4 wheel drive & the real world
Discussion
How much difference does 4wd make in the real world for general day to day getting about and making progress?
I have heard many a horror story about RWD and snow and have personal experience of the issues of trying to put decent power down in a FWD car so in choosing a 'keeper' should 4wd be a must have, a nice to have or a no point to have.
Reason i ask is because i am looking at next car purchase and if i can bin the need for 4wd my options get a lot cheaper!
Basically the A45 and the RS3 tick all of my boxes except price, the m135i ticks all of them except 4wd so can someone give me real world experiences to give me an idea.
I have never driven a powerful RWD car which also concerns me slightly but i can't ignore the price difference.
Help!
I have heard many a horror story about RWD and snow and have personal experience of the issues of trying to put decent power down in a FWD car so in choosing a 'keeper' should 4wd be a must have, a nice to have or a no point to have.
Reason i ask is because i am looking at next car purchase and if i can bin the need for 4wd my options get a lot cheaper!
Basically the A45 and the RS3 tick all of my boxes except price, the m135i ticks all of them except 4wd so can someone give me real world experiences to give me an idea.
I have never driven a powerful RWD car which also concerns me slightly but i can't ignore the price difference.
Help!
Pixelpeep said:
How much difference does 4wd make in the real world for general day to day getting about and making progress?
That's a very bizarre question...It makes next to bugger all difference unless it snows.
Otherwise, depending on how it is set up you will have front or rear wheel bias and corresponding under or over steer which wont be apparent unless you are driving hard.
skyrover said:
That's a very bizarre question...
It makes next to bugger all difference unless it snows.
Otherwise, depending on how it is set up you will have front or rear wheel bias and corresponding under or over steer which wont be apparent unless you are driving hard.
Try keeping up with a Subaru STi across country in the rain in any two wheel drive car of your choice and i think you may change your mind…..It makes next to bugger all difference unless it snows.
Otherwise, depending on how it is set up you will have front or rear wheel bias and corresponding under or over steer which wont be apparent unless you are driving hard.
Pulling out of a T junction? Traffic? Wet?
Option A - RWD - hoof it into a gap in the traffic. TC cuts in, cuts out, cuts in, progress is made. Eventually.
Option B - RWD, TC off - hoof it aiming for the gap, wipe out the bus queue and end up in hedge. This assumes non-driving god status/drift king abilities.
Option C - FrWD. As Option A but much slower with more pathetic wheelspin.
Option D - 4wd. Gap, gas, job done.
Option A - RWD - hoof it into a gap in the traffic. TC cuts in, cuts out, cuts in, progress is made. Eventually.
Option B - RWD, TC off - hoof it aiming for the gap, wipe out the bus queue and end up in hedge. This assumes non-driving god status/drift king abilities.
Option C - FrWD. As Option A but much slower with more pathetic wheelspin.
Option D - 4wd. Gap, gas, job done.
I find exiting greasy side roads into caps in traffic and negotiating busy roundabouts where you need to get out int other traffic smartish is much less stressful with AWD - not having to battle torque steer or a fishtailing rear end. apart from this, in normal day to day driving there is not much difference, until the weather takes a turn for the worse, when the AWD gives an edge so long as tyres are appropriate for the conditions.
I would imagine some of the clever front diffs and stability controls about these days have reduced the torque steer and wagging tail issues (my last FWD car was a '95 punto GT turbo, which was a difficult beast on a greasy road)
I would imagine some of the clever front diffs and stability controls about these days have reduced the torque steer and wagging tail issues (my last FWD car was a '95 punto GT turbo, which was a difficult beast on a greasy road)
andy43 said:
Pulling out of a T junction? Traffic? Wet?
Option A - RWD - hoof it into a gap in the traffic. TC cuts in, cuts out, cuts in, progress is made. Eventually.
Option B - RWD, TC off - hoof it aiming for the gap, wipe out the bus queue and end up in hedge. This assumes non-driving god status/drift king abilities.
Option C - FrWD. As Option A but much slower with more pathetic wheelspin.
Option D - 4wd. Gap, gas, job done.
Option E - ensure you don't have binary throttle control Option A - RWD - hoof it into a gap in the traffic. TC cuts in, cuts out, cuts in, progress is made. Eventually.
Option B - RWD, TC off - hoof it aiming for the gap, wipe out the bus queue and end up in hedge. This assumes non-driving god status/drift king abilities.
Option C - FrWD. As Option A but much slower with more pathetic wheelspin.
Option D - 4wd. Gap, gas, job done.
andy43 said:
Pulling out of a T junction? Traffic? Wet?
Option A - RWD - hoof it into a gap in the traffic. TC cuts in, cuts out, cuts in, progress is made. Eventually.
Option B - RWD, TC off - hoof it aiming for the gap, wipe out the bus queue and end up in hedge. This assumes non-driving god status/drift king abilities.
Option C - FrWD. As Option A but much slower with more pathetic wheelspin.
Option D - 4wd. Gap, gas, job done.
Option A - RWD - hoof it into a gap in the traffic. TC cuts in, cuts out, cuts in, progress is made. Eventually.
Option B - RWD, TC off - hoof it aiming for the gap, wipe out the bus queue and end up in hedge. This assumes non-driving god status/drift king abilities.
Option C - FrWD. As Option A but much slower with more pathetic wheelspin.
Option D - 4wd. Gap, gas, job done.
What about Option E - RWD and the realisation that an accelerator pedal isn't an on/off switch!
Four wheel drive cars are bloody boring, you have to push them beyond what I considered acceptable on a public road to get much excitement from them. If you just want to commute in the rain then yeah they're OK, but it's very unlikely you're ever going to actually need the traction unless you live north of the border.
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