This has been requested quite a bit. I have already made videos on both, I just need to do some minor editing and get to the junkyard to show some actual examples. But within the coming weeks, they will be up!
Many FWD vehicles have open diffs, so just one wheel will typically spin (though it's possible for both). And yes, an LSD can help so both tires rotate together.
What?? Lsd?? I tried some of that stuff while operating a vehicle one time and hit an armadillo crossing the road cause I thought I was just seeing a visual reenactment of that scene of RANGO 🦎 by my brain. The armadillo was real I found out as he really splattered. In my defense of why I would have thought that the armadillo was an illusion; I HAVE NEVER ONCE SEEN AN ARMADILLO IN MY STATE EVER!!!!!!
There are many ways of turning vertical motion into horizontal motion. I'm not sure of how specifically it's done (probably numerous ways) but any sort of pivoting lever would basically work.
As soon as I saw the front wheel of your car, I recognized it immediately. I had a 2000 Acura Integra LS three-door five-speed in Vogue Silver Metallic. In seven and a half years, it never once leaked a drop of oil or coolant. That five-speed manual is the sweetest shifting manual transmission I've ever experienced. It's also the only FWD vehicle in which I've experienced lift-off oversteer. Thank you for the great videos.
@Aexotica Great call, what I failed to include was the joints at each wheel. There are more universal joints at each tire, I just over-simplified it with this image. With a universal joint at the tire, it can turn with the axle rods changing angle.
@PolishJoe1000 You're welcome, glad you like the videos! I wish I had your luck with the oil and coolant. Did you buy your car new? I bought mine as the third owner, with 84k back in 2007. I've had to replace the radiator (though 10 years isn't bad for a radiator) and many seals as it leaked quite bad. Doesn't leak too much now, but still have to top it off every 1000 miles or so. Transmission is impeccable, and I wish other cars had such good steering feel.
You know, I know most of the driving advantages/disadvantages of fwd from spending far too much time learning about cars in general, but I could never quite grasp the actual mechanical side of it. I knew the engine was mounted transversely, and that somewhere in there was a transfer case and then axles which drive the wheels, but for some reason it only now makes sense how it all works together. Thanks a ton!
I'm attempting to put a front engine Honda Civic drive train into a rear engine Smart Fortwo and your video helped me understand what I was doing wrong! What I was doing was trying to mate the Honda Engine to the Smart Transaxle. Instead, what I need to do is cut the axles and use the Honda Engine/Transmission and just modify the rear axle and frame! I also need to make up a list of what parts came from what car, because I know two seconds after I'm done building this something's going to break and I'm not going to remember where I sourced the parts!
Lol, agree. I'm used to the newer stuff on this channel, but damn this 9 year old video definitely goes to show how much has changed since then, and it's good to see the comparison between the now and then
@KillerZero259 No, power is not necessary equal between the two, and unequal shaft lengths is a big reason for torque steer (the consequence of unequal torque). Many newer fwd cars address this problem with equal length shafts. As far as the gears, I just threw them in there fairly thoughtlessly. Mainly just wanted to show the layout.
ofcourse! Once, the rubber covering under my front bumper had come loose but still attached to both ends of the bumper. The mid section was hanging down. Until i got my mechanic to cut it, I taped it around the metal piece where you have the CV joints on. It was a Civic so I'm thinking it should spun the tape and broke it off?
@EngineeringExplained I was the second owner. It had approximately 47,000 miles. I'm sorry to hear you had to replace the radiator and some seals. I did have to replace the rear control arm bushings as well as the motor that releases the rear hatch. Also, I think my first gear synchros were pretty worn, but I never had to replace the clutch or flywheel. Yes, the steering feel was exemplary!
FWD vehicles do not have bind like 4WD systems because typically FWD drivetrains have an open differential, which allows for differing speeds between the drive tires. Locking differential, if used in 4WD, will have binding if driven on pavement (or other surfaces with high friction).
