a bunch of people in the "convince me to buy a gs300" thread kept saying something about RWD... why is this so good?? <reminds everyone that jooleee knows nothing about cars>

 

I think FWD & RWD both have their pro and con.

The main reason that most sport car with RWD is for optimal handling.
Proper weight distribution, which is desirable to have in a performance car for optimal handling. Most FWD cars are not evenly distributed (around 60 front/40 rear), because the entire power train is ahead of the firewall. (correct me if I'm wrong)
Under full acceleration applications such as drag racing, car's weight will move to the back. In a RWD car, this is good, because you're putting weight on the drive wheels, and helping traction. In a FWD car, you are taking weight away from the drive wheels, hurting your acceleration.

 

J

"most" of the best cars in the world is RWD.....of course AWD could be the best of the best.....if the skyline were here officialy....
that is one of the reasons why audi qtro dominated many races...

 

just to add one more thing:

I think it's proven that the Integra Type R is the world's best handling FF vehicle. it could also be the fastest too!

 

hm... so why do people say that BMWs have better handling compared to Lexus'?

 

stock suspension pieces are stiffer. And power distribution is pretty good on most BMWs. GS has excellent weight distribution also. GS300 has something like 51/49.

 

and bimmers are 50/50?

 

some of them really close to it. there won't be a car that's EXACTLY 50/50. Maybe like 50.5/49.5

 

mY 00 323CI was 51/49

very neutral handling car and excellent suspension right out of the box....

 

FWD can be extremely hazardous in marginal traction conditions. On a slippery surface you need all the traction, tire patch adhesion with the roadbed, you can get. In a FWD car you are relying ONLY on the front tires' "patch" to both steer the car and drive it forward. The rear wheels are only there to hold the car off the ground.

Remember "steer into a skid"? That advice only works with RWD.

 

In terms of physics "what is more efficient: pushing or pulling?" This is one distintion between RWD and FWD. Personal opinion: I like having differentiated functions. I like the front wheels to control the direction of the car and the rear wheels to push the car. WWest has a good point.

 

so rwd helps the car not skid?

 

In some settings. Think of the 4 contact patches (spot where each tire is on the road) as doing all the work of moving the car; stopping, starting and turning. As much as possible, you want to divide that work as equally as possible between all 4 tires, since each is only capable of providing a certain amount of traction.

So, if the car is turning, some of the available traction is being used by the front tires to provide that direction change. If the front tires are also having to pull the car forwards, there is not as much traction available for either job as there would be if the fronts were turning the car and the rears were pushing.

That said, there are some front drive cars which still manage to be very good handling cars (Honda Prelude, Acura Integra/RSX, for example).......but they would be still better if they were rear wheel drive.

 

I was under the impression that FF (front-engine, front-drive) cars give you better handling in extreme weather conditions. But most people don't spend a lot of time driving in extreme weather, therefor limiting the usefulness (if there is such a thing) of FF cars. On the other hand, most FR (front-engine, rear-drive) cars rock ice. A FR car with a Lexus badge automatically gets the highest honor in the automotive world, which is "The MAN" Award (that's made up and just my personal opinion in case you're wondering).

 

Cadillac is FWD and they have added an over-running clutch to their drive train so their 300HP high torque engine doesn't have the ability to "drag" the drive (front) wheels when you get off the gas. The engine can "drive" the axle, but the engine cannot "drive" the engine.

Brakes proably will not last as long but then you also will not find the rear end pivoting around to the front on slippery surfaces.

The way my owner's manual reads in my 2001 RX300 AWD I suspect that when "coasting" it automatically puts the transmission in over-drive, to help avoid this same FWD effect, loss of control in slippery conditions.

The RX300 AWD is predominantly FWD, "solid" coupling to the front, viscous to the rear, a torque ratio of 70/30 front/rear if all four wheels have traction.