ThanksAJ in Car Accident
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Growing up in the snowiest populated part of the new world, I remember cocky all wheel drive people trying to follow me up I590 in Rochester. I was able to drive my rear wheel drive 1981 Monte Carlo boat up the unplowed passing lane at full speed with the floor pan riding the top of the snow the whole way without an issue. Some all wheel drives thought that if I could do it, they could do it and caused a huge pileup behind me. Shut the highway for the day. They spun out the instant that they hit the deep snow.
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Man, I miss rear-wheel drive cars.
I could go anywhere at all in my Firebirds, as long as I put the skinny tires on the back and a little weight in the rear-end. I hate that nearly everything is front-drive anymore. -
@art_of_shred said:
Man, I miss rear-wheel drive cars.
I could go anywhere at all in my Firebirds, as long as I put the skinny tires on the back and a little weight in the rear-end. I hate that nearly everything is front-drive anymore.I second that, RWD cars are 100x more fun. Having driven both extensively in the snow, you're crazy to think RWD is better. It's simply not. Not even close actually lol.
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@art_of_shred said:
Man, I miss rear-wheel drive cars.
I could go anywhere at all in my Firebirds, as long as I put the skinny tires on the back and a little weight in the rear-end. I hate that nearly everything is front-drive anymore.Same here. It's one of the few reasons I always consider a BMW. The high end cars mostly remain rear wheel drives (and it is why I don't consider Audi anything more than a glorified VW.)
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@MattSpeller said:
I second that, RWD cars are 100x more fun. Having driven both extensively in the snow, you're crazy to think RWD is better. It's simply not. Not even close actually lol.
Because you like spinning wildly out of control?
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@MattSpeller said:
@art_of_shred said:
Man, I miss rear-wheel drive cars.
I could go anywhere at all in my Firebirds, as long as I put the skinny tires on the back and a little weight in the rear-end. I hate that nearly everything is front-drive anymore.I second that, RWD cars are 100x more fun. Having driven both extensively in the snow, you're crazy to think RWD is better. It's simply not. Not even close actually lol.
Wow, I usually agree with you on most things. Enjoy your girly FWD's.
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@scottalanmiller said:
@MattSpeller said:
I second that, RWD cars are 100x more fun. Having driven both extensively in the snow, you're crazy to think RWD is better. It's simply not. Not even close actually lol.
Because you like spinning wildly out of control?
In a RWD car, intentionally, on dry / wet pavement - oh hell yes.
Given the choice of either on snow or ice I'll take FWD every time.
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@art_of_shred said:
@MattSpeller said:
@art_of_shred said:
Man, I miss rear-wheel drive cars.
I could go anywhere at all in my Firebirds, as long as I put the skinny tires on the back and a little weight in the rear-end. I hate that nearly everything is front-drive anymore.I second that, RWD cars are 100x more fun. Having driven both extensively in the snow, you're crazy to think RWD is better. It's simply not. Not even close actually lol.
Wow, I usually agree with you on most things. Enjoy your girly FWD's.
lol it's ok to be wrong every now and again
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@art_of_shred said:
@MattSpeller said:
@art_of_shred said:
Man, I miss rear-wheel drive cars.
I could go anywhere at all in my Firebirds, as long as I put the skinny tires on the back and a little weight in the rear-end. I hate that nearly everything is front-drive anymore.I second that, RWD cars are 100x more fun. Having driven both extensively in the snow, you're crazy to think RWD is better. It's simply not. Not even close actually lol.
Wow, I usually agree with you on most things. Enjoy your girly FWD's.
I feel it important to point out that I prefer to drive RWD cars
If you compare the two on snow, FWD is just better.
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@MattSpeller said:
@scottalanmiller said:
@MattSpeller said:
I second that, RWD cars are 100x more fun. Having driven both extensively in the snow, you're crazy to think RWD is better. It's simply not. Not even close actually lol.
Because you like spinning wildly out of control?
In a RWD car, intentionally, on dry / wet pavement - oh hell yes.
Given the choice of either on snow or ice I'll take FWD every time.
Why? On dry pavement, doesn't matter much. It's the control on ice and snow that makes RWD so important.
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@MattSpeller I'm glad you don't feel too bad about it. Maybe next time...
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@MattSpeller said:
If you compare the two on snow, FWD is just better.
