What is the difference in performance between a rear wheel drive car and a front wheel drive?

Question

Pros and Cons would help. Thank you!

And I was asking about difference in performance. Thanks again!

Answer 1

There are a million pros and cons of each, often depending on the individual car.

Pros for FWD:
Cheaper to make
very predictable handling (understeer)
easier to drive
safer in wet/icy conditions

Cons for FWD:
Harder to put power down
very difficult to get the car to rotate (ie: its not neutral)
torque steer
less grip due to weight transfer
harder to get a good weight distribution (with motor and tranny all over the front wheels, etc etc).

Pros for RWD
better weight distribution
much better for putting power down
more grip due to weight transfer
easier to get oversteer
easier to make neutral

Cons:
less predictable (you can get over and understeer)
harder to drive (due to being less predictable)
more expensive usually
much harder to drive in wet/bad conditions (due to tendency to oversteer/spin)
harder to get a really good setup on (although the end result is much faster).

For performance applications, RWD or AWD is the way to go. I have driven all 3 setups (RWD was a 996 GT2, AWD was my Subaru WRX STi, FWD was my old VW GTi VR6) on a racetrack, and the FWD was the easiest, but also had the least potential. RWD is the most rewarding to drive because it requires more precision, and allows the driver to do more with the car (although its more difficult to do).

Answer 2

Front wheel drive has better steering and traction control in wet pavement or in snow. The steering does tend to pull (torque-steer) a bit on hard acceleration because the drive wheels are also the steering wheels. Front-wheel drive will also wear front tires out faster, so it is more important to rotate tires on a frequent basis. They also tend to be a bit nose-heavy as the engine and transmission are located forward over the front wheels.

Rear wheel drive is better balanced, because the weight is more evenly distributed over the length of the car. Rear wheel drive will give better acceleration and traction on dry pavement because weight is transferred to the rear of the car during acceleration. This is the traditional big car or truck layout that more people are comfortable with.

Answer 3

Very little. I like front-wheel drives better because I get better overall control, as the drive wheels also steer the car. This also means that there are fewer parts and doesn't weigh as much as a rear-wheel drive.

Rear-wheel drives generally have better acceleration, as weight is shifted to the rear of the car where the drive tires are. It's also easier to service because the parts are not so compacted.

Answer 4

It mainly has to do with weight bias and transfer.

Most front-engine vehicles have more than 50% of their weight on the front tires. This gives front-wheel-drive cars an advantage on snowy roads and in other low-traction situations.

Now add in weight transfer due to inclines and accelleration/decceleration.

When you are climbing a hill or accellerating, weight shifts from the front of the car to the back. This can make rear-wheel-drive more effective for steep climbs and fast accelleration.

They also act differently in a turn. Front-wheel-drive vehicles tend to be more prone to understeer, or push. That's when you have the front wheels turned but the car continues to go straight or not turn enough.

Rear-wheel-drive cars are more prone to oversteer, or fishtailing.

The driving traction of a rear-wheel-drive car can be improved by adding weight to the truck or rear of the vehicle.
This doesn't work on a front-wheel-drive platform...adding weight to the trunk or extra load in the passenger area can actually reduce the weight bias on the front tires and reduce traction.

Hope this helps.

Answer 5

front wheel drive vehicles will perform as good if not better than rear wheel drive cars they get better traction than rear wheel drive cars do they also handle ten times better in bad weather than rear wheel drive cars do,they are as good if not better as far as reliability and dependability goes,the performance of some front wheel drive cars is twice that of rear wheel drive cars,there really are no cons on front wheel drive cars,as for rear wheel drive cars the cons are bad handling ,in slippery conditions,they seem to give more mechanical problems,and aren't as reliable as the front wheel drive cars are,there's more good to owning a front wheel drive car than a rear wheel drive,and they keep improving them every year,much to the good and the benefit of the driver,,good luck with it.