The story of how it happened is long and absurd so i’ll just jump right into it.
RWD vs. FWD (in poor conditions)
and
Understeer vs. Oversteer (which is easier to correct?)
Opinions?
rwd vs fwd in poor conditions (aka rain or snow) hands down FWD
oversteer or understeer…which is easier to correct (do you mean in an emergency? or trying to tune a car to exhibit one of those handling traits?)
i’ve been driving my 240 for the last week or so now because i have my integra in at the shop getting some body work done so it doesnt rust out over the winter… and in this snow/rain I’m finding the rwd to handle alot better then the fwd.
my integra doesnt seem to slide or what not but if anything while turning i will start sliding straight. in the 240 so far i’ve yet to incounter a single problem.
IMO, it’s all about your level of driving.
Poor conditions are poor conditions. It’s all about HOW you gas & brake.
That said, IMO RWD is WAY better (and 5-spd) because you have more options in an emergency situation.
Understeer can be corrected with an e-brake in many situations and oversteer can be corrected with proper counter-steering & throttle control or release. Understeer is more nasty if you ask me, because it’s usually caused by entering a downhill turn too fast and depending on your speed, there may be no hope for an easy recovery…but essentially both under and oversteer in worst cases have “points of no return”… :twisted:
just because a car is fwd does not mean it understeers.
and just because a car is rwd does not mean it oversteers.
:lol: Nice.
A little tap o’ that S13 gas outta fix things up in a jiffy. 8)
I second that.
i will 3rd that 
I’d have to say I prefer RWD in poor conditions. I drove the coupe auto/KA/snows one winter and 5spd/SR/snows for another and this year I’m driving a FWD/5spd/V6/snows winter beater. The FWD is easier to drive and is less ‘twitchy’ but I feel it offers less control. I also found that in heavy snow conditions the RWD with LSD was able to power through snow better than FWD with open diff.
Another downside is that open diff FWD tends to peg leg, torque steer and understeer even in dry conditions. In heavy snow it’s really bad. Making it hard to steer and apply power. In RWD the front tires are dedicated to just steering and the rears (both of them -LSD W00t) can worry about driving the car forward. Throttle can also be used to steer the car. Plus a nice handling car in the summer is still a nice handling car in the winter.
^^^ Agreed…
Yep. LSD and snow tires make -all- the difference.
I drive my moms 98 accord v6 fwd, and my 240, and I have to say, RWD vehicles are much more predictable. Fwd they sway all over the place, whereas rwd you pretty much know what will happen with it if you swing out the back end, or give it to much gas in the snow/rain.
FWD Unpredictable
RWD Predictable
BTW when I say Oversteer vs. Understeer I mean if you experience either, which is easier to correct?
There’s always one solution for understeer: lay off the gas. If it’s really bad, straight out the wheel for a second, let the tires grip and then turn again.
With oversteer, there’s a half dozen ways to correct it, and some of them only work in certain conditions. You can let off the gas, but you risk bouncing to the other side with a tank-slapper. You can counter-steer, but you’ve got to have a good feel for the car. You can add throttle if the oversteer is controllable and you think other options are risky. You can mix and match the above, and also add brake and clutch work.
Now, put your mom or grandmother into an understeer or oversteer situation. Which is more likely to end up in a catastrophic disaster?
The way that I see it:
FWD: Takes more to get out of control, BUT, once you loose it there is less you can do to correct it.
RWD: Will go out of control easier, BUT, you have a more options to correct it with.
I may have just reworded what others have said, if so I am sorry.
- AWD 8)