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Which Drivetrain is better in winter driving, FWD or RWD?
- Thread starter Solodays
- Start date
nismotigerwvu
Golden Member
Personally, I prefer my RWD setup.
First and foremost, it is what I'm most familiar/comfortable with and I know exactly how my 240 is going to react in any given situation.
Second off, my first wheels to lose traction are not the ones that steer me, just the ones that propel me so if I point my front tires where I want to go and back off the throttle I'm right back in line.
This is all contingent on my LSD functioning correctly as well as my snow tires getting a decent bite as a worn LSD and crappy tires would more than likely make the car undriveable in the white stuff.
This is just my preference and by no means a law and I'm dead certain someone will quote me and explain their preference as this debate has been going on for pretty much forever.
First and foremost, it is what I'm most familiar/comfortable with and I know exactly how my 240 is going to react in any given situation.
Second off, my first wheels to lose traction are not the ones that steer me, just the ones that propel me so if I point my front tires where I want to go and back off the throttle I'm right back in line.
This is all contingent on my LSD functioning correctly as well as my snow tires getting a decent bite as a worn LSD and crappy tires would more than likely make the car undriveable in the white stuff.
This is just my preference and by no means a law and I'm dead certain someone will quote me and explain their preference as this debate has been going on for pretty much forever.
angry hampster
Diamond Member
Depends if you know how to drive. FWD is great in winter for idiots who don't know how to correct a skid. However, a good driver in a RWD car will be able to take advantage of skids. I prefer RWD/4WD.
Demon-Xanth
Lifer
RWD. It doesn't snow here, but a RWD vehicle with a limited slip diff and crappy tires is fun 🙂
Zenmervolt
Elite member
Right, but for the wrong reason. FWD is generally better simply because there is more weight over the drive wheels. The old RWD Volkswagen Beetle was an amazingly good car in the snow (if you didn't mind the fact that you froze to death from an ineffective heater and had to drive with an ice-scraper in one hand to de-ice the inside of the windshield) because its engine was in the rear, over the drive wheels.
Steering with the drive wheels actually reduces the ability to put down power because traction is a fixed value and if the drive wheels are required to provide additional lateral traction (as the steered wheels are) then there is less traction available with which to apply motive force. This is actually the major reason that FWD cars suffer power-on understeer; the ability of the front tires to provide lateral grip is reduced due to the demand that they also provide motive force, which results in both less lateral grip and less motive force being applied.
All of that said, a RWD car can be perfectly fine in the snow as long as the driver isn't a moron.
ZV
kalrith
Diamond Member
With pretty much any FWD you have more than 50% of the car's weight on the front wheels, which makes it easier to find traction for acceleration. I chose RWD because of the problems ZV mentioned with steering with the drive wheels. However, I would prefer a RWD that had pretty even weight distribution like the Mazda RX-8.
Turin39789
Lifer
Damnit! I was going to post RWD, because the engine is over the drive wheels, then I see you beat me to it.
We had a bad for us 14 inches of snow overnight a few years back, my beetle was the weapon of choice, went to pick my fiancee up for work that night and stopped to help push/dig 3 suv's and 4 or 5 cars out along the route. The beetle was unstoppable, and if it ever got stuck, just needed a little rocking to get back out, never had to get out of the seat.
JulesMaximus
No Lifer
These problems really don't enter into play when driving on snowy roads though unless you're a rally racer.
FWD is excellent for winter driving. I'd take a FWD car over a RWD car anyday in winter.
FWD is easier for someone that dosent like to pay attention. I greatly prefer RWD. In a FWD car if you accelerate a bit too hard you will loose your steering, and once the tires break free its very hard to get them back. In a RWD car if you break the back tires you get a nice, alarming swerve as a warning to get the hell off the gas before you loose your steering. Just letting up off the gas will usually bring the back end under control again. Today's traction control also makes is alot easier to drive/ harder to spin out.
PingSpike
Lifer
I think people who say RWD are deluding themselves. Yes, a well trained driver on a moped can drive better in the snow then an armless baboon in a tiger tank...but FWD has the weight over the drive wheels and "give it gas" is a lot easier to do in skids then "turn into the skid".
Take advantage of the skids? What does that mean? I'm not trying to get home in record time, I just want to stay out of the ditch.
Take advantage of the skids? What does that mean? I'm not trying to get home in record time, I just want to stay out of the ditch.
JulesMaximus
No Lifer
Oh bullshit...its called letting off the gas and it is very easy to control and very predictable.
FWD cars are great in the snow because, as many others have already stated, most of the weight is over the driven wheels.
Have you ever driven a FWD car in the snow? I've driven countless different FWD cars in the snow and they all did quite well, much better in fact than many of the RWD vehicles I've driven in the snow.