@m00d79 It won't differ anything other than the direction of torque steer, which I will hopefully get into in a future video. Torque and acceleration will be the same. The lengths of the arms going to the wheels will be swapped, with the shorter arm going to the wheel closest to the transmission.
Well if it has to turn the wheels it's simply addressing the issue, but not getting rid of the problem. The driver may not notice it but it would still have it's effect on the dynamics of the vehicle. The tires would have more load than otherwise.
Somewhat, but since the boxer is a flat engine, the crankshaft will be perpendicular to the final drive shafts, so there will still have to be a 90 degree switch like in front engine RWD cars. It can be done with more direct gearing though.
It just increases how quickly the brakes cool down. The downside is there is less surface area for braking. But the purpose is to reduce brake fade by increasing cooling.
Your videos are fantastic! I have just started with my Universities Formula Student team in the UK and the videos are helping me and other new teammates so much! Many thanks
@xe1A1ex The majority of cars understeer. There are many factors involved, but basically if the engine is up front (and the majority of the weight) the car will understeer if you take a corner too fast and hit the brakes. Now, this isn't the same as loss of traction because you put your foot down on the gas. Then it's simply where the driving wheels are. Up front - you go straight. Back tires - you turn around.
That's a great question! I really don't know, but I would assume the engine would be mirrored in the case of FWD vehicles, and probably left untouched for RWD vehicles.
I have experienced this first hand haha. I simply braked and brought my vehicle to a stop. I guess the logic in accelerating would be that it sends weight to the back, but once the tires are slipping that may not help.
Braking will not be affected (at least not much, if any) by drivetrain. Perhaps AWD would carry slightly more inertia, but FWD vs RWD should be about the same. The reason you're feeling a difference in brakes is probably the cars themselves. Mustangs are marketed as sports cars, so they have nice brakes/tires. What are you comparing to? Chances are they have worse tires/are heavier/etc..
@MChief6596 It's just as easy. At the front of the transmission there will be two gears with 45 degree angles, transferring the the angle of rotation 90 degrees (the same direction of your tires).
So yes, the car will lean back in RWD, but this is a good thing for RWD because the weight is transferring to the powered wheels, opposite of what is happening in a FWD scenario, where weight is taken away from the powered wheels.
@Degr8n8 FWD cars can have differentials, yes. But I'm not sure about the torque steer, something I'm still working on figuring out. But one thing is the differing arm lengths (driving shafts) have a major impact.
fwd also has a disadvantage in extreme situations, Understeer! when unexpectedly there is something on the road, and you are going fast, the front wheels have to pull the whole car to the side. i have experienced heavy understeer in fwd compared to rwd cars. btw your vids are very informational !!! keep up the work!
all i can say is ive owned both fwd and rwd and hes spot on with his pros and cons, my 07 impala was never meant for a 5.3 liter v8 so things like driveshaft, water pump, had to replace i forgot what these 2 bolts are called but its 1 per side and are longer than the factory ones and help align the front tires the correct way so you dont wear them out even faster. those are my main 3 cons i got
@PolishJoe1000 As for the oversteer, I've had my one experience as well. Took an off-ramp too fast in the rain, let off the gas and lightly pressed the brake pedal, and was rolling backwards after a little over compensation. The area was pretty open though so no damage to my car, thankfully.
Finally, searching and searching, I found what I was looking for, how are the CVs linked to the engine. Amazing that I found this in a video from 10 years ago, something that one from 2 weeks ago doesn't have
@PolishJoe1000 Yeah, I don't see why it's mandatory for all vehicles to include it. I think on/off switches should be there for everything, not just traction control. Though ABS is extremely useful, and if I were to attempt to race I'd be scared without it.
You are one smart person with a lot of common sense, EngineeringExplained. I work as a technician repairing people's vehicles and see a lot of abused daily drivers with damaged engine and drive line components from exceeding the limitation of the engineering the vehicle was designed for. Racing or abusing your daily driver is not a good idea. Just yesterday the tow truck brought in an 06 Mazda speed6 2.3L turbo with a rod hanging out of the block and the starter in pieces. Boohoo
I have a video on LSD, watch that one. The only difference with a FWD vehicle is that the transmission will typically be geared directly to the differential/diff housing, rather than using a drive shaft and pinion.
