The average drivers cares about being able to talk about his RWD car, but doesn't car about the driving differences...
overst33r
Diamond Member
- Oct 3, 2004
- 5,761
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Wrong. I can tell the difference between a push or a pull. The difference is felt when accelerating from a stand-still. Those "slight" handling characteristics will not be felt in normal driving conditions because normal conditions do not involve taking corners with the tires squealing.
To me the difference is apparent in every FR and RWD vehicle I have driven/been driven in compared to a FF car. Even in large trucks like a Chevy Avalanche or a Ford Expedition, under mild driving, a push vs. a pull is still more than apparent.
I vote yes, but I might be slanted. My car's engine is in the back so making it FWD would make it nearly undrivable.
JulesMaximus
No Lifer
- Jul 3, 2003
- 74,584
- 985
- 126
SketchMaster
Diamond Member
- Feb 23, 2005
- 3,100
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Originally posted by: MercenaryForHire
Understeer is when the front of the car hits the wall first.
Oversteer is when the rear of the car hits the wall first.
Horsepower determines how fast you hit the wall.
Torque determines how far you carry the wall with you.
- M4H
*Honda driver* Torque? Is that, like, rim size or something?
AMDZen
Lifer
- Apr 15, 2004
- 12,589
- 0
- 76
You people saying you can tell the difference between FWD, RWD just driving completely normally (normal for you might be getting it from a stop so normal for normal people) are full of it.
Its probably because you know cars well enough that you'd never be suprised. You can name any car and I can tell you if its RWD or FWD off the top of my head. But I'm not naive enough to think I could tell without getting the throttle just a little or a little gravel or something.
Its probably because you know cars well enough that you'd never be suprised. You can name any car and I can tell you if its RWD or FWD off the top of my head. But I'm not naive enough to think I could tell without getting the throttle just a little or a little gravel or something.
I was going to say yes because I consider myself an average driver and I can tell, but my friend was complaining yesterday because he heard RWD is worse in snow and he has a Ford Contour... So I had to tell him that it was FWD. So I guess when discussing people like him (who admittedly is kind of out there) I'd say no they can't tell.
geecee
Platinum Member
- Jan 14, 2003
- 2,383
- 43
- 91
I learned to drive on a 70s vintage RWD Chevy Malibu. My next car was a RWD 80s Ford Fairmont. My next couple of cars were FWD (late 80's Camry and mid 90's Sentra). Definitely a different feel driving those cars. Then again, both RWD cars I drove were American tanks with 6 or 8 cylnder engines and the two Japanese cars were dinky compacts with little 4 bangers so I suppose they would drive differently regardless. 
EDIT: I can say that I could tell the difference when I drove my then GFs Volvo 240 in the early 90s (when I had the Camry). Of course, that was because I seemed to always be driving her Volvo in bad weather (and fishtailing it). Honestly, I can't really tell the difference right now between my wife's AWD and my FWD.
EDIT: I can say that I could tell the difference when I drove my then GFs Volvo 240 in the early 90s (when I had the Camry). Of course, that was because I seemed to always be driving her Volvo in bad weather (and fishtailing it). Honestly, I can't really tell the difference right now between my wife's AWD and my FWD.
I doubt the average driver can, but like others here I can...
Just making a turn at normal speeds I can tell just in the feeling of the steering and the motion of the car. There is a difference in the angle of the turn...
Just making a turn at normal speeds I can tell just in the feeling of the steering and the motion of the car. There is a difference in the angle of the turn...
Zenmervolt
Elite member
- Oct 22, 2000
- 24,514
- 44
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Average driver, average situations, won't notice.
The easiest place for me to tell the difference is putting power down in a corner, I can't really describe it, but the feel is definitely different. For a car that's not a sportscar though, I don't see enough of a difference to warrant one over the other.
It's pretty likely that I'll be trading the Mustang in soon on a FWD car because I just don't need to have 3 sportscars and I really miss having a functional rear seat. The S70 I've test driven feels just fine. Not the same, but perfectly OK for the sort of driving anyone can safely do on public roads.
ZV
The easiest place for me to tell the difference is putting power down in a corner, I can't really describe it, but the feel is definitely different. For a car that's not a sportscar though, I don't see enough of a difference to warrant one over the other.
It's pretty likely that I'll be trading the Mustang in soon on a FWD car because I just don't need to have 3 sportscars and I really miss having a functional rear seat. The S70 I've test driven feels just fine. Not the same, but perfectly OK for the sort of driving anyone can safely do on public roads.
ZV
JDub02
Diamond Member
- Sep 27, 2002
- 6,209
- 1
- 0
Dry road for everyday driving -> just a bit if pulling out kind of quick. most FWD cars have torque steer to some degree.
I notice the difference more if the roads are a little slick. I went from driving a truck to a FWD car and they are way different in the snow. The truck (RWD) has a strong tendency to spin out while the car has a strong tendency not to turn, especially if I give it gas through a turn.
I notice the difference more if the roads are a little slick. I went from driving a truck to a FWD car and they are way different in the snow. The truck (RWD) has a strong tendency to spin out while the car has a strong tendency not to turn, especially if I give it gas through a turn.
Just by itself, "average driver" will mean that they can't feel or understand any damn thing about the car. Let alone which end of it is powered.
People who actually care about driving should be able to feel the presence or lack of torque steer, but there are a lot of newer FWD cars that do a great job of masking that.
Back when I had a Ford Escort, I could absolutely feel that it was a Front Puller. No doubt at all, but that's an easy example.
JulesMaximus
No Lifer
- Jul 3, 2003
- 74,584
- 985
- 126
Yeah, I wouldn't mind a little more weight up front myself. I did the battery relocation mod, but I still get a bit of intro understeer when entering a corner hot without being on the brakes.
Bwahaha, spoken like someone who's never driven RWD in the snow.
I have, many times. And yes, you have to be careful, and a bit of weight back there doesn't hurt. But "useless"? Don't be ridiculous. In fact, sometimes you can even climb snowy hills better with RWD
I agree with this. One of my coworkers, an otherwise extremely smart dude, asked me just the other day which was better in the snow (FWD or RWD), and which his new Sentra was...
It's tough to get a real A-B test.
A Civic is FWD and a Miata is RWD and you can definitely tell them apart...but there's a lot more that goes into making a Miata a Miata than just RWD
DainBramaged
Lifer
- Jun 19, 2003
- 23,454
- 41
- 91
Useless is a pretty big word. I have no problem getting around in my big pickup truck when it snows and it's RWD.
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