All wheel drive vs. the rest

satchmo

Okay further to my thread about transmissions, what is even more prevalent is the appearance of all wheel drive systems.

I know purists love rear wheel drive systems because you get that torque and push from behind. Also the handling is usually better since you don't have anything going on in the front tires.

Front drive trains are better for winter driving but it kind of sucks when cornering hard into a turn.

But having had an Audi, the all wheel is so tight in inclement weather and hugs the road like nothing else.

(True AWD will always outdo any pseudo slip differential system.)

The one problem with AWD systems is that it eats up gas big time...plus it's feels less sporty because it's so balanced.

powerdoc

4 wheels drive system must be great in canada, where it is supposed to snow a bit ... . Where i live there is only 3 or 4 days of snow per year. It did not merit the investissement.



For the two front weel drives , you are correct , for dry road the propulsion is better, and for rain or snow the traction is the choice (4 wheels are out of the competition ...)

However my car is pretty impressive in the dry and i never have any surprise or sliding since i own it ( 406 coupe HDI)

jesperas

The other problem with AWD is that some states in the US consider an AWD vehicle to be the same as an SUV, and charge SUV rates for insurance.

tmp

I grew up in New England and we always had rear-drive cars. We never had a real issue with their handling in snow.



The down-side of all these go-anywhere 4 wheel drive vehicles is that you never experience the joy of the snow day.

flick justice

I have owned an Isuzu Trooper 89' loved that cause you could be rear wheel, get out sideways and what not, but throw it into 4x4 when the snow is deep.

my mom just bought an Audi A4 Quatro Turbo I love this car. you cannot put it into a spin no matter how hard you try, even in an Icy parking lot, trust me I've tried.

where is this going? I don't know but there you have it.

flick.

timo

I'd pick good snow tires over AWD any day, for winter driving.

gardenofearthlydelights

It depends on the car. If you're talking about:



- Subaru WRX STi

- Mitsubishi Lancer EvoVII

- Audi S4

- Nissan Skyline

- Porsche Carrera 4S (Turbo, 959, etc.)



..then I think it's fine.



As for bad weather driving, what's important are the tires. If you try to drive an all-wheel drive in snow with high performance tires, you're not going any where. Stick snow tires on a rear-drive car, and you're fine. Most people in the States don't switch tires in winter. Most have all-season tires, which is a compromise tire. They can be pretty good, but really, tires make a huge difference.



All-wheel drive vs. Four-wheel drive: I won't go there.

randycat99

AWD cars seem to always hold a mystical perception with the general populace (and even some car nuts). The reality is, they really don't show their advantages unless you are in *really bad* traction conditions or you have *absurd* amounts of engine power for the tires you are running. In any other case, all the extra equipment is just extra weight your car has to lug around (which will impact handling and acceleration performance).



For typical stock horsepower levels on dry pavement, it's only in first gear and if you roughly drop the clutch where AWD can help your acceleration. Once out of 1st, you got all the traction you need in 2 rear tires, so the AWD part is just dead weight.



When cornering under power on dry pavement, AWD simply induces understeer (which usually ends up as a liability). Basically, it is exhibiting the functional benefits of stability that FWD cars already have w/o the extra equipment. Might as well just go with a FWD (which do quite well in the wet all by themself, I might add) and invest the cost of that extra AWD equipment as enhanced suspension design and handling tuning. Typically the AWD crowd loses or greatly reduces all the handling perks you get with RWD here- all kinds of intentional tail-out fun.



So my impression is that AWD is only really good for people who frequently drive in very, VERY bad conditions (indicative of a rally course in the mud) or for people who aren't particularly interested in "really" learning to drive a car and just want something with the stability of a flying brick. (Considering the number of SUV's on the road that will never see a day off-road, you can expect a very similar state of underutilization for all these new AWD vehicles.) Meanwhile, FWD and RWD have a lot to offer all on their own in any other situation.

shetline

Quote:

Originally posted by Randycat99

So my impression is that AWD is only really good for people who frequently drive in very, VERY bad conditions (indicative of a rally course in the mud)...

After heavy, but not terribly unusual snowfall, I've found my Subaru's AWD very useful on a few occasions. It's usually not out on the road, but while in a snowed-in driveway or parking lot that the AWD pays off.

randycat99

It's not hard to find specific occasions where a certain configuration really comes into play. What's hard to justify is lugging around the extra mechanicals all of the time in order to address those occasions. I've been through a really bad snow storm in my FWD car, as well. Never did I get into a situation where I lamented not having AWD. Suffice to say, FWD did just fine (and arguably it may have done just fine in your situation, as well). Now if I was in a RWD in that situation, that would have been dicey, for sure.



Aside from all that, it's probably quite significant that you live in an entirely different place than I. You may see a good snow every now and then. I, OTOH, haven't seen snow since I lived in Georgia in 1994. So AWD just makes absolutely no sense where I live, you understand. Yet, that doesn't stop others who live in the same place I do from going gaga after seemingly mystical AWD cars. If you got the $'s, buy whatever you want (except an SUV, though- do we really need another one on the road these days?). They may attribute all sorts of advantages to their AWD purchase, but in the end, it doesn't amount to squat if you live where I live. That's all I'm saying.