Your damn right about the tire wear lol. Haven’t replaced my rear tires in so long because they still have good tread on it. Ive had to replace my front tires once a year
@HawaiiJackJr It certainly is an Integra. Love it; have had it for 4 years now. And yeah that's what they say, InsideLine says it's "the best-handling front-drive chassis ever."
@@standupyak RUclips changed the way comment sections are saved on their servers a few years ago. They were too lazy to write code to convert reply chains from the older system, so now the replies on old videos just float around willy nilly.
very cool to see how well you are doing man! keep up the good work. i appreciate the help from all of your videos. seeing how old this is makes me stoked
the reaward force placed onto the ground by each wheel is exacting a momentum on the "steering mechanism". At equilibrium each wheel is exacting the same force and nothing happens. The slightest change in conditions, and you're going to feel one wheel winning, and exerting it's force, in the end, onto the steering wheel and your hands. Changes in condition can be many things. A bit of sand, sligtly more worn tarmac or the incline of the road to make rain run off (typ. felt dur. undertaking).
On a rear wheel drive, the front wheels are just along for the ride, and ready to do your bidding. Try to (SLOWLY!) aproach the curb at an angle and let the front wheel touch. As you push the car forward, you should feel the steering wheel being afected. Aproach the curb head on, and there should be nothing. This is in principal the same as torque steer. When the lateral forces of left and right differs too much.
My friend just got an 05 odyssey with a trailer hitch and the transmission has 1 problem when he shifts into reverse and it hesitates 1 second or so before engaging. I changed 3 1/2qts of fluid without much change in shifting. I know solenoids are problematic any comments like a transaxle problem? Very simple explanation to follow. Great job 👍
To avoid the lost of grip when the car accelerates, why not put kind of portal axle with two small gears to reverse the motion? So the shaf with cv-joint turns in one direction, but the wheel turns in the other.
If I consider the front wheels as fixed, when suddenly accelerating, a momentum is creating through the shafts and tend to sag the car on their rear wheels. It's the case where the shafts turn the same direction as the wheels. If the shafts were to turn in a opposite direction than the wheels, the car would rise regarding their rear wheels and most of the weight would be transfered to the front rather than the back, increasing grip.
So how are you able to turn the front tires if they are the ones connected to the engine without completely destroying your axles or messing up the engine? Does the entire configuration move with the tires, including the engine and transmission, to keep the proper alignment?
The problem with FWD is not only uneven tire wear but also unwanted tire wear (e.g. saw teeth) at the rear axle on newer cars with multi-link rear axles. I have seen this a lot on newer Audi and Volkswagen FWD cars which have pretty good rear axles, sometimes even with XDS which do not cause much tire rub in the curves anymore. If you drive them without load (no backseat passengers, no luggage in the trunk) and oftentimes just straight on on the motorway, the rear axle remains a slightly positive camber which causes enormous saw teeth on the inner side of the rear tires just after 5000-8000 miles. You maybe wanna do a separate video on how saw teeth arise?
Though Your an engineer, I can't give you a mechanical reason but somehow front wheel drive is really good on the twisty roads maybe the front wheels grip better or something. I believe lower weight, short wheel base, the car usually is 900kg - 1,200kg generally smaller in the turn you take your foot off the throttle turn hard then as you exit go fast out of the corner.
If you have an electronic power steering system, it corrects the steering to always stay straight, eliminating one of the cons of a FWD system(torque steering).
when transferring power to the front wheels, do both axles experience the same output from the transmission? i ask this because i saw in your diagram that one axle is longer than the other. and why do the gears get physically smaller as you increase speed? wouldnt the car be faster if the gears were all as big as the first or second gear?
If the clutch and transmission extend from the engine to one side (as opposed to straight back in rwd cars), how does the gear stick connect to the transmission?
