Which drivetrain are you preferring? No matter what you drive don't forget to mod your car at MartiniWorks: bit.ly/4286iRg #carmods #modifiedcars #cars
FWD cars only understeer because people aren't in the throttle you have to slow down before you even turn and once you start your turn get on the gas and it will pull you around the corner no understeer. Try it
@@Bertinator-nm9ld it's also possible to do both in a FWD Use handbrake to break rear tires loose start the slide kick the clutch and steer to achieve similar effect as AWD drifting Just handbrake to somewhat slide like RWD. My favorite thing to do in the snow is get up to 7-15 mph in reverse, set the handbrake and crank the wheel to lock. The car will rotate like a frisbee and you can lead it into the *cleanest* FWD donuts if you can shift from reverse to 2nd 90° into the spin.
@@russellschlack3950If you have a light enough car that's set up properly, it's super easy to get a FWD car to oversteer. Just throw it into a corner and the rear end will kick out on you.
Some fwd cars like my 2001 Integra are balanced to allow the driver oversteer if the car isn’t rotating as much as you’d like. I learned that the scary way by coming off the gas too sharply while halfway through a sharp corner in the rain, but the car and I survived it and it’s another little tool I can pull out while driving. This balance towards lift off oversteer combined with double wishbone suspension in the front is a great way to counter that primary weakness of fwd
My Focus puts a lot of extra weight on the front, but I've been getting good slides in the rain when using left foot for brake + clutch, and right foot for gas. I'd only try that on the focus tho
I'm RWD guy but I've given serious thought to the elantra, veloster, and even kona N. They seem like a ton of fun. Hyundai poaching all the BMW M people is such a weird timeline
People who hate on fwd never mastered the art of lift off oversteer. Anyone can oversteer in a rwd car and call it day but doing it in a fwd car takes a lot of skill because you have focus on the accelerator pedal and less on the brakes, whilst in a rwd vehicle if you try to power through a corner you’re going to spin out.
I’ve driven tons of cars and for me by far the funnest is RWD. It’s such an exhilarating driving experience. Awd and fwd are more practical but nothing tops the thrill of rwd
@@beymaster102depends on situation. Rwd can oversteer (drift) and lose control and fwd is more common to understeer which is when your brake and cannot steer because cars weight is on the front tires. Also rwd is harder for most people in slippery conditions like rain or snow.
@@beymaster102Probably RWD because people don’t know how to control them. But it’s easier to gain control when you lose it in a RWD. If you lose control in a FWD you’re screwed
RWD is the best for sure. It feels natural and is the most fun layout. Tho traction limits are a lot less. AWD is close second, but there are always 2 negatives with AWD.. -Theyre heavier and typically get worse MPG.
And AWD cars have less wheel hp, due to transmission loss. What you consider a positive in RWD is considered a negative in AWD and front wheel drive cars, and in most applications RWD. Top fuel dragsters, F1, and many high speed racing cars are RWD. RWD are performance cars but traction and grip is actually their weakness, in all applications apart from drifting.
Thank you for an excellent summary. I agree that all drivetrains can be made to work well. Rear wheel drive is my favourite, because it is the system used by classic sports cars and it is lighter than four wheel drive. As Colin Campbell advocated, "Just add lightness".
Pretty much the only benefit that comes with fwd is higher efficiency and lower powertrain losses. When you get to higher power levels you’ll notice the ugly parts of fwd. You’ll have torque steer due to uneven trans axles which sometimes isn’t an issue on certain cars that try to even them out but typically is an issue and isn’t fixable without a transmission swap. You’ll have wheel hop and lack of grip. This is from the weight transfer when you really get on it which causes weight to come off the front allowing the wheels to spin and occasionally grip up which will bounce them. This can be fixed by fitting stiffer suspension and tightening the body to the frame via a dogbone or replacing subframe hardware. You also will run into issues with the transaxles. Awd cars also have this issue and it’s due to a sudden heavy load being put onto the transaxles. You’ll snap them, damage boots, or if you’re running a type of carbon fiber or composite transaxle you can crack them. There’s not a lot you can do to prevent this since it’s just the nature of low powertrain losses and sudden high stress events. This happens when you actually find grip in a fwd car from a dig and you’ll see this happening at drag strips on occasions. Obviously the bad for the fwd platform is having serious understeer when you’re cornering and trying to apply power. The obvious solution is to not give your car power through a corner or give it minimal power to prevent sliding the front tires. You can also combat this with grippier tires, stiffer suspension, stiffer sway bars, and weight reduction. Another easy solution is to prevent turning the wheel quickly since that can cause a loss of traction or to take a line more suited for fwd cars which limits how far you actually have to turn the wheels to get through the corner. I personally prefer awd since you get the most grip at the cost of the most power train losses. I most enjoy rwd for the ability to induce oversteer easily and slide around whenever I want. And I love fwd because they require the most work to drive fast due to fighting torque steering, lack of grip, and preventing understeer. The real benefit that most people don’t see with fwd cars is the amount of speed you can achieve with them. Imagine having three identical cars but ones fwd, ones rwd and ones awd. You’ll notice the fwd car will pull ahead and it’s due to a lower drive train loss. Another thing is fwd is typically lighter which means a 450whp GTI will smoke a 450whp mustang till drag catches up to it and the mustang pulls on by. You can’t go wrong with any platform you just have to choose the one that’ll have the strengths and weaknesses that suits you.
