Grex Cars Conference

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Grex Cars Item 84: FWD vs RWD
Entered by mcpoz on Thu Mar 21 01:59:09 UTC 1996:

Today the heavy snow resulted in a lot of cars in the ditch on the way to
work.  I counted 10 which included two which I saw spin out, but get back on
the road again.  
                        Mustang     (RWD)
                         Camar(RWD)
                         Caprice     (RWD)      
                         Pontiac     (RWD)  (full size 4 dr)    
                         Mk VIII     (RWD)
                         Caddie      (RWD)  (Full size 4 dr)
                         Corsica     (FWD)
                         Probe GT    (FWD)      
                         Ranger p/u  (RWD)
                         Econoline   (RWD)

80% rear wheel drive!

12 responses total.

#1 of 12 by scg on Thu Mar 21 09:30:51 1996:

I counted three cars in the ditch on my way to the airport to pick up my dad
today.  I wasn't really paying attention to what kind they were, but I think
two of them were FWD.  I think ending up in the ditch has a lot more to do
with how a car is driven than whether it's FWD or RWD (or 4WD).

Hmm... I notice all of those cars are American.  Actually, they're 50% Ford
and 50% GM...

#2 of 12 by mcpoz on Thu Mar 21 22:56:05 1996:

I believe the V8 short wheel base RWD cars (Mustang/Camaro) have always been
the first ones in the ditch when it starts to ice up.
(Least % of weight over drive wheels)

#3 of 12 by scg on Fri Mar 22 08:46:41 1996:

I've never driven one of those, so I have no idea how they would do in the
snow.  It sounds plausable, though.  My RWD Nissan pick-up has some trouble
accellerating on ice, and especially has trouble getting started on ice. 
That's not the sort of thing that would leave one in the ditch, though. 
Thats' a steering issue, which in all of those cars is done with the front
wheels.  There are times when being able to give some power to the front
wheels would help with traction, and some times when you really want tohem
to be spinning freely.

#4 of 12 by n8nxf on Fri Mar 22 12:42:59 1996:

Anything with wide tires is going to have trouble in the snow.  Those
wide tires ride on top of the snow while narrower tires sink in deeper.
Many people will run wide tires in the summer and narrow tires in the 
winter for that reason.  Also, some cars do better in the snow with 
*more* pressure in the tires.  The higher pressure decreases the foot-
print of the tire, causing the tire to better push through the snow.

#5 of 12 by mcpoz on Sat Mar 23 00:15:35 1996:

agreed on wide tires especially for RWD.  The wide tires offer resistance on
the front of the car while the rear are trying to push it.  This combined with
a lot of weight up front result in instability.

#6 of 12 by carson on Fri Mar 29 23:30:14 1996:

I wish I'd paid more attention to the cars I saw in the ditch. Then again,
I'm glad it wasn't my car in a ditch that I was paying attention to.

That's not to say I haven't put my car in a ditch:  during my first
winter, I found myself lost on the way back from the airport, going
too fast in snowy weather, and somewhat quickly in a ditch. Spending
four hours waiting for a tow truck wasn't fun, and neither was paying
the driver. My car is a rear-wheel drive.

#7 of 12 by omni on Sat Mar 30 05:14:34 1996:

 I once put the taxi I was driving into a ditch, complete with evil1 and
a GM engineer that I was taking to the Milford Proving Grounds. I don't
actually know how it happened because I was driving appropriately, but I did
hit the hump of snow in the middle of the road, and that was enough to put
me into a spin, and land me in the ditch. Funny thing was, I slammed the
gearshift into 2 and pulled it out on it's own steam. That landed me a $10
tip and a place in the GM Hall of Fame. ;) T'was a Buick LeSabre. 
The engineer was very impressed and offered me a job as a test driver for
Ford. I declined ;)

#8 of 12 by davel on Sat Mar 30 14:27:29 1996:

Let me get this straight ... the *GM* engineer offered you a job as a test
driver for *Ford*, Jim?

#9 of 12 by omni on Sat Mar 30 17:17:34 1996:

 Just seeing who's on thier toes, or not. 

  Actually, I wasn't offered a job, but I did get the tip and the Hall of
Fame. That was enough for me. ;)

#10 of 12 by mjh16886 on Mon Jan 20 00:17:17 1997:

Thank God my car is front wheel drive. And a GM! I once had a '77 Ford
Thunderbird that loved snow. Loved it so much that I couldn't control it worth
doo doo. I remember almost wrapping it around a tree one day. Only good thing
about that Ford is the 351cid Windsor. Now, I have an '81 Buick Riviera FWD
with a 3.8L Turbo V-6. That thing hauls !$@ too. And, I feel a lot more
confident in the snow, too. (Now if I can get that !%&#*@$ computer to work
right... :-)

#11 of 12 by n8nxf on Mon Jan 20 02:49:38 1997:

(The secret to getting around in the snow is narrow tires with a good tread.)

#12 of 12 by joshk19 on Sun Jul 4 04:10:50 2004:

I drive a 88 Plymouth Reliant 2.2l FWD and its great in a snow. Had no
problems with it last winter, and the tires were not really that good either.

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