<VV> Novas and Vairs

[JVHRoberts at aol.com]

It's still wrong wheel drive in my book. Can you imagine how silly a  
Corvette would be if it were FWD?
 
In a message dated 4/13/2007 9:37:18 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
corvair at fnader.com writes:

To  anyone who thinks FWD is dangerous or not fun to drive, may I remind 
you  of the tremendous success of the Mini Cooper S in numerous outright 
rally  wins against much more powerful (and more "sporting") competition?

FWD,  like all other forms of driveline, has advantages and 
disadvantages. It is  the best configuration for low traction surfaces 
(proven in any number of  tests), it makes for forgiving handling 
(natural tendancy to understeer,  drop throttle corrections, etc),  and 
makes for a convenient power  unit for design and engineering purposes 
(as does a similar power unit in  rear engine RWD designs) with little 
encroachment into the passenger  space.

For all of its benefits, rear engine, RWD fails the "forgiving  handling" 
test. Even though the handling  limits may be higher  (handling limits in 
FWD are necessarily limited by the conditions already  discussed) the 
behavior at and after that limit is more suitable for a  larger number of 
drivers. Plus FWD gives you much more early information  to slow down... 
Only the advent of traction control and stability control  (as well as 
modern tire design which make the handling limits harder to  reach in 
normal driving) makes the return of RWD practical for the general  
market. ABS also makes a significant improvement in the safety of FWD  
handling...

So for the masses, I think FWD is the best solution,  but outside of my 
Minis, I try to avoid it for my own  cars...

Bill







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