A front ARB disconnect and an oversized rear ARB will allow you to oversteer a FWD. You're inducing a "lift off" condition on the rear, but it works since you are putting power down up front.
Everything in its right place. They all have their perks and drawbacks. It all really depends on what you want to do with the car. For example, I love AWD snow drifting. It's a bloody BLAST!!! The rest of the car is also pragmatic as a daily.
Each drivetrain has its pros and cons. Ex: people expected my civic would understeer only to be surprised when it oversteered as i was power sliding turns. Its all in the specs and tuning for any given car.
I’ve only ever owned fwd cars unintentionally. 18 nissan sentra for my first, 23 elantra Nline for my second. When I get my hands in a rwd… IT’S A WRAP. These rainy florida back roads is getting the WORK
I experience understeer in AWD cars too. FWD isn’t so bad as long as you know what to do (and they’re built). I would still love to do something really crazy with my mkIV Jetta. I’m certain it’s been done with other platforms but it would be the first of its kind for Volkswagen
I’m biased but my 05 WRX that I’m converting into an STi has so much grip and has helped me so much in bad road conditions I’d have to saw AWD. There’s nothing like being able to have your tires grip in a snow storm, but also have the ability to do donuts in a parking lot. Not to mention some people who are pushing 475hp at the crank are doing 1/4 miles in 10 seconds. So they can be fast, they can slide when you want them to, and they’re fantastic in bad weather conditions.
On a track, I’ve had more awd cars under steer on me than felt wheel drive, both are easily prevented as long as you know your car and know how to drive it, on a fwd suspension set up is really crucial, you can really get rid of under steer tendencies with proper suspension, but that goes for all cars. I’ve seen quite a few new drives just nose dive their corvettes into corners lol.
My car I drive rn is a fwd car, and I have drove around 35 and 45 mph curves doing around 55 to 60 miles per hour, granted fwds do suffer from understeer, but any skilled driver can find a solution to go around curves without understeer being as noticeable
Well when it comes to rear wheel drive it depends on the TYPE of rear wheel drive cause theres FR, FMR (Front Mid mounted Rear drive), MR, and RR. All four types give very unique handling characteristics. Personally I like FF. Usually lighter cars with, for the most part, badass engines, and those cars teach you about throttle control better than any rear wheel drive car can simply cause if you use too much throttle you understeer. Understeer is way easier to compensate for than oversteer. And if you don't believe me just look at Porsche's Widowmaker or drive a MR2 on a mildly damp cloverleaf
My opinion. Front or rear, with the engine on top of the drive wheels you get less mechanical waste but you have more storage with FWD. So daily driven econony cars are best as front engine FWD. Rear engine cars get the efficiency of FF but still have the performance of FR. The loss of both is you don't have a direct connection with the transmission (cables). Plus you don't have much storage unless you stick the engine past the rear axle like Porsche. AWD simply has the huge advantage of getting the power down on an imperfect road surface. The downlides being a weaker drivetrain (they do break easier from getting shocked repeatedly) and they simply won't be as economical. I've owned both FF and FR vehicles, prefer FR, want to get a Subaru some day but just can't afford one that isn't a rust bucket. The next best thing is building the Jeep TJ I have now. Planning on keeping it stock height or lower. It's a breeze to maintain btw. Also I do believe there is a huge mechanical difference between AWD and 4x4. I prefer 4x4.
