stupid question...

[04monteintimidator]

i realize im gunna get tons of crap for this... but i just wanna know... is there any real reason why FWD is so bad? my monte is FWD and whenever i tell people that they always become disgusted... is there any actual performance benefit to RWD or is it just more of a tradition thing? because if its just tradition... then its really nothing to whine about now is it?

[the_yellow_dart]

There is only so much friction that the road can offer each tire. If the front two are trying to both turn and power the car, there is a portion of the friction available for each. With RWD, you get the rear tire friction to push the car, and the front tire friction to turn it.

[04monteintimidator]

that makes sense... but what about in a straight line? any advantages there? if not then people who complain about FWD dont really have much to complain about

[capriceman]

Plus if you lived in Michigan today (Finaly Snow and ice) you can do donuts and drifting and powersliding easyly by turn wheel hit gas with RWD. But if you hate snow ice FWD can navigate much better. (I love RWD) but The Montes ive been in are great i actully like the body style of the your monte while liking the drivetrain from the new one a V8.

[04monteintimidator]

oh yeah id definitely prefer a v8... but my supercharged 6 provides quite the nice kick in the rear when i step on it... and thats just the thing... it hits just as hard as it would if it were RWD... so i really dont understand why people discredit it immediately for being FWD... oh well...

ps. there was lots of snow and ice here in NJ too... my friend with an 05 mustang V6 had such a hard time gettin out of the parking lot at school... i had no problem at all...

[Newbiewar]

that makes sense... but what about in a straight line? any advantages there? if not then people who complain about FWD dont really have much to complain about

well one thing, rear wheel drive can help you steer in turns... front wheel drive can make things worse... you can have wheel hop, you can have torque steer with front wheel drive...

also with launches, the more powerful the car, the more the front end lifts, and with front wheel drive, you dont want weight off the drive wheels... like for rwd, if you launch you get more weight on the rear wheels and thus giving you more traction. rwd has its advantages... but most of them are for performance, hence why all exotics are rwd, and all muscle cars are rwd... fwd benifits include less parts, less weight, cheaper...

one thing i love to do, is go around a turn with 1/4 gas and feel the rear slide and straighten me out prior to the curve being over.

[Newbiewar]

oh yeah id definitely prefer a v8... but my supercharged 6 provides quite the nice kick in the rear when i step on it... and thats just the thing... it hits just as hard as it would if it were RWD... so i really dont understand why people discredit it immediately for being FWD... oh well...

ps. there was lots of snow and ice here in NJ too... my friend with an 05 mustang V6 had such a hard time gettin out of the parking lot at school... i had no problem at all...

fwd has benifits when it comes to traction, the weight is over the drive wheels, allowing you to get traction on wet and icy surfaces... rwd hinders the drive because you have nearly no weight over the drive wheels... so you will have minimal friction, thus allowing for poor performance in winter conditions, this is why many people store their rwd's over the winter because of poor performance...

before i changed my suspension on my 94 formula, i couldnt hardly drive in the rain... now with the new tires i never lose traction... and my new car 02 trans am has traction so i never have any problems there either, also the LS1 is better for rwd because it doesnt have nearly the low end torque the lt1 does... so its got less power when your driving cautiously

[99camaroSS]

i had a 3000gt about 6 months ago, it was FWD and all i can say is that i was constantly seeing a doughnut being pulled in a parking lot and cursing because i couldnt join in the fun. FWD on a sports car just isnt up to par (although i would take my GT back in a second)

and this is way off topic but i gotta ask this question for wildmanjoe..... Is that James Taylor in your sig?

[04monteintimidator]

ooh alright... thanks guys... so i am at a disadvantage... but i think the sheer weight of my car minimizes that a bit... thats alright then... not to mention ive held my own against a 2004 mustang gt and a 2005 bmw 330i so its not like im getting destroyed anyway

[Sixty8panther]

Like they say, no question is a stupid one, except for the one you don't ask.

There is only so much friction that the road can offer each tire. If the front two are trying to both turn and power the car, there is a portion of the friction available for each. With RWD, you get the rear tire friction to push the car, and the front tire friction to turn it.

