awd vs. fwd vs. rwd

i was searching the internet after reading a few post on here and stumbled across this.....and it kinda put an end to some of my questions. hope it helps others

What Offers the Best Performance? FWD, RWD, or AWD?

Agent009 submitted on 7/9/2007 Official AutoSpies Timestamp: 3:13:39 PM

SOURCE: www.world-challenge.com

Front Wheel Drive, Rear Wheel, or All Wheel Drive, the age old question which is the best way of quickly getting around a track.


FWD fans tout predictability and overall consistency as hallmarks of the drive train. Many claim that properly set up front wheel drive vehicle is just as fast any one else.

RWD advocates on the other hand tend to focus on intangible balance and control factors of the vehicle, and the ability to place the rear drive wheels exactly at the appropriate angle to maximize power to the wheels upon acceleration. Sounds good in theory at least.

AWD zealots throw all arguments out of the window and claim that with all 4 wheels driving, maximum power and traction go to the ground at all times. While parasitic drive train drag is a factor, many times it is made up be deteriorating track conditions.

There are countless one off tests showing the strong points of all of these formats but due to rules classification they rarely meet on the track in an all out test of prowess. Great for the theories, but short on factual proof. However if you look a bit closer, the melting pot of all racing the SCCA Speed World Challenge Touring Car Series does just that.

With displacement limited to 2.8-liters and power ranging from 225 to 275 bhp, the vehicles can be FWD, RWD, or AWD. But the most important part, is that all of the formats fall into this category under very controlled circumstances. FWD Acuras and Mazdas, RWD BMWs and Lexus, and even AWD Audi’s all tangle in a fiercely competitive racing series.

So who comes out top in a series where consistency and handling are at a paramount? Oddly enough to many, the FWD Acuras and Mazdas typically dominate the crowd, followed very closely by the AWD Audi’s and RWD BMW teams nipping at the heels.

But surprising to me, is the drive trains mostly associated by enthusiast everywhere for true handling performance the RWD and maybe even the AWD consistently fall in the middle of the pack. Actually save one victory this season by a BMW and another by an Audi these supposedly superior forms of transport are routinely regulated to being bridesmaids, not the bride.

The morale to the story for those of you wanting to know, is that we can all bicker back and forth about who is the best. But every dog has his day, and in rare classes where everyone meets, the outcomes are not always as expected.

Top Ten Drivers

1. Randy Pobst - TriPoint Motorsports – Mazda6
2. Jeff Altenburg - TriPoint Motorsports – Mazda6
3. Pierre Kleinubing - RealTime Racing – Acura TSX
4. James Sofronas - GMG/Greek Bros. Racing BMW 325i
5. Peter Cunningham - RealTime Racing – Acura TSX
6. Kuno Wittmer RealTime Racing – Acura RSX
7. Chip Herr - STaSIS Engineering –Audi A4
8. Charles Espenlaub - Tindol Motorsports- Mazda6
9. Michael Galati - Tindol Motorsports- Mazda6
10. Brandon Davis - RealTime Racing – Acura TSX


* 25. Andrew Wojteczko(R)- Auto Analyzer Racing- Lexus IS (only two races this season)

Manufacturer Points

Mazda 47 Points
Acura 32 Points
Audi 19 Points
BMW 17 Points

*Lexus 0 Points (only two races this season)  

scrotums gonna have a field day with this one.  on here the bickering they always refer to is drag racing. hence everyone *cough* saying "FWD sucks ass". in drag racing they just cant transfer high power to the ground due to physics.

but as far as track racing goes, especially SCCA, im not suprised to see a buncha FWD cars up top.  they are nimble, light, and alot more predictable thru a corner than the other platforms.  
91 MR-2 Turbo 5-spd
BBS lightweight wheels with Goodyear F1 rubber
Tit-alum A arms with Koni adj. coilovers
Rotura big brake kit in front

hooah. go fwd. fwd takes tracks, awd takes off road, and rwd takes drifting.  
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the godfather has spoken

This is really gonna give fwd fans a good boost of hope since manny people here only say that rwd or awd cars are more superior than fwd at everything.

