Awd And Rwd Question

[Iconic Bionic]

At my local Subaru dealer on the weekend assisting a friend by an outback, where I get told "With the AWD you can go faster around corners".

I say "Why is that"?

The reply is "With the AWD symetrical system you can take corners faster then rear and front wheel drive cars"

Of recent I believed that this was a myth, proported by manufacturers of AWD vehicles, especially Subaru. Its my understanding that 2 identical cars, one with AWD and the other with RWD under the same conditions, that neither would take a corner faster than the other. The AWD does not aid a vehicles cornering speed or effect it, and that cornering speed is more related to the road surface, tyres, suspension set up and driver skill, but again not influenced by AWD.

An AWD system is, however, beneficial in many other areas of driving, such as the wet, and off the mark stuff.

Anyways.

I.B.

Edited 14/10/08 09:37 AM by Iconic Bionic

[trevs]

given all factors being the same weight of car, tyres and suspension set up I reckon its about the same though I guess a rwd tends to but in real world conditions id say the average driver would be able to drive faster with more confidence in fwd and 4wd drives because they tend to understeer .

And most inexperienced drivers sh*t themself when losing the ass of rwd carS but will still drive like idoits all day in the rain in front wheel drive cars young woman drivers are prime examples take notice next time it rains how many of them drive at the same if not faster than normal speeds in heavry rain

I FOUND THESE COMENTS ON THE WEB I GUESS THEY SUM IT UP REALLY

1. Cheapest-Reliability has nothing to do with it.

2. Best gas mileage

3. Slowest acceleration and top speed.

4. Better than RWD on wet, dirt, grass, gravel, and snow, but worse than AWD.

RWD

1. More expensive.

2. Bad gas mileage, but better than AWD.

3. Best acceleration and top speed.

4. Good cornering on dry pavement.

AWD

1. Most expensive

2. Worst gas mileage, but similar to RWD gas mileage.

3. Almost as good as RWD in acceleratio and top speed.

4. Best cornering on every surface. Best traction and safest

Edited 14/10/08 10:05 AM by trevs

[neo]

im going to say yes it does but I maybe wrong. reason being if you have been in my mates AWD Lancer GSR and the speed we took corners was stupid and it just ducked in and went.

also on a round about at high speed was no problem even my bosses STI same thing. I would never be able to drive my T or any other car I have been in for that matter like the GSR and STI. the girp from all wheels was very helpfull in pulling the car into the bend and pushing it out with the slippage of front or rear.

even when I first got in the GSR and did not know it was AWD I could feel how it sat on the road and sucked into the corners and very responsive. maybe it was the AWD maybe because its just a great car.

[Dagabond]

They'll both always be able to corner as fast as one another....it's just that ones going to come out the other end facing the right way....and one aint....

[trevs]

gsr lancers and wrxs are great cars but I think half the reason they feel so fast is because they push and pull though the corner plus keep in mind xr6turbos handle like a boat compared to a smaller more balanced rwd car like an mx5 or lotus elise

[Chich]

I say it depends on the driver mostly, awd's will be more forgiving than rwd to a certain point, but after that point become more dangerous, basically a rear wheel drive car will tell u to slow the f*ck down long before an awd car will, so if u lose it in an awd its generally at a higher speed with much less warning... if anything I think exit speeds out of corners can be higher in an awd because of the higher grip....

[Mat]

Dags nailed it in one.

An AWD will just hold on longer BUT when things go pear shaped its bad! As Onboost said you'll be carrying more speed into the tree you hit.

While I know many may disagree, the XR6T is far from a "balanced" car. Sure they are fun on the track but they will never be a great handling RWD. Ideal as a street cruiser of course but if you want a nice rwd that handles well, you might find yourself fending off homosexual hairdressers in an MX5 or something

AWD does make a good driver a better driver (except for the new evo's which just drive themselves!!), however keep in mind AWD are generally marketed as track cars (ie EVO / STi / GTR) so they have better weight distribution (and 400kg less!), better suspension, better brakes and better tyres so they would want to handle better. The other thing is that how many XR6T's are putting out 320rwkw+ but cant get it to the ground..

AWD can understeer like crazy too. But then again so did my car at our last AHG track day

In my experience (having owned my BF XR6T and WRX side by side in 2007) on the same (private) twisty roads I enjoy, the WRX was much faster and handled better. BUT then again you cant compare a 1200kg AWD to a 1800kg RWD. WRX was much cheaper on fuel but cost twice as much to insure for half the value of the new XR.

Edited 14/10/08 03:36 PM by Mat

[XR06T]

mid corner speed is all to do with tyres and suspension, not drivetrain.

[Guest]

AWD are for girls... No rear end sliding action!

[Butto]

My understanding (not all that f*cking good anyway) of why its true is because of the power distribution.

Our cars can be fast around corners but many of us know that we cant power around a corner too quickly or else we're gonna lose the rear end.

My logic is because the power in an AWD car is distributed to 4 wheels (think its like about 60:40 or sumthing for sub's) you can power down a lot quicker through a corner and still maintain grip with the road.

Of coarse the only way to prove this is 2 get identical cars one RWD and one AWD and thrash them round the track.

Anyone offering 2 do a free conversion?