What Offers the Best Performance? FWD, RWD, or AWD?

Front Wheel Drive, Rear Wheel, or All Wheel Drive, the age old question which is the best way of quickly getting around a track.

FWD fans tout predictability and overall consistency as hallmarks of the drive train. Many claim that properly set up front wheel drive vehicle is just as fast any one else.

RWD advocates on the other hand tend to focus on intangible balance and control factors of the vehicle, and the ability to place the rear drive wheels exactly at the appropriate angle to maximize power to the wheels upon acceleration. Sounds good in theory at least.

AWD zealots throw all arguments out of the window and claim that with all 4 wheels driving, maximum power and traction go to the ground at all times. While parasitic drive train drag is a factor, many times it is made up be deteriorating track conditions.

There are countless one off tests showing the strong points of all of these formats but due to rules classification they rarely meet on the track in an all out test of prowess. Great for the theories, but short on factual proof. However if you look a bit closer, the melting pot of all racing the SCCA Speed World Challenge Touring Car Series does just that.

With displacement limited to 2.8-liters and power ranging from 225 to 275 bhp, the vehicles can be FWD, RWD, or AWD. But the most important part, is that all of the formats fall into this category under very controlled circumstances. FWD Acuras and Mazdas, RWD BMWs and Lexus, and even AWD Audi’s all tangle in a fiercely competitive racing series.

So who comes out top in a series where consistency and handling are at a paramount? Oddly enough to many, the FWD Acuras and Mazdas typically dominate the crowd, followed very closely by the AWD Audi’s and RWD BMW teams nipping at the heels.

But surprising to me, is the drive trains mostly associated by enthusiast everywhere for true handling performance the RWD and maybe even the AWD consistently fall in the middle of the pack. Actually save one victory this season by a BMW and another by an Audi these supposedly superior forms of transport are routinely regulated to being bridesmaids, not the bride.

The morale to the story for those of you wanting to know, is that we can all bicker back and forth about who is the best. But every dog has his day, and in rare classes where everyone meets, the outcomes are not always as expected.

Top Ten Drivers

1. Randy Pobst - TriPoint Motorsports – Mazda6
2. Jeff Altenburg - TriPoint Motorsports – Mazda6
3. Pierre Kleinubing - RealTime Racing – Acura TSX
4. James Sofronas - GMG/Greek Bros. Racing BMW 325i
5. Peter Cunningham - RealTime Racing – Acura TSX
6. Kuno Wittmer RealTime Racing – Acura RSX
7. Chip Herr - STaSIS Engineering –Audi A4
8. Charles Espenlaub - Tindol Motorsports- Mazda6
9. Michael Galati - Tindol Motorsports- Mazda6
10. Brandon Davis - RealTime Racing – Acura TSX

* 25. Andrew Wojteczko(R)- Auto Analyzer Racing- Lexus IS (only two races this season)

Manufacturer Points

Mazda 47 Points
Acura 32 Points
Audi 19 Points
BMW 17 Points

*Lexus 0 Points (only two races this season)

Read Article

SevorbeupstryIsBack - 7/9/2007 3:41:55 PM

+2 Boost

AWD with a serious RWD character. Like the ones on the 911 Turbo or Skylines.

SHOWTIME - 7/9/2007 3:42:25 PM

+4 Boost

If two cars have the same power to weight ratio, handle the same and grip the same then the AWD should have an advantage at the track. I still prefer RWD over anything!

Agent009 - 7/9/2007 3:51:02 PM

+3 Boost

Having raced all three the AWD does have to overcome the parasitic drag of all of the moving parts. But if the track is slick or bumpy then AWD has and extreme advantage.

FWD is very consistent overall and very smooth, RWD is great if the car has excellent balance and great track conditions and little surrounding traffic to bscure the perfect line.

If you watch the series on TV then you see the BMW drivers off-roading a lot due to track conditions and more importantly lack of room to really manipulate the absolute correct line. Traffic always gets in the way and your line changes every lap. Without the proper incoming line, a lot of the handling advantage can be wasted.

I have no doubt on a open track it may be different, but qualifying in this series does not indicate anything otherwise.

truecarlover - 7/10/2007 7:54:57 AM

+1 Boost

I respect your honesty that all things being equal - AWD is the best. You state your preference for RWD - but you can still be objective - we need more like you on this site.

BMW995 - 7/9/2007 3:44:57 PM

+1 Boost

My experience with owning several FWD, RWD, and AWD cars is that RWD is the most fun and enjoyable to drive. FWD can be engineered to circulate a track just as fast as a RWD auto, BUT the spring and damper rates have to be a lot higher. This is fine on most smooth tracks, but on rough roads the FWD vehicles will bounce around a lot.
In rain or dust conditions, it's no contest - the Audis of the world will dominate.

truecarlover - 7/10/2007 7:57:09 AM

+2 Boost

I agree with much of what you said - but remember Audi dominated Trans-Am and SCCA years ago with AWD on mostly dry tracks and it was eventually banned. I think there may have been on racing series in Europe as well - but I can't recall.