I got a question! So what about differentials? Do they place differentials in front wheel drive cars? I don't understand how you would get torque steer without a differential, because if there is no differential would the same amount of torque be sent to both of the front wheels? Thanks in advance.
@EngineeringExplained Glad to hear there was no damage! How do you feel about electronic nannies like stability control, traction control, brake assist, etc.? There are times when I want some wheel spin, primarily in snow when I'm pulling out in front of traffic, instead of having the stability control cut engine power and slam the brakes, bringing me to a halt. I wish those systems were fully defeatable.
Hey I have a 93 Acura Legend Coupe, but the engine is set in like a rear wheel drive car. i was looking at my engine wondering how it was front wheel drive, then imagined the transmission kinda making an L shape at the end, what so you think?
Do cars designed in RHD countries like your Acura (Japan) or in LHD countries like a VW Golf (Germany) have the engine on their respective passenger sides to make pedal/gear lever connections more direct, or does it just depend on the engine/gearbox layout? Our LHD (I'm in Canada) Mercedes B Class has the engine on the passenger side; do manufacturers go to the trouble of making a mirror-image layout depending on which side the steering wheel is?
experience, maybe because lighter and more nimble and exit corners just as fast where the rwd slides around a bit. a lil golf beat my friends v8 holden on a powercruise on the twistie bit
Say you have a manual transmission, but a front wheel drive car, how does shifting fit in there being that the transmission is perpendicular with the engine ?
Is that a two or four door integra? And do you find the dipstick hard to put back in? My dad had a '98 integra and I remember that dipstick taking 5 or 6 tries to put back in.
thanks very much for that awesome explanation .. i have a question ,,, in some FWD cars the engine is on the right side and the transmission is on the left ,, is there a difference between this and when the engine is on the left side ? i mean a difference for the torque and acceleration ?
so my question is, for the people who do fwd engine swaps into rear mounted engine cars such as the mr2 or fiero. is the stock set up in those cars pretty much the same as a fwd set up in say a honda or acura, like as far as the trans, diff, and axles
So A CV joint is basically the opposite of a differential in terms that a CV joint spins at the same speed as the transmission but a differential has different velocity distribution?
you have come a long way in 5 years. good job!
Try 9!
try 10 guys!
11 now!
Try 12 years!
Try 13!!! It's incredible how long it has been
Thank you! People have been exceptionally nice tonight! Glad you enjoy the videos my friend!
God I love how old this video is
You’re welcome
in a course of two days I've gone from not knowing anything, to having a deep understanding of how my car works! thanks!
I've gone from understanding nothing, to understanding less
9 years later and you are a huge help. I literally had no idea how it worked and you made it super easy to understand
Love seeing how your channel has always been 100% quality, you deserve your place at the top
one of the best car channels on youtube, hands down!
You have come a long way in 8 years!!!
This has been requested quite a bit. I have already made videos on both, I just need to do some minor editing and get to the junkyard to show some actual examples. But within the coming weeks, they will be up!
Many FWD vehicles have open diffs, so just one wheel will typically spin (though it's possible for both). And yes, an LSD can help so both tires rotate together.
What?? Lsd?? I tried some of that stuff while operating a vehicle one time and hit an armadillo crossing the road cause I thought I was just seeing a visual reenactment of that scene of RANGO 🦎 by my brain. The armadillo was real I found out as he really splattered. In my defense of why I would have thought that the armadillo was an illusion; I HAVE NEVER ONCE SEEN AN ARMADILLO IN MY STATE EVER!!!!!!
There are many ways of turning vertical motion into horizontal motion. I'm not sure of how specifically it's done (probably numerous ways) but any sort of pivoting lever would basically work.
As soon as I saw the front wheel of your car, I recognized it immediately. I had a 2000 Acura Integra LS three-door five-speed in Vogue Silver Metallic. In seven and a half years, it never once leaked a drop of oil or coolant. That five-speed manual is the sweetest shifting manual transmission I've ever experienced. It's also the only FWD vehicle in which I've experienced lift-off oversteer. Thank you for the great videos.