It's SOOOOO much more than that but yes, that's an excellent place to start. Two wheels for power two for steering. Just like God intended.

Now take into consideration the superior weight distribution, weight transfer advantages, the benefits in terms of durability, simplicity & accessability with longitudinal engine placement, the superior handeling characteristics and ability to avoid understeer with the press of a gas pedal and you have a clear advantage.

I don't care if you stick a hot poker into my chest I'll never deny that RWD is inherantly superior to FWD. RWD makes for better drivers, it allows more control of your car and it's more fun by to drive in every situation, even snow.

The only advantage is that if you live in a wintery climate and have FWD you might be able to avoid buying snow tires or good all-seasons but that's just lazy and backwards.

:twocents:

[NOS2006]

Take the same car with the same EVERYTHING, but make it FWD instead of RWD. The FWD variant would be a bit quicker straight-line. Why? More weight on the tires.

[CaddyXLR-V]

Take the same car with the same EVERYTHING, but make it FWD instead of RWD. The FWD variant would be a bit quicker straight-line. Why? More weight on the tires.

Not true. Care to explain why dragsters are not FWD then? Weight transfers to the back when you accellerate.

[regfootball]

Like they say, no question is a stupid one, except for the one you don't ask. 

It's SOOOOO much more than that but yes, that's an excellent place to start. Two wheels for power two for steering. Just like God intended.

Now take into consideration the superior weight distribution, weight transfer advantages, the benefits in terms of durability, simplicity & accessability with longitudinal engine placement, the superior handeling characteristics and ability to avoid understeer with the press of a gas pedal and you have a clear advantage.

I don't care if you stick a hot poker into my chest I'll never deny that RWD is inherantly superior to FWD. RWD makes for better drivers, it allows more control of your car and it's more fun by to drive in every situation, even snow.

The only advantage is that if you live in a wintery climate and have FWD you might be able to avoid buying snow tires or good all-seasons but that's just lazy and backwards.

:twocents: 

so if you buy a brand new car, you've got another 500 or more free that you can immediately spend on snow tires and wheels? got a place to store em? can you set aside some time to go get your tires rotated or even hoist up the car and do it yourself?

we are a convenience society.

that 500 bucks for most average non car folks works better in their 401k rather than on tires they only use 3 months a year.

[Sixty8panther]

Take the same car with the same EVERYTHING, but make it FWD instead of RWD. The FWD variant would be a bit quicker straight-line. Why? More weight on the tires.

NOS:

C'mon now, as a Camaro owner you should know better than that.

Unless the car is a POS underpowered $h!box that will not even chirp the tires the weight transfer will be far more beneficial than a few more hundred pounds over the drive wheels. Besides, only FWD cars have really $h!ty weight distribution because both the engine, trans and related components like Diff. are ahead of the front axle.

Reg:

Car enthusiast put up wiht MUCH more than that in order to not compromise their driving fun. Leaky convertible tops, expensive insurance for sports cars, lack of passanger/trunk space, high theft rates for their desirable cars & in smost cases less than average fual economy just to name a few.

[Flybrian]

There's nothing 'bad' about front-wheel drive. Alot of the people who bitch about it simply like to bitch and complain because cars they'd never consider buying have a FWD layout.

Don't let anyone shame you for having a FWD Monte. A supercharged SS will likely kick their ass anyway.

[Camino LS6]

There's nothing 'bad' about front-wheel drive. Alot of the people who bitch about it simply like to bitch and complain because cars they'd never consider buying have a FWD layout.

Don't let anyone shame you for having a FWD Monte. A supercharged SS will likely kick their ass anyway.

Ahem! I beg to differ on the ass-kicking point Fly. :AH-HA_wink:

04 Monte: Part of the reason that you get hassled about your car is that Monte Carlo is a beloved nameplate of many RWD fans and they consider the FWD version to be close to a crime against humanity. Too bad that the car wasn't still called Lumina, nobody would hassle you for it.