FWD vs RWD vs AWD cars. Which do you prefer & why?

[juntzo]

When I was working in Illinois, I always thought the best cars are AWD because of snow and ice on the road. That's why I bought a Subaru. When I moved to Florida, I was teased because they say AWD wastes gas and is overrated. FWD & RWD with stabililty control better? Which do you want & why?... car gurus in tsikot.com?

[BlueBimmer]

best would be a car with multi select AWD, so you can choose to run in FWD or AWD anytime. best of both worlds

wala lang nga RWD mode.

[cyrusblutrooper]

here's my preference AWD>RWD>FWD

[Memphis Raines]

All Wheel Drive. Specifically Symmetrical AWD

For me, control is most important over power.

Yup, most will say that an AWD is a guzzler but it serves the purpose of added driving safety.

Overrated? Maybe some variants but in my observation, the critics are usually those who would love to get their hands on an AWD but knows that they can't live with the cost.

my 2 cents.

[pup2]

All Wheel Drive. Specifically Symmetrical AWD

For me, control is most important over power.

Yup, most will say that an AWD is a guzzler but it serves the purpose of added driving safety.

Overrated? Maybe some variants but in my observation, the critics are usually those who would love to get their hands on an AWD but knows that they can't live with the cost.

my 2 cents.

Don't know about other brands but my AWD Fozzie is already more FE than our diesel Starex (non-CRDi). Kung may ma-gain man ako sa FE kung tanggalin ang AWD, mababawasan naman soft-roading ability ko.

They can also just be generalizing from all those gas guzzling SUVs.

[empy]

RWD. the purest configuration for sports driving

[ptk675]

here's my preference AWD>RWD>FWD

+1

although it really depends how you're gonna use it. each has its own pros and cons depending on the situation.

i remember reading a similar debate in car and driver waaay back. to prove a point, a salesman of mostly FWD cars pitted an FWD against an RWD car. He put both cars on a snowy, uphill climb. Naturally he was betting on the FWD cars he was selling, and a video even showed that the FWD car was pulling slowly but surely uphill while the RWD car was swinging its tail whenever traction broke loose and couldnt catch up.

but if say you change the situation and pit an FWD car against an RWD car on dry pavement, then the outcome might be a little different (given that both cars power/gearing/weight are matched).

[pup2]

Kaya yata AWD ang panalo kasi mapaakyat o mapapatag, walang problema. Pero an AWD going uphill is something else ha!

[dbuzz]

My take on this subject is that there isn't a whole lot of real world difference between the various systems for everyday on-road or light off-road driving.

Put another way, the differences are rather marginal, while the tradeoffs between AWD/4WD, RWD and FWD are more significant. Every AWD/4WD system requires negative tradeoffs in terms of initial cost, fuel economy, handling (except at or near the limits), and complexity. It seems to me that for the vast majority of driving situations, in most of the country, FWD, with winter tires like in the states, when required, is a better compromise than AWD/4WD. For those willing to trade traction in slippery conditions for better weight distribution, RWD, and winter tires for the months when it's helpful, may be the best compromise. In a minority of cases, AWD/4WD offers the best solution. In extreme cases, it's the only solution.

It seems to me that AWD systems that employ braking are wasteful, in terms of fuel and brake wear. I'm just not sure how significant these losses are.

In my opinion, clever marketing has oversold the real world benefits of AWD/4WD, and conveniently neglected to mention the tradeoffs, for most driving requirements. It's what politicians tend to do when they try to sell a program.

[empy]

i agree that most AWD equipped vehicles rarely go offroad, and perhaps because of this their advantages may be somewhat overhyped, in typical driving situations. actually, it appears that for most users the main advantage of an SUV (for example) is not its AWD, but its ground clearance - to ford floods and to give the driver a better driving/viewing position.

however, for performance driving, AWD is a very forgiving and easy-to-drive-fast platform. it does add weight, and purists will still prefer RWD, but it is a viable and competitive platform to use in motorsports.

i guess it's not completely clear if we are talking about real world or for racing, but there's my 2c regarding AWD.

:fyi: i own an AWD SUV that almost never goes offroad

[XTO]

RWD – wala namang snow dito at hindi delikado sa mga minor bumps. Sensitive ang FWD para sa kin – madali kumalampag ang ilalim.
Siyempre 4WD is always the best.

[alwayz_yummy]

fwd--econobox/everyday car

rwd--liteace ko RWD! hehehe... pero kung car--drift machine!

AWD -- liteace ko AWD pag naghihit ako ng dirt roads! pero kung car, all-around, high performance track car..

[BlueBimmer]

basta ako may FWD, RWD n AWD na cars :snob:

:lol:

[suysuy]

FWD sa akin. mas predictable sa akin ang handling ng car. ok lang understeer wag lang oversteer.

