Is RWD a bad idea for a first car?

[M22]

I saw this on Facebook and thought i would bring the question here, what do you guys think, is it a bad idea for a first car to be a RWD, what are your thoughts on this??
Article:
http://www.carthrottle.com/why-your-first-car-should-not-be-rearwheel-drive/

To start off
My opinion:
EX1: I have a RWD vehicle and i think it is fine for me so far is from experience I drive a car which is 2.2 tons, its not a light car, so you have to put your foot down just to get it going, the other factor is, my car comes with ASR or Traction Control which is too touchy, try to do something stupid and bamn it comes on and stops you from having any fun, you can turn it off but you wouldn't. RWD is ok in moderation depending on the weight, horsepower and if you are a lead foot or not.

To sum up:
if you are a heavy foot who likes a good bit of power, a 330CI manual may not be the best option for you compared to say a Subaru Liberty which is AWD or a FWD Toyota Yaris Yr. If you aren't a heavy foot and don't think you are Youichi Imamura, then a BMW 330CI should be ok depending on other statistics such as your budget and so on. A good idea too is to take your car to a track or roads outback so you can get to know your car a little bit more. Experience is also another point to take, the more driving or experience, the more most likely your going to control a car better.

Edited December 15, 2014 by epoxi
Text colour changed

[Carlover325]

It doesn't matter. All cars are a risk to a new driver, whether it be RWD, FWD, or AWD. It's the inexperience behind the steering wheel that make them dangerous, not the drive wheels.

[TECHN9CiAN]

You' ll be fine in a RWD car, as long as you dont stomp the gas pedal, especially when turning

Would u get a new one or old? Most cars nowadays have some sort of traction control system in place to substantially reduce spinning out in RWD cars. Some also have the option to have traction control turned off if u want to have some fun with it.

Edited December 15, 2014 by TECHN9CiAN

[sivispacem]

RWD can be just as neutral as FWD. When combined with an agile chassis and not very much power (for instance in an MX-5) then it's great for newer drivers as long as they have the maturity not to behave like morons.

[GN 92]

I'm 22 and got a rwd vehicle. I don't do stupid things but i couldn't say the same about my friends.

[Dottie]

No. Actually the first vehicle I have driven (minus the drivers ed car) was a RWD SUV. Its more of the driver experience rather than the drivetrain

[79'Blazer4x4]

As long as you have common sense there's absolutely nothing wrong with having RWD for your first car. Then again that logic can be applied to any first car, RWD or not.

Sadly, common sense seems to be becoming a thing of the past.

[Lurch]

RWD can be a great way to teach car control. So long as you're not trying to be a drift king at every redlight. Open diff stuff won't even really want to get sideways anyway (at least under throttle).

Edited December 16, 2014 by Lurch

[161isaiah161]

As long as its not got 1000hp and bad tyres then your okay

[SouthLand]

You can drive a 600bhp car calmly or drive a 70bhp Dacia Logan completly wild crash and die

[Cudwieser]

As others have basically said. No. Ultimately it is down to the driver.

 

Just take it easy, be calm and don't pretend you know how to drive just because you have a license (check Dumb Drivers Thread).

 

The only thing I'll add is that dynamically most cars respond in similar ways up until the point you try to correct a mistake. Go too hard and even a Porsche will go head first off the road, but hit the brakes/come off the gas and then things get interesting. Most cars will plow straight on under heavy breaking, but getting off the brakes and/or on the gas too quick and steering sharply to avoid a collision can cause a spin (even in FWD).

 

What causes the spin is weight transfer. FWD cars are Front heavy with the front wheels pulling the car straight. RWD is anywhere from front heavy to 50/50 with the Rear wheels pushing. Upset the balance of a FWD car and it will spin unless you steadily accelerate to correct the over steer, but with a RWD accelerating may exacerbate the spin as under heavy braking the rear becomes light and traction to the driven wheels is reduced. Accelerating will usually encourage the rear to travel quicker than the front of the car with what little grip there may be accelerating a spin if one is in motion. Sudden release of the brakes will cause a sudden transfer of weight to the driven wheels causing a sharp acceleration initiating a spin if one hasn't already started or a tank slapper if the car was already in a state of over steer.