@Aexotica Great call, what I failed to include was the joints at each wheel. There are more universal joints at each tire, I just over-simplified it with this image. With a universal joint at the tire, it can turn with the axle rods changing angle.
@PolishJoe1000 You're welcome, glad you like the videos! I wish I had your luck with the oil and coolant. Did you buy your car new? I bought mine as the third owner, with 84k back in 2007. I've had to replace the radiator (though 10 years isn't bad for a radiator) and many seals as it leaked quite bad. Doesn't leak too much now, but still have to top it off every 1000 miles or so. Transmission is impeccable, and I wish other cars had such good steering feel.
You know, I know most of the driving advantages/disadvantages of fwd from spending far too much time learning about cars in general, but I could never quite grasp the actual mechanical side of it. I knew the engine was mounted transversely, and that somewhere in there was a transfer case and then axles which drive the wheels, but for some reason it only now makes sense how it all works together. Thanks a ton!
Can you tell me some benifits of fwd?
I'm attempting to put a front engine Honda Civic drive train into a rear engine Smart Fortwo and your video helped me understand what I was doing wrong!
What I was doing was trying to mate the Honda Engine to the Smart Transaxle. Instead, what I need to do is cut the axles and use the Honda Engine/Transmission and just modify the rear axle and frame!
I also need to make up a list of what parts came from what car, because I know two seconds after I'm done building this something's going to break and I'm not going to remember where I sourced the parts!
I like how mellow you were in your older videos. Nothing against your newer ones, I'm just a mellow fellow and appreciate the same.
I always like the rickety low budget style videos before people get budgets and go "fancy".
Lol, agree. I'm used to the newer stuff on this channel, but damn this 9 year old video definitely goes to show how much has changed since then, and it's good to see the comparison between the now and then
My man you have come a long way
@KillerZero259 No, power is not necessary equal between the two, and unequal shaft lengths is a big reason for torque steer (the consequence of unequal torque). Many newer fwd cars address this problem with equal length shafts. As far as the gears, I just threw them in there fairly thoughtlessly. Mainly just wanted to show the layout.
i don't know how i ended up here but this was very informative. thanks
Thanks for watching!
ofcourse! Once, the rubber covering under my front bumper had come loose but still attached to both ends of the bumper. The mid section was hanging down. Until i got my mechanic to cut it, I taped it around the metal piece where you have the CV joints on. It was a Civic so I'm thinking it should spun the tape and broke it off?
@EngineeringExplained I was the second owner. It had approximately 47,000 miles. I'm sorry to hear you had to replace the radiator and some seals. I did have to replace the rear control arm bushings as well as the motor that releases the rear hatch. Also, I think my first gear synchros were pretty worn, but I never had to replace the clutch or flywheel. Yes, the steering feel was exemplary!
FWD vehicles do not have bind like 4WD systems because typically FWD drivetrains have an open differential, which allows for differing speeds between the drive tires. Locking differential, if used in 4WD, will have binding if driven on pavement (or other surfaces with high friction).
I surely will eventually, differentials are a topic I have avoided for a while, but will need to get into sometime.
@m00d79 It won't differ anything other than the direction of torque steer, which I will hopefully get into in a future video. Torque and acceleration will be the same. The lengths of the arms going to the wheels will be swapped, with the shorter arm going to the wheel closest to the transmission.
Well if it has to turn the wheels it's simply addressing the issue, but not getting rid of the problem. The driver may not notice it but it would still have it's effect on the dynamics of the vehicle. The tires would have more load than otherwise.
Somewhat, but since the boxer is a flat engine, the crankshaft will be perpendicular to the final drive shafts, so there will still have to be a 90 degree switch like in front engine RWD cars. It can be done with more direct gearing though.
It just increases how quickly the brakes cool down. The downside is there is less surface area for braking. But the purpose is to reduce brake fade by increasing cooling.