My vote is awd, but I race rallycross on a dirt track and my preferred route for commute is on gravel roads. Although I don’t think I've driven rwd aside from trucks.
Best is AWD. Love Hondas but in a track setting having 2x the grip, Better weight overall, And the ability to actually make the power stick allows for alot better drive overall. But I still love me some Hondas no matter what.
Fwd understeer because no one seems to understand that going aggressive in corners is what makes it do that. If you drive it properly it can sometimes even oversteet
There's a lot of factors but objectively without any cost restrictions and full technological limits being hit AWD is going to be faster in every scenario although when costs come down and technology is simplified RWD becomes an option maybe if there was a race class of highly strict rule set fwd could be competitive but it would always be a struggle to stay competitive
The things you can do with AWD, just look at how the Lancer Evo X FQ models handle, all that torque, all that control makes for one of the sharpest and most focused cars you’ll get
They're the best at their own purposes: FWD at being less expensive and the most efficient in turning fuel into milage (even in racing), RWD at being fun to drive and giving better towing capacities with resonable fuel consumption (compared to an AWD) and AWD is the best at putting maximum power to the ground at lowest speeds since there is no asix to be towed or pushed within the limits of 2-wheel grip like it is in FWD or RWD.
I have own all 3 types they are all fun in their own right. In saying that I have had fun in every car and truck I have driven. I guess I'm easy to please. But given the choice I would take a rear drive even though I currently drive a Subaru and I really enjoy it.
Unrelated driving competitively we had a 2002 Chevy cavalier and it was really hard to get it stuck like you could go places the Dodge 2500 would never go in the winter
only once I had AWD in the form of xDrive and personally found it frustrating, as soon as the tail slips and looks like the fun is beginning the front grabs traction and u straight again..
My Audi Torsen AWD with torque splitting gives me the best of both worlds of RWD/AWD. I can get it to powerslide like an RWD (not gnna say drift as it wont, at least not well). But get the stability and launch of AWD and great control in any weather. Love it! Pure RWD is more fun though.
RWD is fun for highway and moderate turns, AWD is for off-road and inclement weather, and FWD is for learning how to actually drive. If you can’t manage a FWD car, you have no business learning RWD later on. Too many people in the US focus on straight line speed and that’s not all there is to offer.
Each of the three platforms have their place that they excel in, its just about being open to different types/styles of driving as well as different builds, the debate cant really be which one is better when they all fall short in different categories. Its like a rock paper scissors sort of deal when you think about it. Like sure they can all kinda do the same thing, but the other can just do it better. All i can say is if you havent dedicated time in properly learning a car of each layout or havent tried a different style of driving I'd suggest that you do.
The best drive train layout is the drivettain on the car you own and love Idk if FF are understeery and an MR will beat it on track. You cant have fun in an MR if you cant drive an MR. You can have fun in an FF if you want to.
Personally I’m a sucker for FWD and AWD, we can all agree for example if u come across a sleeper civic or even a fully modded out civic/ Honda with slicks on the front wheels or even all 4 and a intercooler up front and a laptop in the passenger seat. Ur either dealing with a difficult kill or not at all.
Honestly, y'all forgot two drivetrains: MR and RR. Or, Mid-Engine/Rear-Wheel, and Rear Engine/Rear Wheel. Essentially, an MR car is the Toyota MR2, amd the RR car is a classic Porsche 911 or an old-school VW Bug.
Fwd has packaging advantages and can be fun, rwd is fun but has packaging disadvantage and can be more difficult to control once the rear steps out so it can be more dangerous as correcting it means increasing speed which is not always a real option. AWD/4wd is best when its variable and can send power to the rear more than the front. But the packaging is often worse than rwd. Electric 100% variable AWD is best for versatility but no real engine means the sensations are less intriguing most of the times.
My analysis (puts glasses on) FWD - Less weight and drivetrain loss. - No central hump so more rear passenger leg room. - Slight traction advantage on unsealed surfaces compared to RWD. - Understeer is easier to handle than oversteer. - Easy to do burnouts. RWD - Weight transfer to rear under hard acceleration which aids traction. - Can better handle large power and power when exiting corners. - Better for towing than FWD. - No understeer under power. - Less weight and drivetrain loss than AWD. - Can do mad skids wit da bois. AWD - Can handle bigger power generally better. - Better traction advantage on unsealed surfaces. - Like RWD is more compatible with large types of engine configurations. - Can do those sick donuts on the spot.