 

(for porsche 911 see RWD but be aware that with a rear biased weight the above effects of RWD are multiplied 10 fold, with the addition of very vague steering under acceleration)

 

Ultimate to drive any car, be steady on controls, be vigilant of terrain and undulations, easy of the gas in good time before bends and crests and brake steadily long before any clear obstruct. be calm and don't panic if trouble strikes.

[BigJoe_1]

In my opinion it's all down to the driver and how they drive. Like the article says, if you have a heavy foot getting a RWD for your first car is only going to bring you trouble but if feathering the throttle is something your good at then by all means spunk all your money on that fancy CLK you've been eyeing up in the showroom for the past few months.

 

There is one thing though, if money isn't a problem don't get a Challenger Hellcat someone crashed one of them a few days ago and they've only been in dealers for just over a month. Not that I think you would, I'm a pretty good driver and even I would be sh*tting myself behind the wheel in one of those it's like the engine was made by satan himself it's that powerful.

[Cudwieser]

It's just 700+ little horse powers. I'm sure you can deal with a small ranch of horses. Can't you.

Edited December 23, 2014 by Cudwieser

[Dottie]

In my opinion it's all down to the driver and how they drive. Like the article says, if you have a heavy foot getting a RWD for your first car is only going to bring you trouble but if feathering the throttle is something your good at then by all means spunk all your money on that fancy CLK you've been eyeing up in the showroom for the past few months.

 

Just to add on. You're no safer heavy footing a high powered FWD car either (based off of experience ). FWD cars past 250 HP or greater may experience major understeer upon flooring it (The Chrysler 200S i occasionally drive loves understeer ). Learning to control your vehicle and being aware of your surroundings are key in making sure you don't crash or cause others to crash, regardless of vehicle.

[79'Blazer4x4]

 

In my opinion it's all down to the driver and how they drive. Like the article says, if you have a heavy foot getting a RWD for your first car is only going to bring you trouble but if feathering the throttle is something your good at then by all means spunk all your money on that fancy CLK you've been eyeing up in the showroom for the past few months.

 

Just to add on. You're no safer heavy footing a high powered FWD car either (based off of experience ). FWD cars past 250 HP or greater may experience major understeer upon flooring it.

 

Yep, the only real difference is what you're gonna hit.

[Cudwieser]

There's no real difference. Its all too important and best avoided.

 

P.S The one thing that always gets hit in an accident is you, the driver. Be Careful

Edited December 23, 2014 by Cudwieser

[BigJoe_1]

 

In my opinion it's all down to the driver and how they drive. Like the article says, if you have a heavy foot getting a RWD for your first car is only going to bring you trouble but if feathering the throttle is something your good at then by all means spunk all your money on that fancy CLK you've been eyeing up in the showroom for the past few months.

 

Just to add on. You're no safer heavy footing a high powered FWD car either (based off of experience ). FWD cars past 250 HP or greater may experience major understeer upon flooring it (The Chrysler 200S i occasionally drive loves understeer ). Learning to control your vehicle and being aware of your surroundings are key in making sure you don't crash or cause others to crash, regardless of vehicle.

True. My friend before he switched to RWD managed to get his hands on 2012 Focus ST and as you guys know that thing is quite powerful. He lives in an estate and one day he thought it would be a good idea to try 'drifting' , he's hopeless when it comes to cars btw.

 

So when we come to the first turn, which isn't that sharp btw it's about 135°, he floors it and tries to come in from the outside to the inside but instead of going sideways he practically goes straight on and nearly hits a street sign that says 20's plenty. It was honestly quite hilarious if I do say so myself but in all seriousness we were lucky there was no one on the pavement at the time, I tried to tell him that FWD and drifting just don't go together but he didn't listen, he's really stubborn that way.

 

I consider being a good driver one of the good traits that I was blessed with and after I passed my test and was learning with my VW Golf there wasn't much that I hadn't learned of had to master then again I'm sure it will be a whole different story when I get my Supra in a few years time .