GO all drive trains!!! thats what i got to say  

Its a mystery that Ferrari, Mclaren, and Lamborghini dont go for FWD drivetrains since it performs so amazingly. Oddly enough they tend to choose inferior MRWD and AWD platforms for the track monsters those companies produce.  

hey man that's just they're *** everybody's got they're own preferences but u notice that they cant compete in the scca race  

who cares about SCCA, I certainly dont see any FWD platforms outperforming all other cars in JGTC, or Le Mans for that matter. Certainly dont see any Porsche's or Saleen S7's or well anything that runs a sub 13 second quartermile time from the factory using a FWD drivetrain.  

your missing the point tho dude, everydog has its day, so y do immediately dismiss fwd when the have they're strong and weak points?  

actually, the mini cooper has more race victories then any other car. and they are all fwd. also, a fwd caddy won the le mans 5 years in a row.  
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the godfather has spoken

I would rather drive around a course with corners than go in a straight line. Drag racing only proves who is fastest 0-60 or 0-100 cause the milliseconds you save make the difference in the end. In a SCCA race handeling actually matters so you need to know how to build a well rounded car other than just trying to get as much power to the ground as possible. I always said FWD handles great. Of course Ferarri's and S7's don't build FWD because they are super cars with 500+ horses. They are not even in the same league thats like comparing apples to oranges  
- I love Mugen!

GOOD POST THERE... eckzwolfe ... hopefully, scrotum-sack can read this, and stop talking about his discontinued little 2 seater.. the mr2.. Man i hate 2 seaters, what a waste of a car... CRX, MR2, my old RX-7... the only cars that should have 2 seats are Vettes, Porshes and other super cars.. you will not sell me on MR2... they all need to be sent to the car crusher  

Actually godfather no FWD cars are even allowed to compete in Le Mans. MRWD cars are however.

Sluggo, you wouldnt know anything about what it takes to own a performance car so Im going to go ahead and ignore your comment. A stock 93 MR2 Turbo can outbrake a Ferrari 360 Modena, and garner the same skidpad as a Ferrari F40, so if you want supercar like performance for a fraction of the cost, MR2 Turbo is about the cheapest car you can get. CRX's arent even comparible to MR2's since they come with weak NA motors and are FWD.

The only thing the original Mini Cooper excels at is very tight cornering and thats more due to its very short wheel base than its FWD drivetrain. If you want to count those as a race victory go ahead, but any big name races, like WRC, JGTC, Le Mans, your not going to see any FWD outperforming a MRWD or AWD car.  

SCROTUM-SACK... you are such a hypocrite. You say the Mini wins due to its short wheel base etc??... well, you compare your braking of your MR2 to a Modena...LETS compare the weights on both of those cars, shall we.. And by the way, comparing cars to super cars isnt really a big deal... The new Corvette can be compared against Ferraris and Porshes at 1/3 the price .. so once again.. You FAIL !!!  

AND ANOTHER THING, SCROTUM-SACK... please explain why exactly did your precious little MR2 get discontinued anyway.... Dont tell me, it was too fast and powerful...LMAO !  

Well it had a 22 year run, which isnt too bad if I do say so. But Toyota found it would be more succesful selling bland cars with sports packages, than sports cars to a niche market. More buyers for a regular Camry S out there than there are for MR2's and its been a winning selling strategy for years to come, but the MR2 is still one of the best sports cars Toyota ever made.

Just because a car was discontinued, doesn't make it bad. They discontinued the buick GNX a LONG time ago, and it still reins as one of the best quartermile cars ever produced. Same can be said of the Eclipse GSX/Talon TSI AWD/Plymouth Laser RS.

Curbweight of a Ferrari 360 Modena is about 3200lbs, MR2 Turbo is 2800lbs, but the Modena is using 19" and 18" rims on top of the line tires, whereas the MR2 is outbraking the Modena on small 15" rims on regular cheap tires.

And yes, generally speaking a shorter wheelbased car is going to corner better than a long wheel based car. Has nothing to do with drivetrain.