I prefer RWD than FWD as its easier to modulate the handling. Braking and engine brake all at the same time distribute the braking better, unlike in FWD where the cars weight transfered solely to the front. However, FWD hatchback is also fun as they flick easier than sedan But thats my two cent, perhaps better driver here has tips on how to drive better in corners using FWD
Front wheel drive is perfectly fine for going fast if you know how to induce oversteer with the brakes/shifting weight. The only advantage of front wheel drive is that when your sideways, you can just point your wheels where you want to go and put the power down. Combine those two and you just might be fast enough for all the front wheel drive haters in the RUclips comments to shut up 😂
What I think? They all have their advantages and disadvantages. RWD is the most fun and best for high performance cars. FWD is best for driving in snow and so is safest and best for going to and from work every day all year. 4WD is best for off-roading and driving in severe winter conditions if you live in the far north and mountainous regions.
Awd slides are just so good I can watch rally clips for hours
for real, i got this short recommended from a wrc video too
yes, but rwd rally is cool too
@@wyattmadsonbut not as fast
@@Turbodiesel1.8 no, but there were some rwd cars beating awd in the 80s.
@@wyattmadson because back then awd was primitive.
bro the 2 "awd" subarus you put were rwd converted drift cars
yea
so what, it was just used as an example
Trying to make it look like AWD is fun so all the guys with 180hp audis and subies can mentally justify their purchase
@@wob6776acting like 180hp 4wd cant be fun? Lmao
@@AveragePootis Well I had that, and it wasn't. Bought a 4th gen LS1 F-Body and I'm infinitely happier with it.
FWD understeers, RWD Oversteers and AWD does both, you just get to decide which one you want to do 😂
Except Audi, that one got only 3 options. Understeer, big understeer and clunky donuts possible only on snow.
FWD cars only understeer because people aren't in the throttle you have to slow down before you even turn and once you start your turn get on the gas and it will pull you around the corner no understeer. Try it
RWD can definitely do both, if you work at it hard enough!
@@Bertinator-nm9ld it's also possible to do both in a FWD
Use handbrake to break rear tires loose start the slide kick the clutch and steer to achieve similar effect as AWD drifting
Just handbrake to somewhat slide like RWD.
My favorite thing to do in the snow is get up to 7-15 mph in reverse, set the handbrake and crank the wheel to lock. The car will rotate like a frisbee and you can lead it into the *cleanest* FWD donuts if you can shift from reverse to 2nd 90° into the spin.
@@russellschlack3950If you have a light enough car that's set up properly, it's super easy to get a FWD car to oversteer. Just throw it into a corner and the rear end will kick out on you.
Late 90’s early 2000’s Audis Quattro system was ABSOLUTELY BUILT DIFFERENT
Good ol' audi 90 quattro imsa GTO race car
Some fwd cars like my 2001 Integra are balanced to allow the driver oversteer if the car isn’t rotating as much as you’d like. I learned that the scary way by coming off the gas too sharply while halfway through a sharp corner in the rain, but the car and I survived it and it’s another little tool I can pull out while driving. This balance towards lift off oversteer combined with double wishbone suspension in the front is a great way to counter that primary weakness of fwd
My Focus puts a lot of extra weight on the front, but I've been getting good slides in the rain when using left foot for brake + clutch, and right foot for gas. I'd only try that on the focus tho
Hyundai N changed my view of FWD.
❤ my VN
I'm RWD guy but I've given serious thought to the elantra, veloster, and even kona N. They seem like a ton of fun. Hyundai poaching all the BMW M people is such a weird timeline
Type R for me
I'm stuck between FWD and RWD but at the end of the day, gotta love the simplicity of two wheel drive
How would FWD even be a thought over AWD?
@@yeetithceetithFWD is easier to control. RWD is also much worse to drive in bad weather
@@BulkMuIch awd is indefinitely more controllable than fwd tho...
@@BulkMuIchfwd not easier than awd
@@yeetithceetith it's more OG and it's more affordable. Also did you not see that i said it's more simple?
People who hate on fwd never mastered the art of lift off oversteer. Anyone can oversteer in a rwd car and call it day but doing it in a fwd car takes a lot of skill because you have focus on the accelerator pedal and less on the brakes, whilst in a rwd vehicle if you try to power through a corner you’re going to spin out.
Learning more about lift off oversteer definitely changed my view on fwd cars. The mk5 golf platform was game changing in how I feel driving an fwd.