Your videos are fantastic! I have just started with my Universities Formula Student team in the UK and the videos are helping me and other new teammates so much! Many thanks
@xe1A1ex The majority of cars understeer. There are many factors involved, but basically if the engine is up front (and the majority of the weight) the car will understeer if you take a corner too fast and hit the brakes. Now, this isn't the same as loss of traction because you put your foot down on the gas. Then it's simply where the driving wheels are. Up front - you go straight. Back tires - you turn around.
How would this prevent the tires from spinning? Seems it would only create more losses and a further complicated drivetrain.
That's a great question! I really don't know, but I would assume the engine would be mirrored in the case of FWD vehicles, and probably left untouched for RWD vehicles.
I have experienced this first hand haha. I simply braked and brought my vehicle to a stop. I guess the logic in accelerating would be that it sends weight to the back, but once the tires are slipping that may not help.
Braking will not be affected (at least not much, if any) by drivetrain. Perhaps AWD would carry slightly more inertia, but FWD vs RWD should be about the same. The reason you're feeling a difference in brakes is probably the cars themselves. Mustangs are marketed as sports cars, so they have nice brakes/tires. What are you comparing to? Chances are they have worse tires/are heavier/etc..
Basically. What car are you referencing that has this setup?
As I mentioned in the description, there should be CV joints near each tire. This allows for the axles to move when the tires rotate.
@MChief6596 It's just as easy. At the front of the transmission there will be two gears with 45 degree angles, transferring the the angle of rotation 90 degrees (the same direction of your tires).
So yes, the car will lean back in RWD, but this is a good thing for RWD because the weight is transferring to the powered wheels, opposite of what is happening in a FWD scenario, where weight is taken away from the powered wheels.
@Degr8n8 FWD cars can have differentials, yes. But I'm not sure about the torque steer, something I'm still working on figuring out. But one thing is the differing arm lengths (driving shafts) have a major impact.
fwd also has a disadvantage in extreme situations, Understeer! when unexpectedly there is something on the road, and you are going fast, the front wheels have to pull the whole car to the side. i have experienced heavy understeer in fwd compared to rwd cars. btw your vids are very informational !!! keep up the work!
Its 2021 and your channel is the best. I just found this video but, found this channel while watching Veloster N DCT videos
What's your reasoning (aside from the drivetrain loss point)?
all i can say is ive owned both fwd and rwd and hes spot on with his pros and cons, my 07 impala was never meant for a 5.3 liter v8 so things like driveshaft, water pump, had to replace i forgot what these 2 bolts are called but its 1 per side and are longer than the factory ones and help align the front tires the correct way so you dont wear them out even faster. those are my main 3 cons i got
Thanks for the great video. You have 2.6 million followers nine years after this video was published. Good job.
No, a differential does not translate to increased grip. The tires will slip only if their frictional limit is overcome.
If it were a solid axle, yes, but the differential allows for the speeds to differ.
@PolishJoe1000 As for the oversteer, I've had my one experience as well. Took an off-ramp too fast in the rain, let off the gas and lightly pressed the brake pedal, and was rolling backwards after a little over compensation. The area was pretty open though so no damage to my car, thankfully.
Very welcome, glad to hear it!
Finally, searching and searching, I found what I was looking for, how are the CVs linked to the engine.
Amazing that I found this in a video from 10 years ago, something that one from 2 weeks ago doesn't have
@PolishJoe1000 Yeah, I don't see why it's mandatory for all vehicles to include it. I think on/off switches should be there for everything, not just traction control. Though ABS is extremely useful, and if I were to attempt to race I'd be scared without it.
Haha, 2 door, and yes, the dipstick can be a pain. Especially if it's dark (at all), then you can't see the small cylinder which holds it.