Don Vito Corleone
Elite
Generally I'd say FWD, in that it's definitely more foolproof. I am looking forward to my first winter with RWD, dynamic stability control and Blizzaks, however!
exdeath
Lifer
http://www.northernanimation.c...ery/misc/fwd_sucks.jpg
Technically FWD is better than RWD for slippery conditions and inexperienced drivers. Understeer is safer and more desirable than oversteer for 99% of drivers. Either way you will skid and slide off the road, but a FWD vehicle is more likely to stay pointed in the right direction and be easier for an unskilled driver to correct even with excessive throttle.
Technically FWD is better than RWD for slippery conditions and inexperienced drivers. Understeer is safer and more desirable than oversteer for 99% of drivers. Either way you will skid and slide off the road, but a FWD vehicle is more likely to stay pointed in the right direction and be easier for an unskilled driver to correct even with excessive throttle.
angry hampster
Diamond Member
As mentioned above, it's more difficult to regain traction when the drive wheels in a FWD car are spinning. With a RWD car you just let off the gas and the car straightens itself out. Also, maneuvering a tight parking lot is MUCH easier in a RWD car on snow. 😀 Put some sand over the back wheels of a RWD car and you've got a perfectly usable winter car.
SparkyJJO
Lifer
I've used both. My old car was FWD, my current car is RWD. I prefer the RWD. With FWD, when you lose your traction, it's pretty much over, since you've lost most of both drive and steering. With RWD, even if you spin the wheels, you don't lose the steering. Plus, RWD can be more fun too 😀
JulesMaximus
No Lifer
I think a lot of you are confusing traction with understeer or skidding. When you lose traction from spinning the wheels in a FWD car you simply let off the throttle and you get your traction and steering back. It is as simple as that.
When you are going too fast and start to slide yeah, you're probably fucked...but you'd probably be just as fucked in a RWD car too.
Your best bet is not getting into a skid in the first place or be going slow enough that a minor skid isn't going to put you in a ditch. Honestly, your best bet would be to invest in some quality snow tires, make sure your lights and wipers are in good working order, and worry less about which end of your car the engine sends power to.
halik
Lifer
Oh yeah I took every turn like Johnny Tran in F&F :roll:
95% of people that vote RWD in this poll never driven a RWD car in the winter.
My CLK was practically undrivable in 4" of snow (with new tires that fall), same goes for my brother's e46 coupe. I would get stuck 4 times in the parking lot alone, where FWD sedans had no issue. Also nothing like going up the hill and having the ass slide out to the side because it can't grab enough traction...
Zenmervolt
Elite member
RWD with summer tires. No real trouble with it. It does require a LOT more attention than FWD though and in all honesty, while I steadfastly believe that RWD can be handled by a competent driver in winter, FWD is much easier when it gets really bad.
ZV
JDub02
Diamond Member
FWD. Much more composed/controlled. Very little seat "pucker" factor compared to RWD.
My old Chevy coupe was RWD and was amazingly horrendous in the snow. To be fair, I didn't have winter tires, just all-seasons.
My Jeep (real Jeep) had a set of 12.5" wide mudders on it and it would spin around in a heartbeat if not in 4WD.
My 1/2 ton truck does surprisingly well in 2WD, but I have a set of BFG AT/KO's on there with a posi rear axle. I like the challenge of seeing how far I can make it in 2WD. I did have one scary incident where I fishtailed back and forth about 4 times, then wound up in a big ditch. No damage and drove right out once the front wheels were engaged.
My old Buick LeSabre was an absolute tank in the snow. ABS was broke, so stopping got a little scary, though.
My Mazda6 is extremely composed in the snow with just a set of all-seasons. I've made it up hills where a number of cars had already slid off to the side. Very impressed with the winter performance of this car.
All snow tests were performed in and around Pittsburgh, PA and Syracuse, NY. Plenty of snow present in both locations.
And now that I've moved to the south .... 😛 snow sucks.
My old Chevy coupe was RWD and was amazingly horrendous in the snow. To be fair, I didn't have winter tires, just all-seasons.
My Jeep (real Jeep) had a set of 12.5" wide mudders on it and it would spin around in a heartbeat if not in 4WD.
My 1/2 ton truck does surprisingly well in 2WD, but I have a set of BFG AT/KO's on there with a posi rear axle. I like the challenge of seeing how far I can make it in 2WD. I did have one scary incident where I fishtailed back and forth about 4 times, then wound up in a big ditch. No damage and drove right out once the front wheels were engaged.
My old Buick LeSabre was an absolute tank in the snow. ABS was broke, so stopping got a little scary, though.
My Mazda6 is extremely composed in the snow with just a set of all-seasons. I've made it up hills where a number of cars had already slid off to the side. Very impressed with the winter performance of this car.
All snow tests were performed in and around Pittsburgh, PA and Syracuse, NY. Plenty of snow present in both locations.
And now that I've moved to the south .... 😛 snow sucks.
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