How? It has less control, it is dramatically more dangerous.
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@scottalanmiller said:
@MattSpeller said:
If you compare the two on snow, FWD is just better.
How? It has less control, it is dramatically more dangerous.
You're just 100% incorrect. The weight of the engine and trans sitting right on the wheel gives traction. You can start, you can stop. Much more safe than RWD.
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Obviously we get some kind of oddball snow down here, because I'm sticking with my 4x4 (not AWD, switchable 4 wheel drive). I was one of very few vehicles that weren't immobilized by the 2014 snowstorm (many were immobilized by their own stupidity). And FWIW, my old Jetta FWD was the shit in snow also.
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@MattSpeller said:
@scottalanmiller said:
@MattSpeller said:
If you compare the two on snow, FWD is just better.
How? It has less control, it is dramatically more dangerous.
You're just 100% incorrect. The weight of the engine and trans sitting right on the wheel gives traction. You can start, you can stop. Much more safe than RWD.
That's exactly why it is dangerous. All the traction is in the front... that's what makes the car go into a spin. We are very aware of the additional traction. It is that that traction is what kills you is what those who live in the snow belt are painfully aware of. It's an illusion of control, it's actually a dramatic loss of control.
I explained about this earlier in the thread. It's the common myth that the "extra traction" adds safety.
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Front-wheel drive is the popular "safe" option because it's like having training wheels for the snow. It's not really the best, but it makes basic driving simpler to grasp for the amateurs. And that's probably important. I've never had a problem keeping a RWD on the road in the worst of conditions, but I know how to drive one. For someone without the training needed to be a "power user" with RWD, you're better off sticking with FWD. I don't mean it to sound condescending, it's just really the difference between the 2. The driver makes all the difference.
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@RojoLoco said:
Obviously we get some kind of oddball snow down here, because I'm sticking with my 4x4 (not AWD, switchable 4 wheel drive). I was one of very few vehicles that weren't immobilized by the 2014 snowstorm (many were immobilized by their own stupidity). And FWIW, my old Jetta FWD was the shit in snow also.
Not oddball, it is that you are trading safety and control for the ability to get up to speed. We aren't saying that RWD have more ability to avoid getting stuck, we are saying that when you need to drive in snow, living is better than dying and trumps not getting stuck.
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@scottalanmiller said:
@MattSpeller said:
@scottalanmiller said:
@MattSpeller said:
If you compare the two on snow, FWD is just better.
How? It has less control, it is dramatically more dangerous.
You're just 100% incorrect. The weight of the engine and trans sitting right on the wheel gives traction. You can start, you can stop. Much more safe than RWD.
That's exactly why it is dangerous. All the traction is in the front... that's what makes the car go into a spin. We are very aware of the additional traction. It is that that traction is what kills you is what those who live in the snow belt are painfully aware of. It's an illusion of control, it's actually a dramatic loss of control.
I explained about this earlier in the thread. It's the common myth that the "extra traction" adds safety.
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@MattSpeller said:
@scottalanmiller said:
@MattSpeller said:
If you compare the two on snow, FWD is just better.
How? It has less control, it is dramatically more dangerous.
You're just 100% incorrect. The weight of the engine and trans sitting right on the wheel gives traction. You can start, you can stop. Much more safe than RWD.
That's why anyone with a lick of sense puts weight in the back of their RWD for the winter...
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@art_of_shred said:
Front-wheel drive is the popular "safe" option because it's like having training wheels for the snow. It's not really the best, but it makes basic driving simpler to grasp for the amateurs. And that's probably important. I've never had a problem keeping a RWD on the road in the worst of conditions, but I know how to drive one. For someone without the training needed to be a "power user" with RWD, you're better off sticking with FWD. I don't mean it to sound condescending, it's just really the difference between the 2. The driver makes all the difference.
I don't agree there. I think FWD is the worst thing because it gives people the illusion of control. Only a truly advanced driver who knows exactly why his AWD or FWD is going to try to kill him and how should drive one. They let you get up to speed and then kill you. RWD might cause you to get stuck, but it is going to keep you from having the life threatening accidents.
I wonder what percentage of winter road deaths can be attributed to the belief that getting enough traction to get moving is the priority, not the manner in which a car behaves when it needs to slow down.
