an icy road?
Did anyone lost control or lost but recover quickly?

I am wondering what is the sure thing benefit if getting a AWD compared with RWD.

I live in san francisco. I only go to ski resort once every winter season.

I read somewhere:
On a RWD, If you turn gently to
the left and step on the gas to spin the rear wheels, the car starts
skidding down the road while pointing to its left. If you then steer
(gently) to the right (in the direction the car is) going, the front
wheels gain traction and you can either get out of the skid or oversteer
and cause the car to swing in the other direction.

With FWD, it is the front wheels which lose traction
and so lose their ability to steer. You are helpless and the car
continues to go in the direction it was going. If you are going around a
curve, this is very bad! Since more of the weight of the car (perhaps
60%) is on the front wheels, a front wheel drive car is somewhat less
likely to skid, but once it does, I believe it is harder to control.

The Chad

If you are only going to a ski resort once per season, I'd personally purchase a set of snow tires for the car and put them on for that trip. Some Bridgestone Blizzacks with the stability control and some cautious driving would be safe for your purpose, and cheaper than the purchase of an AWD model, which is a couple grand more than the RWD 250. Also, you'll save on fuel as the AWD will inherently use more fuel, albeit only a small amount. But fiscally, that'd be what I would do if I were you.

Rockville

AWD when it breaks traction in a curve will act like front wheel drive and understeer. Counterintuitive, right? This heads us into the need for Stability control whether the powertrain is RWD, FWD or even AWD. The biggest advantage that AWD is ascending a hill under slippery conditions. It has 4 wheels grabbing for purchase vs. only 2 wheels in either RWD and FWD. In a curve the IS350 with the VDIM will likely give the best performance and control of the three versions of the IS, IMO.

Rock

newr

Please also remember, whether it is FWD, RWD, AWD w/stability, VDIM, DSC, ABS or whatever $#!T they call it, just drive carefully. It helps to have those stuff but to a point the law of physics will take over. So, please drive carefully.

diablo1

Another good point I read somewhere is that the drivetrain only matters when you are accelerating. If you're just coasting around a curve at low speed and you're not really on the gas, AWD won't help you one bit. My dealer said AWD is most helpful when you are actually trying to get the car moving in the first place. Since front engine, RWD cars have more weight over the front wheels, but the engine can only drive the rear wheels, it is easier to just sit on a patch of ice and spin the tires, than in an AWD or FWD car. Also if your rear tires are in ice or snow, but your front tires have some grip, a RWD car will just sit there and spin, while an AWD car will used the front tires to get the car moving.

That is what concerns me most about the RWD system - going skiing for the day and not being able to get the car out of the parking spot.

markulele

do not comment on my post
i disregard your comments.

jlin101

Nothing beats safe driving. When I lived in Detroit, people in their Audi Quatro's and 4-wheel-drive trucks/SUV's were always the first ones in the ditch on the first day of snow; as they were all eager to demonstrate the prowess of their 4-wheel-drive. You can safely drive a RWD in ice/snow, provided you have adequate traction. Traction control helps, and so do snow tires. Even a Porsche 911 4S is useless in the cold, if it's riding on summer tires.

newr

picus

I think RWD once to Tahoe per season is fine, but keep in mind they might make you put chains on, and those things will destroy rims. I learned the hard way

That's one benefit to AWD - you don't have to put chains on.