What's boring about it anyway is that you're always slowing down while sliding in fwd
up here in Canada the order for all year driving is AWD>FWD>RWD.
Fact RWD in snow is horrible haha when i see those commercial ford transit stay stuck everywhere it just show how RWD isn’t meant for winter
Tires are insanely important, most people think all seasons do the job, they dont. @@Dan2257
same lineup in Norway
SNOW TIRES > AWD > FWD > RWD
I love running my manual RWD mustang through the Michigan winters. It's a beast, when kitted out with proper snow tires!
The order of greatness goes AWD>RWD>FWD
fwd is better for general grip than rwd
@@Mrslidewayswell now that’s not very fun is it?
@@mocsmore1308 u got a point there lmao. but integra go brr
@@Mrslidewaystorque steer for days
Nope, rwd is bestest
"Which drivetrain is the best?"
"Yes."
I’ve driven tons of cars and for me by far the funnest is RWD. It’s such an exhilarating driving experience. Awd and fwd are more practical but nothing tops the thrill of rwd
Hail yaeh borther
I have a question!
What’s more common to lose control on FWD or RWD?
@@beymaster102depends on situation. Rwd can oversteer (drift) and lose control and fwd is more common to understeer which is when your brake and cannot steer because cars weight is on the front tires. Also rwd is harder for most people in slippery conditions like rain or snow.
@@beymaster102Probably RWD because people don’t know how to control them. But it’s easier to gain control when you lose it in a RWD. If you lose control in a FWD you’re screwed
@@themomofmemes467big cap
I'm glad you showed the 7th gen Celica for a fun front wheel drive car because those things are pretty tight
RWD is the best for sure. It feels natural and is the most fun layout. Tho traction limits are a lot less. AWD is close second, but there are always 2 negatives with AWD.. -Theyre heavier and typically get worse MPG.
And AWD cars have less wheel hp, due to transmission loss. What you consider a positive in RWD is considered a negative in AWD and front wheel drive cars, and in most applications RWD.
Top fuel dragsters, F1, and many high speed racing cars are RWD. RWD are performance cars but traction and grip is actually their weakness, in all applications apart from drifting.
doesn't matter how much hp you have if you don't have traction. for street cars AWD is unbeatable.
Most AWD cars have some nasty understeer.
AWD ❤
fwd is heavily reliant on pedal steering to get thw rear wheels turning
i love them all tbh they all have their ups and downs. all good at their own things.
They're all a blast, but I agree that it definitely just depends on what you're doing with it!
You can have fun in all three
Thank you for an excellent summary. I agree that all drivetrains can be made to work well. Rear wheel drive is my favourite, because it is the system used by classic sports cars and it is lighter than four wheel drive. As Colin Campbell advocated, "Just add lightness".
Vw rabbits with a solid axle will lift a rear wheel and oversteer around corners
yeah on sunny dry day
in snow or rain it wil understeer into a ditch, before the suspension loads up
Pretty much the only benefit that comes with fwd is higher efficiency and lower powertrain losses. When you get to higher power levels you’ll notice the ugly parts of fwd. You’ll have torque steer due to uneven trans axles which sometimes isn’t an issue on certain cars that try to even them out but typically is an issue and isn’t fixable without a transmission swap. You’ll have wheel hop and lack of grip. This is from the weight transfer when you really get on it which causes weight to come off the front allowing the wheels to spin and occasionally grip up which will bounce them. This can be fixed by fitting stiffer suspension and tightening the body to the frame via a dogbone or replacing subframe hardware. You also will run into issues with the transaxles. Awd cars also have this issue and it’s due to a sudden heavy load being put onto the transaxles. You’ll snap them, damage boots, or if you’re running a type of carbon fiber or composite transaxle you can crack them. There’s not a lot you can do to prevent this since it’s just the nature of low powertrain losses and sudden high stress events. This happens when you actually find grip in a fwd car from a dig and you’ll see this happening at drag strips on occasions. Obviously the bad for the fwd platform is having serious understeer when you’re cornering and trying to apply power. The obvious solution is to not give your car power through a corner or give it minimal power to prevent sliding the front tires. You can also combat this with grippier tires, stiffer suspension, stiffer sway bars, and weight reduction. Another easy solution is to prevent turning the wheel quickly since that can cause a loss of traction or to take a line more suited for fwd cars which limits how far you actually have to turn the wheels to get through the corner. I personally prefer awd since you get the most grip at the cost of the most power train losses. I most enjoy rwd for the ability to induce oversteer easily and slide around whenever I want. And I love fwd because they require the most work to drive fast due to fighting torque steering, lack of grip, and preventing understeer. The real benefit that most people don’t see with fwd cars is the amount of speed you can achieve with them. Imagine having three identical cars but ones fwd, ones rwd and ones awd. You’ll notice the fwd car will pull ahead and it’s due to a lower drive train loss. Another thing is fwd is typically lighter which means a 450whp GTI will smoke a 450whp mustang till drag catches up to it and the mustang pulls on by. You can’t go wrong with any platform you just have to choose the one that’ll have the strengths and weaknesses that suits you.