Edited December 23, 2014 by BigJoe_1

[Dottie]

It's possible to drift in FWD, but it will be just small intersection drifts

Long, sweeping turns + FWD drift = fail

I haven't even attempted to drift in any car and I probably won't

[Cudwieser]

Drifting is all about weight, traction and where it is. A very dark art is knowing and feeling the balance. FWD cars are just too one sided to sustain a powered drift. The best FWD's to drift are short wheel based and involve a strong input and quick release. Most FWD feint drift when suddenly taken off the power (go to 30-50mph in an area with plenty of room). Get of the gas sharply and turning sharply. The weight will move forward and the rear should become light and easier to coax round. To correct just steadily accelerate.

[79'Blazer4x4]

The most I've drifted is slow drifts around rural corners in snow and drifts + donuts on dirt or grass in fields(and the occasional gravel road curve). Any paved spot that would actually be ideal for drifting has too much traffic and I'm not willing to endanger others by being stupid. Even when I do it in the situations I mentioned above I always make damn sure I can tell there are no other vehicles in the vicinity.

[Killerdude]

Nothing wrong with RWD at all, In fact it is much better than FWD.

RWD cars can take a lot more power because of the drive shaft as compared to CV joints in an FWD. The car is more balanced all around which results in much better handling.

They're also a lot better in the winter, Drive and Steering are separate which is a lot safer because if you lose traction in your drive wheels, you can still steer and correct any fishtailing. In an FWD if you lose traction in your drive wheels, You've also lost all your steering, which means you're basically f*cked.

 

Starting out with a RWD is just better overall for you as a Driver, It teaches you valuable lessons in controlling your vehicle, Not to mention you can correct Oversteer, whereas you cannot with Understeer.

 

I have driven a few FWD cars and they all feel very sloppy and sluggish to drive, RWD cars just handle and drive a lot better IMHO.

[BigJoe_1]

I know drifting is possible in FWD cars but I just don't think it would be that fun to do. When you've got RWD you have much more variety, you can slide for longer and for further distances, you can have much more angle and it's a lot easier to feather and control the power output on a RWD.

 

With FWD your arsenal is very limited and it's pretty much the opposite of what I stated in the first paragraph.

 

However there are quite a lot of FWD cars that have potential to become good drift cars once the drivetrain has been swapped. There is an automotive garage near where I live that specializes in Japanese cars and general car modding, previously someone came in with a bone stock 1999 Honda Prelude and a year and a half after all the conversions and upgrades the car turned out to be quite the drifter.

[Cudwieser]

Nothing wrong with RWD at all, In fact it is much better than FWD.

RWD cars can take a lot more power because of the drive shaft as compared to CV joints in an FWD. The car is more balanced all around which results in much better handling.

They're also a lot better in the winter, Drive and Steering are separate which is a lot safer because if you lose traction in your drive wheels, you can still steer and correct any fishtailing. In an FWD if you lose traction in your drive wheels, You've also lost all your steering, which means you're basically f*cked.

 

Starting out with a RWD is just better overall for you as a Driver, It teaches you valuable lessons in controlling your vehicle, Not to mention you can correct Oversteer, whereas you cannot with Understeer.

 

I have driven a few FWD cars and they all feel very sloppy and sluggish to drive, RWD cars just handle and drive a lot better IMHO.

 

 

I beg to differ about FWD cars as I find them the most stable, largely because they are far more idiot proof compared to RWD. You do make a fair point of skills learned, the general balance and power limitations (in practical terms at least), but FWD cars make very good all weather vehicles. Certainly in specific terms if the driven wheels lose traction you loose steering on an FWD, but they are also the first wheels to regain traction. In RWD cars, to loose grip at the rear you often loose grip at the front first (not always). This means most cars will under steer first before any fish tail occurs, but when fish tail occurs you will have your hands full to correct problems. RWD requires an amount of finesse to control properly, largely because of the power, traction and weight dynamic as the weight of FWD cars is front heavy, with the weight on the driven wheels. RWD cars are largely front heavy, but have traction coming from the lightest end of the car. This demands an awareness and control to maintain the traction so the car doesn't fish tail. If fish tailing occurs then regaining control requires a very deft approach (something many are trained for. Not a justification for FWD, just an unfortunate governmental screw up) as there are combination of things needed to save the day. In FWD cars, to correct a fish tail you have a very simple means of recovery in that you accelerate out of a fish tail. You still need a gentle touch, but since the rear of the car trails the front and the front heavy nature of the car creates a constant traction on the front wheels, you have less to worry about as to where the limits of traction are.

