tinyman392
Senior Member
- First Name
- Marcus
- Joined
- May 21, 2018
- Threads
- 14
- Messages
- 3,265
- Reaction score
- 2,082
- Location
- Illinois
- Vehicle(s)
- '18 Civic Type R (RR)
There is no issue saying that you'll prefer a FR and AWD vehicle for track purposes, but discounting FF vehicles and claiming that they are at a full disadvantage is factually incorrect (as we've gone over already). I saw it said before, but it needs to be said again, each platform has its inherent pros and cons:At least he replied with something. You just slid in for an insult and no substance. That’s ok, it shows what level of intelligence we are dealing with.
So, then there are a lot of cars running fwd setups in racing, I get it @tinyman392. Too numerous to count in fact. Call me a fool again but I will select a rwd or awd for racing purposes like I said in the beginning. I like to go against the grain I guess.
- FF vehicles tend to understeer and put more pressure on the front tires of the car since they have to deal with acceleration, braking, and cornering forces all at once. Other drive trains may split the load differently having acceleration and braking on the rear axle (FR and MR) while others will have less acceleration stress on the front axle (AWD). Torque vectoring on the rear wheels requires the use of brakes (results in loss of power technically). Weight transfer works against the cars drivetrain since the weight shifts to the non-driven axle but can keep the car stable during cornering. The advantages you gain from it are weight savings (1 less drive shaft) and powertrain loss gains (no long driveshaft = less power loss). The power loss from an FF car would be about 10% vs 15 or 20% from an FR and AWD vehicle, respectively.
- FR cars have the ability to oversteer easier and pressure the tires a little more evenly using the fronts for braking and cornering and the rears for acceleration and braking. The weight transfer upon acceleration works in the drivetrain's advantage since it shifts to the driven axles, though it's not better than MR vehicles; under cornering if the rears have broken loose, this would also cause a snap oversteer. Their disadvantages come with the added weight of a driveshaft to get to the rear wheels as well as the power loss from said drive shaft (15% loss vs 10% from FF and MR). That additional weight will also affect cornering speeds. Snap oversteer is possible with some FR cars' designs, but less likely. Torque vectoring on the front axle requires the use of brakes which results in a loss of power (technically).
- AWD vehicles tend to understeer but are able to balance out the traction between the front and rears much easier. Torque vectoring on AWD vehicles becomes magic as it can distribute power where it needs and wants without any additional loss of power by using the brakes. In terms of acceleration, it doesn't need to worry about weight transfer because of AWD. Their disadvantages follow with FR cars with the added weight of a driveshaft (or two) which incurs a power loss. The additional weight also affects cornering speeds. An additional power loss is seen from the fact that the mechanism to send power to all 4 wheels also robs it of additional power. AWD systems tend to lose about 20% of their power in comparison to 10% (FF and MR) and 15% (FR).
- MR vehicles tend to oversteer but balance the traction between the front and rear wheels like an FR car would (fronts deal with brakes and steering, rears deal with brakes and acceleration). Like FF cars, they incur the least amount of powertrain loss due to the lack of a long drive shaft spanning the length of the car which means 10% loss vs 15 or 20% (FR and AWD, respectively). The lack of a drive shaft does decrease weight and can help in aiding cornering as well and they also tend to have a better overall weight distribution. Major disadvantages of an MR car would be snap oversteer which is commonly accredited to MR cars (some are notorious for it) as well as the fact that torque vectoring on the front axle requires the use of the brakes.
- Adding a hybrid system to any of the undriven axles give the advantages of AWD to any of the vehicles without the inherent powertrain loss (+5-10% loss) you'd get from that layout. However, the added hybrid system does add weight which is a disadvantage you'd gain from making such a move, though it could be argued that the gain in power offsets it.
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