A front ARB disconnect and an oversized rear ARB will allow you to oversteer a FWD. You're inducing a "lift off" condition on the rear, but it works since you are putting power down up front.
okay but that last clip w the gtr 😮💨😻🖤
I live in the Arctic circle. AWD is a must during winters
Everything in its right place. They all have their perks and drawbacks. It all really depends on what you want to do with the car. For example, I love AWD snow drifting. It's a bloody BLAST!!! The rest of the car is also pragmatic as a daily.
Each drivetrain has its pros and cons. Ex: people expected my civic would understeer only to be surprised when it oversteered as i was power sliding turns. Its all in the specs and tuning for any given car.
I can enjoy all worlds. Got a cobalt with FWD, a 2nd gen MR2 mid engine RWD and a bugeye wrx for AWD. Love all of them respectively
Comes down to personal preference. I prefer RWD and AWD
same
this video is fitting for me 1st car was awd, 2nd fwd and now my current is rwd
I’ve only ever owned fwd cars unintentionally. 18 nissan sentra for my first, 23 elantra Nline for my second. When I get my hands in a rwd… IT’S A WRAP. These rainy florida back roads is getting the WORK
I saw the 7th gen celica as a rep for the FWD and I smiled
I experience understeer in AWD cars too. FWD isn’t so bad as long as you know what to do (and they’re built). I would still love to do something really crazy with my mkIV Jetta. I’m certain it’s been done with other platforms but it would be the first of its kind for Volkswagen
I’m biased but my 05 WRX that I’m converting into an STi has so much grip and has helped me so much in bad road conditions I’d have to saw AWD. There’s nothing like being able to have your tires grip in a snow storm, but also have the ability to do donuts in a parking lot. Not to mention some people who are pushing 475hp at the crank are doing 1/4 miles in 10 seconds. So they can be fast, they can slide when you want them to, and they’re fantastic in bad weather conditions.
On a track, I’ve had more awd cars under steer on me than felt wheel drive, both are easily prevented as long as you know your car and know how to drive it, on a fwd suspension set up is really crucial, you can really get rid of under steer tendencies with proper suspension, but that goes for all cars. I’ve seen quite a few new drives just nose dive their corvettes into corners lol.
My car I drive rn is a fwd car, and I have drove around 35 and 45 mph curves doing around 55 to 60 miles per hour, granted fwds do suffer from understeer, but any skilled driver can find a solution to go around curves without understeer being as noticeable
Well when it comes to rear wheel drive it depends on the TYPE of rear wheel drive cause theres FR, FMR (Front Mid mounted Rear drive), MR, and RR. All four types give very unique handling characteristics. Personally I like FF. Usually lighter cars with, for the most part, badass engines, and those cars teach you about throttle control better than any rear wheel drive car can simply cause if you use too much throttle you understeer. Understeer is way easier to compensate for than oversteer. And if you don't believe me just look at Porsche's Widowmaker or drive a MR2 on a mildly damp cloverleaf
My opinion. Front or rear, with the engine on top of the drive wheels you get less mechanical waste but you have more storage with FWD. So daily driven econony cars are best as front engine FWD.
Rear engine cars get the efficiency of FF but still have the performance of FR. The loss of both is you don't have a direct connection with the transmission (cables). Plus you don't have much storage unless you stick the engine past the rear axle like Porsche.
AWD simply has the huge advantage of getting the power down on an imperfect road surface. The downlides being a weaker drivetrain (they do break easier from getting shocked repeatedly) and they simply won't be as economical.