 

In terms of normal of sporty driving RWD is better as you can you the power of the car to correct any under steer and maintain speed and momentum, but FWD isn't to be sniffed at. Fundamentally the driving style is different. With FWD you need to be more assertive. When starting a turn you apply the universal logic of slow in and fast out, but where a RWD car can correct under steer with power, FWD requires you to get off the gas, but unlike most RWD cars FWD cars are more open to trail braking where you brake latter and through the start of a turn (Trail Braking in a RWD can unsettle the balance of the car allowing the car to drift when power is applied at the apex of a turn). Since getting on the power corrects any slide in and FWD car you will be left with a stable car with plenty of traction to pull you out of a turn.

[Argonaut]

Don't head to driftworks.com/forum/ with that opinion of FWD drifting.. you might want to see how this guy went down with it:

 

http://www.driftworks.com/forum/new-driftworks/229111-new-fwd-drifter.html

 

 

Don't worry though, found someone who's obviously got more talent doing FWD drifts:

 

 

I know drifting is possible in FWD cars but I just don't think it would be that fun to do. When you've got RWD you have much more variety, you can slide for longer and for further distances, you can have much more angle and it's a lot easier to feather and control the power output on a RWD.

 

With FWD your arsenal is very limited and it's pretty much the opposite of what I stated in the first paragraph.

 

However there are quite a lot of FWD cars that have potential to become good drift cars once the drivetrain has been swapped. There is an automotive garage near where I live that specializes in Japanese cars and general car modding, previously someone came in with a bone stock 1999 Honda Prelude and a year and a half after all the conversions and upgrades the car turned out to be quite the drifter.

 

Wish I lived somewhere within reach of a decent car scene.. Cheshire is stereotyped to be posh as hell, just go Crewe and see what you think then ahahaha.. but still not a tuning shop for miles.

Edited December 24, 2014 by Argonaut

[Cudwieser]

Does your flag not tell you anything. The British Tuning garage and supplier is not a high street affair. It's pubs, clubs, back streets and gardens.

 

One thing British Tuners are famed for is getting a hell of a lot out of very little and for fine set ups and balance.

If you want a drift machine you'll get no better than these two.

 

The Hopkirk Sled

 

The Ari V Rocket

 

[sivispacem]

British drifting to me equals DW86.

 

[BigJoe_1]

I know drifting is possible in FWD cars but I just don't think it would be that fun to do. When you've got RWD you have much more variety, you can slide for longer and for further distances, you can have much more angle and it's a lot easier to feather and control the power output on a RWD.

 

With FWD your arsenal is very limited and it's pretty much the opposite of what I stated in the first paragraph.

 

However there are quite a lot of FWD cars that have potential to become good drift cars once the drivetrain has been swapped. There is an automotive garage near where I live that specializes in Japanese cars and general car modding, previously someone came in with a bone stock 1999 Honda Prelude and a year and a half after all the conversions and upgrades the car turned out to be quite the drifter.

 

Wish I lived somewhere within reach of a decent car scene.. Cheshire is stereotyped to be posh as hell, just go Crewe and see what you think then ahahaha.. but still not a tuning shop for miles.

There isn't a huge car scene where I live either, just a really good shop.

 

Here in Rutherglen and pretty much the whole of South Lanarkshire all we see are poorly modified Corsa's and Golf's from 2004. There's this one guy that lives down the road from me that owns the ugliest CR-X Del Sol, but it's not all bad there's this guy that lives in my building that drives a 2004 Lancer Evo that has some nice tasteful mods that really make the car stand out in a good way.

 

However I'm positive that there is a few tuners up in East Kilbride so eventually I'm going to go up there and see for myself.