[juntzo]

I rephrased the question in the poll... choose what you want, not necessarily what you need! And please post your reason.

[empy]

basta ako may FWD, RWD n AWD na cars :snob:

:lol:

"cars" daw bosing. RWD nga yung bisikleta mo, but i don't think that counts

[wren]

Symmetrical AWD!

[chr1smj_15]

i'll go with awd.

[blue1108]

ano ba advantage/dis-advantage ng fwd sa rwd and the other way around?

correct me if i'm wrong, diba mga racing car e rwd?kung yes and sagot ano naman epekto kung fwd sila?

FWD disadvantage is understeer during tight cornering at may torque steer if you accelarate too fast. Ang advantage naman eh maybe fuel economy?.

RWD disadvantage is oversteer during tight cornering dahil madudulas ang rear tires mo trying to get ahead of your front tires.

RWD is still the best format for racing. mas simple design and parts. front is only concerned with steering and rear tires for drive, they have separate jobs. results in better tire wear and overall weight distribution. usually a little heavier bcoz they have more parts. prone to oversteer dahil yng rear tires tend to slide sideways, lalo na if on power sa tight corners. dito nauso yng powersliding and drifting.

FWD are usually lighter, lahat ng major components nasa harap kaya medyo mas mahirap din ibalance. originally designed for economic cars and allow more space sa likod. mabilis magubos ng gulong and brakes dahil double duty ang front tires. the back of the car tend to be bouncy dahil konti lng bigat dun. FWD race cars usually have counter balance weights sa likod para makontra to. prone sa understeer FWD kse yng bigat nung nguso tend to overpower the grip of the front tires and continue pushing the car forward

head to head, mas mabilis sa arangkada FWD but loses sa long straights
RWD may not be as fast off the line but will usually reach higher top speeds.

ano ba advantage/dis-advantage ng fwd sa rwd and the other way around?

correct me if i'm wrong, diba mga racing car e rwd?kung yes and sagot ano naman epekto kung fwd sila?

One critical difference lies when cornering at high speed.

If you are cornering using a FWD car, and you let off the pedal, the front will regain grip so you will still continue on. The rear wheels just follow along.

If you are cornering using a RWD car, and you let off the pedal, the rear might lose traction and you could oversteer or worse, lose control.

We already have a thread about this, don't we?

FWD was designed for two things: Economy and safety. A FWD car is more economical because the drivetrain is lighter (no driveshaft travelling the length of the car). It's safer in slippery situations because a prod of the gas pedal will not send the car spinning (a danger on rear wheel drive vehicles). Also, since the weight of the engine is over the drive wheels, it has more traction than a traditional front-engine rear-wheel drive car.

RWD is technically better for racing, as, blue says, since they distribute the workload of the tires evenly. But this all depends on the design of the vehicle.

As for the other assertions... it all depends. All front-engined cars, whether front, rear or four-wheel drive tend to "push" or understeer on corner entry because the weight of the engine is over the front axle.

Some rear wheel drive cars get around this by being designed for a 50:50 or even 45:55 weight balance. With any rear wheel drive car with good grip and/or an LSD (preferably both), you can counter understeer in some corners with oversteer. But this is never the fastest way through a corner.

Some front wheel drive cars get around this by rear suspension design and the use of an LSD. The LSD reduces understeer under acceleration out of a corner, while a stiffer rear suspension helps the car rotate faster (in some cases, inducing oversteer).

And whether front or rear wheel drive, the car will snap sideways if you let off the throttle or hit the brakes mid-corner. How badly it will snap, or if it will snap at all, depends on specific design and weight distribution.

The advantage of front-wheel drive cars on track is that throttle-understeer can be used to counter snap-oversteer, and they're inherently more stable due to the front-heavy weight distribution, allowing you to push harder. The advantage of rear-wheel drive in these cornering situations is that throttle-oversteer gives you more options in tighter corners. And, over multiple laps, the aforementioned distribution of load makes for more even tire wear.

For beginner or intermediate drivers, front-wheel drive will often be as fast or faster. For experts, rear-drive usually wins.

------

But in the end, the argument is moot, since it ignores the most important factor... engine placement. A front-engined rear-wheel drive car is no match for a mid-engined sportscar or supercar. A mid-engined car has optimum weight balance and a lower polar moment than a front-engined car (in other words, with the weight concentrated near the center of the car, it can spin faster). But again, the actual handling abilities of the vehicle depend a lot on specific design.

We already have a thread about this, don't we?

Indeed we do. Here's the link:

http://tsikot.yehey.com/forums/showt...light=AWD+cars

Please bear with me, this is my first action to merge.

[jazcker]

may natutunan na naman ako...
i've been wondering about this...