I've owned both FF and FR vehicles, prefer FR, want to get a Subaru some day but just can't afford one that isn't a rust bucket. The next best thing is building the Jeep TJ I have now. Planning on keeping it stock height or lower. It's a breeze to maintain btw. Also I do believe there is a huge mechanical difference between AWD and 4x4. I prefer 4x4.
My vote is awd, but I race rallycross on a dirt track and my preferred route for commute is on gravel roads. Although I don’t think I've driven rwd aside from trucks.
Best is AWD. Love Hondas but in a track setting having 2x the grip, Better weight overall, And the ability to actually make the power stick allows for alot better drive overall. But I still love me some Hondas no matter what.
Fwd understeer because no one seems to understand that going aggressive in corners is what makes it do that. If you drive it properly it can sometimes even oversteet
There's a lot of factors but objectively without any cost restrictions and full technological limits being hit AWD is going to be faster in every scenario although when costs come down and technology is simplified RWD becomes an option maybe if there was a race class of highly strict rule set fwd could be competitive but it would always be a struggle to stay competitive
The things you can do with AWD, just look at how the Lancer Evo X FQ models handle, all that torque, all that control makes for one of the sharpest and most focused cars you’ll get
They're the best at their own purposes: FWD at being less expensive and the most efficient in turning fuel into milage (even in racing), RWD at being fun to drive and giving better towing capacities with resonable fuel consumption (compared to an AWD) and AWD is the best at putting maximum power to the ground at lowest speeds since there is no asix to be towed or pushed within the limits of 2-wheel grip like it is in FWD or RWD.
All different cars Good for different things. Incomparable really
I really like fwd, though I haven't driven too much of the other two. I've been having so much fun in my 2nd gen Mazda 3
modern electronic awd systems take what's good about rwd and then use the awd to get you off the line and keep you out of trouble.
AWD with more power being sent to the rear is king. You get max traction in snow, can drift, and has amazing speed.
More is more, AWD FTW! 🔥 You have both FWD and RWD
The tokyo drift mountain is crazy
I have own all 3 types they are all fun in their own right. In saying that I have had fun in every car and truck I have driven. I guess I'm easy to please. But given the choice I would take a rear drive even though I currently drive a Subaru and I really enjoy it.
Unrelated driving competitively we had a 2002 Chevy cavalier and it was really hard to get it stuck like you could go places the Dodge 2500 would never go in the winter
I like the way RWD handles, all are good options in different applications though.
only once I had AWD in the form of xDrive and personally found it frustrating, as soon as the tail slips and looks like the fun is beginning the front grabs traction and u straight again..
Laughing in model 3 performance which can jump between all 3 options as a feature
Rwd
Easiest to work on
Least picky setup
Best for overall fun
I agree with you they all have their place and time literally and figuratively
My Audi Torsen AWD with torque splitting gives me the best of both worlds of RWD/AWD. I can get it to powerslide like an RWD (not gnna say drift as it wont, at least not well). But get the stability and launch of AWD and great control in any weather.
Love it!
Pure RWD is more fun though.
I would say front wheel drive if we talk about winter autocross
you have an important point. depends on your goals.
It depends on what performance your looking for.
what really matters is that you have a car that you can have fun in
The best drivetrain is individual-wheel drive, ie. an electric motor on each wheel.
AWD for traction, RWD for Fun and FWD for commuting
RWD is fun for highway and moderate turns, AWD is for off-road and inclement weather, and FWD is for learning how to actually drive. If you can’t manage a FWD car, you have no business learning RWD later on. Too many people in the US focus on straight line speed and that’s not all there is to offer.
I like the last GTR drifting in 2wd
Dude talked about AWD, but mentioned Subaru and Mitsubishi, how can you forget Audi? Quattro is legendary.
Imagine omitting the brand that literally made the other brands get into AWD for street cars 😂
I’d say at least rear wheel drive is better than front wheel drive because of the understeer thing. Because that can genuinely be dangerous
Each of the three platforms have their place that they excel in, its just about being open to different types/styles of driving as well as different builds, the debate cant really be which one is better when they all fall short in different categories. Its like a rock paper scissors sort of deal when you think about it. Like sure they can all kinda do the same thing, but the other can just do it better. All i can say is if you havent dedicated time in properly learning a car of each layout or havent tried a different style of driving I'd suggest that you do.
The trick to fwd is to power through the understeer
The best drive train layout is the drivettain on the car you own and love
Idk if FF are understeery and an MR will beat it on track. You cant have fun in an MR if you cant drive an MR. You can have fun in an FF if you want to.
