dxben

The past 5 days have been one giant smackdown from the clouds, with flash flooding all over Westchester and endless gloom from the sky.

I95 was gettings sheets of rain dropped on it and even during mild droppage the trucks were spraying behind galons of water...

I know how RWD performance fans always say that "you don't drive fast in the rain, who needs AWD...?"

All I can say is that the RS4 showed no drama in these conditions, something not surprising to anyone here, nor to anyone with an A4 for that matter.

M3? Eat your heart out!

McGyver

Hard to put a price on security! Some nights, it's just nice to make it home safely.

chaotic

thats awesome. up here in the PNW rain like that is normal 8 months out of the year. often times the RWD and even FWD cars can be seen pulled over on the side of the road. subies and audis keep moving along...

Timmay

Don't know why dxben and others continue to downplay the M3 so much. It's old news already. Trust me, RWD can be and is more engaging than AWD in the right environment. What's the right environment? WEST COAST!

dxben

Well firstly, let's dispense with the old ruse that AWD is only good for the North East snow belt. As has been said, there is Oregon, Washington State, how about Minnesota and Wisconsin? Any part of the midwest that gets bad winter weather?

If AWD was just for New England I would think it would be a pretty much a waste of car maker's time and money and a failure. Clearly its being touted by Infiniti, Suburu, Acura, Audi and now Lexus to name just a few. Are they all selling these in Boston and NY? Doubt it.

As far as the M3 and why I downplay it, well I just gave you one really darn good reason.

There are other reasons I downplay it, for instance it looks rather unprofessional and boy racerish, there are gazillions of them and there will be gatrillions of the new ones, etc. (i'll leave etc. for another time)...

In any case I think both are purpose built cars and as far as cars being "more engaging" I think there is somewhat of a manufactured hype about RWD and their fun quality.

I think fun is a subjective term. Horses for courses I am saying, and for my course I am glad I am not riding an M3.

Timmay

here on this forum more than a few times. I don't understand why you like to compare them so much.

Let's not forget that I am driving an AWD or Quattro vehicle so you don't need to preach to me about the advantages. You can turn this around and say AWD is overrated for environments that don't fall into the NE, Pacific NW, etc.

To me you just seem to be constantly trying to support your decision to be driving an RS4. Do you need an RS4 to be driving around in NY? I think not. You can certainly talk about how great your car is and how it can handle the heavy rainfall with aplomb but jeez, give it a rest already with the fvcking M3. It's old!

Do you really think most people on this RS4 board care about your view on the M3? It's highly unlikely.

Let's get another thing straight, I did not state that AWD is specifically made for the aforementioned regions.

larryV

That is the dumbest thing I've ever heard.

There's nothing manufactured about it. Not only are RWD cars more fun because of the increased ability to steer with the throttle and decreased tendency for understeer, they are clearly more efficient when it comes to vehicle dynamics in extreme situations (dry track, racing, etc). There is a reason why most race cars (including the Audi R8 and R10 ALMS cars) are RWD. Not only does it save weight and facilitates better balance in vehicle chassis design, it represents enthusiast driving in its purest form. And most importantly, it affords wannabe racers and weekend track hacks like myself a better opportunity to become a better driver. Quattro is great for driving through a midwest snow storm or crossing a mountain pass and all, but given a situation when you can really stretch the car's legs out (which is what performance cars like this are really made for instead of driving home in a torrential downpour right?), quattro will also hide your mistakes and let you get away with sloppy driving. Yes, there's fun in that too but it's almost like playing a video game and using the cheat codes just to see the ending.

Don't get me wrong, I love my RS4. I get a kick out of proving to Audi haters that Audi can make a car that can boogie around with the best of them. And of course, it's as versatile as any daily driver could ever get. But no true car enthusiast can ever deny RWD for what they do better than AWD or FWD cars... if they do, then they're more likely just a garden variety Audi fan boy.

VerrÜckt

Although I have a feeling Audi would use quattro in the Le Mans cars if the rules allowed it. It rains enough that there would be an advantage and it's another technology they could showcase.

dxben

Yes, there's fun in that too but it's almost like playing a video game and using the cheat codes just to see the ending.

Like I said, fun is subjective. I think you just made my point exactly. Words like "pure" describe an original way of thinking, not necessarily the right way of thinking.

dxben

why i like to compare them? yeah it was my original idea to compare them, clever me.

i compare them because they are constantly compared, even on this forum and every other forum discussing the S4 and RS4.

if you don't care to hear my thoughts on the M3, then don't read my posts, but don't speak for others. the thread is titled frivilous, try not to take it so seriously.

And lastly you did say in your thread title "its mostly a non-issue for those of us who don't live on the East Coast", am I imagining that?

Definitely lighten up, posts like these shouldn't get everyone riled up. It's not as if I made this post on an M3 forum. Sheesh.