You are one smart person with a lot of common sense, EngineeringExplained. I work as a technician repairing people's vehicles and see a lot of abused daily drivers with damaged engine and drive line components from exceeding the limitation of the engineering the vehicle was designed for. Racing or abusing your daily driver is not a good idea. Just yesterday the tow truck brought in an 06 Mazda speed6 2.3L turbo with a rod hanging out of the block and the starter in pieces. Boohoo
Then it can use a pinion and ring gear much like a RWD car does, and change the longitudinal rotation into a lateral rotation.
It seems you would just have to add one more mechanical system that translates longitudinal motion into lateral motion.
you have come a long way since this video. Awesome
I have a video on LSD, watch that one. The only difference with a FWD vehicle is that the transmission will typically be geared directly to the differential/diff housing, rather than using a drive shaft and pinion.
Your damn right about the tire wear lol. Haven’t replaced my rear tires in so long because they still have good tread on it. Ive had to replace my front tires once a year
11 years ago? That’s some dedication man!
I work as an application engineer for a lift truck company.
@HawaiiJackJr It certainly is an Integra. Love it; have had it for 4 years now. And yeah that's what they say, InsideLine says it's "the best-handling front-drive chassis ever."
Shouldn't you reply under whoever you're talking to's comment? Maybe old youtube didn't have that option
@@standupyak RUclips changed the way comment sections are saved on their servers a few years ago. They were too lazy to write code to convert reply chains from the older system, so now the replies on old videos just float around willy nilly.
very cool to see how well you are doing man! keep up the good work. i appreciate the help from all of your videos. seeing how old this is makes me stoked
Dude i love you, my brother kept trying to call you on BS so we took a test thing, and i got 96/100 He only got 89/100!
Great work Bro Being a mechanical engineering student these videos help a lot
the reaward force placed onto the ground by each wheel is exacting a momentum on the "steering mechanism".
At equilibrium each wheel is exacting the same force and nothing happens.
The slightest change in conditions, and you're going to feel one wheel winning, and exerting it's force, in the end, onto the steering wheel and your hands.
Changes in condition can be many things. A bit of sand, sligtly more worn tarmac or the incline of the road to make rain run off (typ. felt dur. undertaking).
On a rear wheel drive, the front wheels are just along for the ride, and ready to do your bidding.
Try to (SLOWLY!) aproach the curb at an angle and let the front wheel touch. As you push the car forward, you should feel the steering wheel being afected.
Aproach the curb head on, and there should be nothing.
This is in principal the same as torque steer. When the lateral forces of left and right differs too much.
My friend just got an 05 odyssey with a trailer hitch and the transmission has 1 problem when he shifts into reverse and it hesitates 1 second or so before engaging. I changed 3 1/2qts of fluid without much change in shifting. I know solenoids are problematic any comments like a transaxle problem? Very simple explanation to follow. Great job 👍
To avoid the lost of grip when the car accelerates, why not put kind of portal axle with two small gears to reverse the motion? So the shaf with cv-joint turns in one direction, but the wheel turns in the other.
Absolutely live these old purely informative videos
If I consider the front wheels as fixed, when suddenly accelerating, a momentum is creating through the shafts and tend to sag the car on their rear wheels. It's the case where the shafts turn the same direction as the wheels. If the shafts were to turn in a opposite direction than the wheels, the car would rise regarding their rear wheels and most of the weight would be transfered to the front rather than the back, increasing grip.
See my video "Car steering - Rack and Pinion" should help answer your question. Cheers!
Please Explain Longitudinal FWDs
So how are you able to turn the front tires if they are the ones connected to the engine without completely destroying your axles or messing up the engine? Does the entire configuration move with the tires, including the engine and transmission, to keep the proper alignment?
I googled this because I’ve never really thought how a FWD car works and by looking at that diagram I had the right idea in my head 😅
The problem with FWD is not only uneven tire wear but also unwanted tire wear (e.g. saw teeth) at the rear axle on newer cars with multi-link rear axles. I have seen this a lot on newer Audi and Volkswagen FWD cars which have pretty good rear axles, sometimes even with XDS which do not cause much tire rub in the curves anymore. If you drive them without load (no backseat passengers, no luggage in the trunk) and oftentimes just straight on on the motorway, the rear axle remains a slightly positive camber which causes enormous saw teeth on the inner side of the rear tires just after 5000-8000 miles. You maybe wanna do a separate video on how saw teeth arise?