Personally I’m a sucker for FWD and AWD, we can all agree for example if u come across a sleeper civic or even a fully modded out civic/ Honda with slicks on the front wheels or even all 4 and a intercooler up front and a laptop in the passenger seat. Ur either dealing with a difficult kill or not at all.
So i love rear wheel drive cuz ima muslce car guy, but i live where we get cold winters with snow and ice and rear wheel drive sucks for that
as a pro drifter of 15 years awd is great and rwd is good for sliding all floaty slow style
Honestly, y'all forgot two drivetrains:
MR and RR. Or, Mid-Engine/Rear-Wheel, and Rear Engine/Rear Wheel.
Essentially, an MR car is the Toyota MR2, amd the RR car is a classic Porsche 911 or an old-school VW Bug.
Fwd has packaging advantages and can be fun, rwd is fun but has packaging disadvantage and can be more difficult to control once the rear steps out so it can be more dangerous as correcting it means increasing speed which is not always a real option. AWD/4wd is best when its variable and can send power to the rear more than the front. But the packaging is often worse than rwd. Electric 100% variable AWD is best for versatility but no real engine means the sensations are less intriguing most of the times.
idk why but the understeer diagram makes me cackle
RWD + V8 is perfection
FWD drive with a bit power to rear wheels is the best because
most important part is the car cause id love an evo IX or a gr corolla but i would never want an audisteer
fwd has good agility, rwd has good straight line performance, awd is the best of both worlds, like "a jack of all trades, master of none".
Fwd can be pretty fun to whip around
My analysis (puts glasses on)
FWD
- Less weight and drivetrain loss.
- No central hump so more rear passenger leg room.
- Slight traction advantage on unsealed surfaces compared to RWD.
- Understeer is easier to handle than oversteer.
- Easy to do burnouts.
RWD
- Weight transfer to rear under hard acceleration which aids traction.
- Can better handle large power and power when exiting corners.
- Better for towing than FWD.
- No understeer under power.
- Less weight and drivetrain loss than AWD.
- Can do mad skids wit da bois.
AWD
- Can handle bigger power generally better.
- Better traction advantage on unsealed surfaces.
- Like RWD is more compatible with large types of engine configurations.
- Can do those sick donuts on the spot.
I love fwd for daily since I’m always cutting up in traffic 😼
I prefer RWD than FWD as its easier to modulate the handling. Braking and engine brake all at the same time distribute the braking better, unlike in FWD where the cars weight transfered solely to the front. However, FWD hatchback is also fun as they flick easier than sedan
But thats my two cent, perhaps better driver here has tips on how to drive better in corners using FWD
Its awd and when you can transfer the power by shutting down the fwd option then boom you got all three in one car
all wheel drive, i want an evo or subie so bad but everyone say spare the headache
I like Mazda's all-wheel drive on the new s. U. V. That is when I wanted to see
Srt 4 neon you stay on the gas into corners you just gotta tell yourself the front end is pulling me through it
No bias awd>4wd>fwd>rwd but imo rwd>all the others simply because it’s more fun
Die hard rear wheel drive but I’d take front wheel over all wheel
I think we can agree it's awd vs rwd
Rwd is way more fun in snow. None of that pesky “traction” to worry about…
Front wheel drive is perfectly fine for going fast if you know how to induce oversteer with the brakes/shifting weight. The only advantage of front wheel drive is that when your sideways, you can just point your wheels where you want to go and put the power down. Combine those two and you just might be fast enough for all the front wheel drive haters in the RUclips comments to shut up 😂
Downhill racing? Fwd. Tracks? Rwd. Rally? Fwd, awd. Offroading? 4wd, awd.
When are people going to finally embrace the superiority of LWD (Left Wheel Drive)? Where the two left wheels deliver all the power?
What I think?
They all have their advantages and disadvantages.
RWD is the most fun and best for high performance cars.
FWD is best for driving in snow and so is safest and best for going to and from work every day all year.
4WD is best for off-roading and driving in severe winter conditions if you live in the far north and mountainous regions.
Depending on the car FWD can be just as effective as RWD, like the Honda integra
I like FWD , it's not bad
All wheel is overall the best
Rwd for fun, drift, drag, fwd for cheap, awd for practicality and pure performance
As a drift guy I personally prefer RWD cuz FWD is not usually the first thing when u wanna drift 💀💀