AvramD

Hey mm,

Saw that sub-thread a while back w/ that guy trying to make the AMG vs. S4 decision. Your point about awd only mattering in acceleration situations is correct - but there is a critical acceleration situation you neglected to metion that is worth noting: engine braking.

AWD cars are less likely to oversteer or understeer, and will do so less drastically, when lifting the throttle while cornering, than 2wd cars.

So, you could argue that unless you're going to put it in neutral whenever you corner, AWD cars are actually better in all high performance cornering situations.

And of course it's primarly more of a safety for the medium-experienced driver; a track-seasoned driver knows how to handle his throttle to avoid this problem even if he is in 2wd car.

But again the fact that an awd driver can engine brake into a turn with less drama than a 2wd driver, does give him an extra little tool on the track that the other guys don't have.

Gorobei

Could you explain why this is so? In all my years on this board I've never seen this claim.

BiggerTwin

My S4 isn't as prone to it as the Subaru but more so than my M3. My C4 Corvette was particularly prone to it. My personal experience has been that vehicle dynamics and not drive system is the most important criteria.

Alan

jprice@CPS

AWD big advantage on the track is exiting corners. Understeer vs oversteer vs nuetral going into corners has more to do with suspension / tires IMO.

nick n

If we're talking about regular street cars then they're not. AWD will push on a dry track no matter what. AWD is peferable for any other condtion but the dry.

nick n

A lot of counter and throttle would be necessary if one's is fighting for lap times - especially out of the apex.

In the real world, most would select the AWD option including myself because of the advantages, it's almost a no brainer. If it's a race car that we're talking about, not a daily driver, then the AWD choice would not be the way to go.

nick n

..I don't think I understand how I'm generalizing here. It takes more initial inertia to get moving in a AWD car. I believe that you yourself understand that but perhaps more details for the sake of others? I dunno.

nick n

..although, the majority of the serious race cars that make serious power out there (on the track) are in fact RWD, not to say that they're always the winner at the end of the day (although one obvious winning example would be Audi's success in the LeMans series with the R8) but it has always been the more logical approach for decades.

nyet

when in reality, they generally mean "can't induce oversteer as easily to fix a bad slip angle and/or bad entry attitude"

nyet

99% of it is 1) classification rules 2) weight 3) complexity.