The transmission and engine are parallel.
so you are saying that they will have some sort of a central differential to guide the power from engine to the front axle, did i get it right?
Though Your an engineer, I can't give you a mechanical reason but somehow front wheel drive is really good on the twisty roads maybe the front wheels grip better or something.
I believe lower weight, short wheel base, the car usually is 900kg - 1,200kg generally smaller in the turn you take your foot off the throttle turn hard then as you exit go fast out of the corner.
If you have an electronic power steering system, it corrects the steering to always stay straight, eliminating one of the cons of a FWD system(torque steering).
your all presentation about all mechanisms is very nice i can see your all presentation
Great explanation, This guy has potential ! 😎
when transferring power to the front wheels, do both axles experience the same output from the transmission? i ask this because i saw in your diagram that one axle is longer than the other.
and why do the gears get physically smaller as you increase speed? wouldnt the car be faster if the gears were all as big as the first or second gear?
If the clutch and transmission extend from the engine to one side (as opposed to straight back in rwd cars), how does the gear stick connect to the transmission?
Yes.
Essentially, yes.
I got a question! So what about differentials? Do they place differentials in front wheel drive cars? I don't understand how you would get torque steer without a differential, because if there is no differential would the same amount of torque be sent to both of the front wheels? Thanks in advance.
@EngineeringExplained Glad to hear there was no damage! How do you feel about electronic nannies like stability control, traction control, brake assist, etc.? There are times when I want some wheel spin, primarily in snow when I'm pulling out in front of traffic, instead of having the stability control cut engine power and slam the brakes, bringing me to a halt. I wish those systems were fully defeatable.
Do the rear wheels in a front wheel driven vehicle slip when cornering due to there not being a differential at the rear axle of the car?
Hey I have a 93 Acura Legend Coupe, but the engine is set in like a rear wheel drive car.
i was looking at my engine wondering how it was front wheel drive, then imagined the transmission kinda making an L shape at the end, what so you think?
Do cars designed in RHD countries like your Acura (Japan) or in LHD countries like a VW Golf (Germany) have the engine on their respective passenger sides to make pedal/gear lever connections more direct, or does it just depend on the engine/gearbox layout? Our LHD (I'm in Canada) Mercedes B Class has the engine on the passenger side; do manufacturers go to the trouble of making a mirror-image layout depending on which side the steering wheel is?
experience, maybe because lighter and more nimble and exit corners just as fast where the rwd slides around a bit.
a lil golf beat my friends v8 holden on a powercruise on the twistie bit
Do you have a video on why Torque Steer happens?
I will, eventually.
Hey I have a small problem. In FWD front engine type does it have the same good traction for the front two wheels when climbing a hill ?
Say you have a manual transmission, but a front wheel drive car, how does shifting fit in there being that the transmission is perpendicular with the engine ?
Love you too, tell your brother to watch a few videos and he'll be just as bright as you! ;)
Is that a two or four door integra? And do you find the dipstick hard to put back in? My dad had a '98 integra and I remember that dipstick taking 5 or 6 tries to put back in.
thanks very much for that awesome explanation ..
i have a question ,,, in some FWD cars the engine is on the right side and the transmission is on the left ,, is there a difference between this and when the engine is on the left side ? i mean a difference for the torque and acceleration ?
Both.
so my question is, for the people who do fwd engine swaps into rear mounted engine cars such as the mr2 or fiero. is the stock set up in those cars pretty much the same as a fwd set up in say a honda or acura, like as far as the trans, diff, and axles
By what principle does the integral differential distribute torque to the CV axles? Is it like an open rear diff? Does anyone make an LSD transaxle?
So A CV joint is basically the opposite of a differential in terms that a CV joint spins at the same speed as the transmission but a differential has different velocity distribution?