FWD vs RWD

Kres7787 · 10-10-2010, 05:15 PM

Hi,

While waiting for my X1 to arrive, and since I'm moving from my current Volvo C30 with FWD, could somebody please share the experience of difference between the two? Is there anything I should watch out for with RWD? I ordered sDrive.

Has anybody driven FWD and then moved to RWD and noticed a difference? What are good and bad sides of it?

Would appreciate some thoughts as I'm worried a bit about it.

Thank you,

GT888 · 10-10-2010, 09:15 PM

Not much difference if you are not racing!!!

I have one FWD car and the X1 sDrive.....not much difference!!!

I used to have a RX-7 (RWD), if i do a high speed corner...the back tends to lose a little control (fishtail) but does not happen to my FWD car.

senwar · 10-10-2010, 10:25 PM

RWD cars IMO are a lot more fun altho mainly in sports car guise.

They are a pain in snow however.

nockenpaul · 10-11-2010, 04:59 AM

In my opinion RWD is the way better concept for dry and wet roads.

- With RWD the drive-train doesn't affect the steering.
- A RWD car has better traction. That can make a big difference when driving on wet, twisty roads.
- RWD cars (especially those from Munich

) have a better, more neutral handling through corners, whereas FWD cars often suffer from heavy understeering.

But FWD cars are better in the snow. Some old RWD cars were really bad to drive in snow. But this has changed a lot. Nowadays it's no big problem to drive with RWD on snowy roads. FWD cars are still better in those conditions, but I didn't had any problems with my E46 in the last 12 years.

Kres7787 · 10-11-2010, 10:14 AM

Ok thanks for your thoughts guys.

We rarely have SOME snow here, but it rains often and the city is built on hills so there's lots of ups and downs. So yeah I guess overall I'm improving the situation.

My X1 delivery was delayed for 40 days... Bloody hell. So exactly 40 days more, by that prediction... Already waiting for 3 months!

frayedsheet · 10-11-2010, 10:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kres7787

Ok thanks for your thoughts guys.

We rarely have SOME snow here, but it rains often and the city is built on hills so there's lots of ups and downs. So yeah I guess overall I'm improving the situation.

My X1 delivery was delayed for 40 days... Bloody hell. So exactly 40 days more, by that prediction... Already waiting for 3 months!

Ultimately RWD is the faster solution as you are not forcing the front tyres to do both jobs, ie, turning and braking/accelerating. It is however less forgiving as it gives you the ability to spin the car if you feed in too much power. Do the same for FWD and the front pushes wide, ie doesnt go the direction youre pointing the tyres. Definitely safer for the average driver.

These days however, with traction control and ESP, its hardly an issue as the computer wont let yourself into trouble in the first place (unless you are really being silly - not even computers can re-write the laws of physics).

Go find an empty carpark when you get your sDrive X1, hold the traction control button down for 5 seconds till a big exclamation mark appears next to the speedo and have fun going sideways. You cant do that in your Volvo!

Kres7787 · 10-12-2010, 01:55 AM

I'm not sure if that is called understeer, or if it's simply lack of grip, but in my current FWD car when going even slightly uphilll and with even slightly higher power it really quickly starts to lose the grip. I guess this is pure physics but kind of expecting RWD to have better grip in such situations.

Yeah I'll do that traction idea frayedsheet

if I ever get my X1!

10-10-2010, 05:15 PM	#1
Kres7787 Second Lieutenant 14 Rep 229 Posts Drives: BMW X1 sD 18d JB Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Croatia iTrader: (0)	FWD vs RWD Hi, While waiting for my X1 to arrive, and since I'm moving from my current Volvo C30 with FWD, could somebody please share the experience of difference between the two? Is there anything I should watch out for with RWD? I ordered sDrive. Has anybody driven FWD and then moved to RWD and noticed a difference? What are good and bad sides of it? Would appreciate some thoughts as I'm worried a bit about it. Thank you,
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10-10-2010, 09:15 PM	#2
GT888 New Member 0 Rep 7 Posts Drives: X1 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: China iTrader: (0)	Not much difference if you are not racing!!! I have one FWD car and the X1 sDrive.....not much difference!!! I used to have a RX-7 (RWD), if i do a high speed corner...the back tends to lose a little control (fishtail) but does not happen to my FWD car. Last edited by GT888; 10-10-2010 at 09:21 PM..
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10-10-2010, 10:25 PM	#3
senwar Private 10 Rep 97 Posts Drives: X1 x20drive Join Date: May 2010 Location: Sheffield iTrader: (0)	RWD cars IMO are a lot more fun altho mainly in sports car guise. They are a pain in snow however.
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10-11-2010, 04:59 AM	#4
nockenpaul Private First Class 5 Rep 106 Posts Drives: E90 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Austria iTrader: (0)	In my opinion RWD is the way better concept for dry and wet roads. - With RWD the drive-train doesn't affect the steering. - A RWD car has better traction. That can make a big difference when driving on wet, twisty roads. - RWD cars (especially those from Munich ) have a better, more neutral handling through corners, whereas FWD cars often suffer from heavy understeering. But FWD cars are better in the snow. Some old RWD cars were really bad to drive in snow. But this has changed a lot. Nowadays it's no big problem to drive with RWD on snowy roads. FWD cars are still better in those conditions, but I didn't had any problems with my E46 in the last 12 years.
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10-11-2010, 10:14 AM	#5
Kres7787 Second Lieutenant 14 Rep 229 Posts Drives: BMW X1 sD 18d JB Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Croatia iTrader: (0)	Ok thanks for your thoughts guys. We rarely have SOME snow here, but it rains often and the city is built on hills so there's lots of ups and downs. So yeah I guess overall I'm improving the situation. My X1 delivery was delayed for 40 days... Bloody hell. So exactly 40 days more, by that prediction... Already waiting for 3 months!
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10-12-2010, 01:55 AM	#7
Kres7787 Second Lieutenant 14 Rep 229 Posts Drives: BMW X1 sD 18d JB Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Croatia iTrader: (0)	I'm not sure if that is called understeer, or if it's simply lack of grip, but in my current FWD car when going even slightly uphilll and with even slightly higher power it really quickly starts to lose the grip. I guess this is pure physics but kind of expecting RWD to have better grip in such situations. Yeah I'll do that traction idea frayedsheet if I ever get my X1!
	Appreciate 0 Quote