Edited December 24, 2014 by BigJoe_1

[Killerdude]

 

I beg to differ about FWD cars as I find them the most stable, largely because they are far more idiot proof compared to RWD. You do make a fair point of skills learned, the general balance and power limitations (in practical terms at least), but FWD cars make very good all weather vehicles. Certainly in specific terms if the driven wheels lose traction you loose steering on an FWD, but they are also the first wheels to regain traction. In RWD cars, to loose grip at the rear you often loose grip at the front first (not always). This means most cars will under steer first before any fish tail occurs, but when fish tail occurs you will have your hands full to correct problems. RWD requires an amount of finesse to control properly, largely because of the power, traction and weight dynamic as the weight of FWD cars is front heavy, with the weight on the driven wheels. RWD cars are largely front heavy, but have traction coming from the lightest end of the car. This demands an awareness and control to maintain the traction so the car doesn't fish tail. If fish tailing occurs then regaining control requires a very deft approach (something many are trained for. Not a justification for FWD, just an unfortunate governmental screw up) as there are combination of things needed to save the day. In FWD cars, to correct a fish tail you have a very simple means of recovery in that you accelerate out of a fish tail. You still need a gentle touch, but since the rear of the car trails the front and the front heavy nature of the car creates a constant traction on the front wheels, you have less to worry about as to where the limits of traction are.

 

In terms of normal of sporty driving RWD is better as you can you the power of the car to correct any under steer and maintain speed and momentum, but FWD isn't to be sniffed at. Fundamentally the driving style is different. With FWD you need to be more assertive. When starting a turn you apply the universal logic of slow in and fast out, but where a RWD car can correct under steer with power, FWD requires you to get off the gas, but unlike most RWD cars FWD cars are more open to trail braking where you brake latter and through the start of a turn (Trail Braking in a RWD can unsettle the balance of the car allowing the car to drift when power is applied at the apex of a turn). Since getting on the power corrects any slide in and FWD car you will be left with a stable car with plenty of traction to pull you out of a turn.

 

Very good points, I totally agree, But to be perfectly Honest, I am SUPER Biased towards RWD car, since I learned on them and all my cars are RWD.

[Cudwieser]

Fair do's. Admittedly I'm front heavy (need to lay of the mince pies ) In saying all that there is a truth in RWD and winter weather. The Scandinavians have remarkably thorough driving tuition with tiered licenses and tests that effectively take you from noob to race driver in 4 years and nearly all Scandinavians swear by old Volvos and RWD.

Edited December 24, 2014 by Cudwieser

[ChrissDaMan]

I live in Sweden where the most comon cars for new drivers are either Volvo 740 or 940, sometime 240 aswell, though they are getting kinda rare nowadays, We by these cars cause these are the cheapest cars to get in Sweden, I would guess that maybe 80% of the boys and gals turning 18 get a 2,7 or a 940 which means the most 18 years old start out with rwd (I didn't though, I got a SAAB at first)

 

Then, also since we live in a cold climat where we get frozen roads which gives the the young ones a challange to to eally learn how to handel a RWD in the snow.. We do drift and powerslide(in nonpopulated areas) for the most it doesn't take long time to learn and not at all many 18 year olds crash their cars, of course ve drive Volvos with 115 horsepowers.... When I take my Volvo out for some fun in the snow at night and I decide I wanna do a burnout/powerslide I allways keep thinking to myself "the worse thing that could happen is that I crash" with that I mean that when I powerslide my 115 bhp Volvo I cant realycrash so hard that I die, or even that the car gets totalled.

Than ofcourse the other swedes that get FWD-cars like SAAB, Opel, Seat etc put their minds to learn to do handbreak slides (The most of of them do it pretty well) I think both ways are fun but I prefer RWD....

 

Anyways, I see you live in Australia, so you don't have to worry about the snow hehe... But what I want to say is that, yeah RWD is the best thing to go for as a first car, it's a great way to learn to handle a car and it's a hundred times more fun then FWD or AWD IMO

 

 

Here is how it looks when swedes a learning bto slide their cars, this was my Mercedes with 104 BHP and Automatic gearbox, first time I ever slided a car with an automatic