FWD, RWD, front engine, mid engine, rear engine, they all have their
advantages. Most cars in the US are FWD now for many reasons. A FWD car
will act the same in almost all conditions- it will understeer. This
situation is much more acceptable than other handling mixes for the typical
driver. Understeer feels safe. Also FWD cars have a real advantage in low
traction conditions such as snow and ice. Also in the early seventies
almost all cars were RWD. During the fuel crisis, cars had to get smaller
and more fuel efficient. The better cars did this by going FWD while
others tried to build cheap RWD cars (can you say Pinto?) By 1985 almost
all cars sold in the US were FWD and any RWD cars left were considered old
fashioned. Now no one will risk upsetting the apple cart by introducing a
RWD car. For some reason the upper end of the market has been somewhat
immune to this.
One reason that mid engine and rear engine (P cars) dominate racing is that
most passing is now done under braking. On a FWD car almost 90% of the
braking is done by the front tires. The farther back the weight, the more
the rear brakes contribute. Handling quirks can be, to a great extent,
eliminated by chassis design and tire sizing rear weight bias really help
braking.
Regards,
Bill Eastman
61 MGA who has the very bad habit of locking her rear tires first under
braking.
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