Htay7500 - 7/9/2007 3:46:58 PM

+1 Boost

well FWD cars well endure tq steer, some wont, like most VW FWD setups, I prefer AWD and RWD for the track.

SevorbeupstryIsBack - 7/10/2007 7:27:43 AM

0 Boost

RWD can torque steer as well. It's great fun.

Heyhuub - 7/9/2007 4:27:52 PM

+3 Boost

The reason why Audi's with every sort of quattro has been banned from about any roadracing class is because it was so superior.

Examples,

DTM
IMSA GTO
European touringcar classes
Trans AM

EnnNorak - 7/9/2007 9:11:19 PM

0 Boost

Absolutely agree about Audi. I drive a leased A6 Quattro. The winter before last, I went through a blinding snow storm north of Lake Superior and they closed the highway behind me. I had the original Michelin all-season tires with only half the tread left. I have switched to W-rated Pirellis since then as Michelin no longer makes the original tires they sold to Audi for my 2004 model. I drove the car twice through snow storms in the Rockies on the new Pirellis. Too bad that all Quattros are not the same. The cheaper AWD system on the A3 does not have a Torsen center differential yet Audi still calls it a Quattro -- a bit of intellectual fraud if you ask me.

DarkOneForce - 7/9/2007 4:36:19 PM

-2 Boost

And it the ETCC/WTCC BMW's RWD cars defeated FWD and AWD cars despite weight penalty.

So this unheard of american competition proves what ?!

Why does the WRC use AWD ?!

F1/sport prototypes/open wheelers use RWD.

truecarlover - 7/10/2007 8:00:09 AM

+1 Boost

The circuits that use all three are usually because they are very close to stcok cars. In some ways they are closer than NASCAR to stock (so I wonder why Nascar gets that title?) F1 and prototype have a lot more to be concerned about when it comes to weight. If you notice though - their was a long time when F1 used traction control (not sure if this is still the case).

Heyhuub - 7/10/2007 10:04:27 AM

+1 Boost

WTCC and ETCC don't allow AWD. Only FWD and RWD. They learned this back in the nineties when Audi dominated the classes with their quattro.

mikeydred20 - 7/9/2007 6:01:04 PM

+3 Boost

Wow and they say Acura sucks for being FWD. When the field is equal look who wins and FWD is more dependable than RWD in the winter. Although I would take the SH-AWD any day.

Bmw8ter - 7/9/2007 6:42:27 PM

+1 Boost

That depends on who's driving either car. I never had any problems back home in Rochester, driving my mustang over snow and ice; and the trunk wasn't even loaded. People with FWD and AWD cars tend to get complacent when driving in the snow.

rg12345 - 7/10/2007 5:41:29 PM

-1 Boost

just cause you are a good driver doesn't mean everybody is. some people are not used to their car skid like crazy on wet (rwd) and will crash with the first thing like that. Not everybody is in love with cars, so they do not have to know all the subtle things about cars.

audirevolution - 7/9/2007 9:49:29 PM

0 Boost

I think it depends what climate you are living in.
In a sunny place such as California, RWD by far is the best.
However, in a place with lots of rain/snow like Seattle, AWD is the way to go.

FWD=Crap.

11SWC - 7/10/2007 12:55:54 AM

+4 Boost

It's tough to compare fwd, awd, and rwd even if they compete in the same series. Both the Mazdas and the Acuras are Factory teams with millions of development dollars while the Audis, BMW's, and Dodge's are either privateer teams or factory "supported" teams. The reason I know this is because I race in the series. I drive for Dodge in Touring and for Porsche in GT.

Of the three drivetrains FWD is the most difficult to make go fast. But it can be done although for the general public FWD is probably the safest and most consistent. RWD is the most fun to drive and in perfect conditions and in lower horsepower cars is usually the fastest. AWD is very good in most conditions especially when hp is not an object.

Oh and DarkOneForce, sorry to disapoint you but World Challenge is not an "unheard of American competition" some of the top drivers in the world run in the series. We have 3 International Champions, 3 Le Mans winners, 2 Audi factory drivers, (and 2 Factory Porsche drivers as well (in '05)) several Daytona 24 hour winners, and factory involvement from GM (Corvette and Cadillac), Dodge, Porsche, Honda, and Mazda. It's worth checking out.

matt635 - 7/10/2007 3:19:55 AM

+1 Boost

Well, like Dark Force One said this is only one example.

WTCC the RWD BMW's win the championship year after year against FWD opponents... yet in BTCC the RWD BMW's really struggle... this isn't any kind of mystical drive train voodoo, it's because the teams and drivers just aren't as good!

In STCC BMW's also dominate over the FWD cars, Although I don't know if the Audi's are AWD or not.

Different tracks play to different cars, some tracks suit FWD, some suit RWD... and also the differences are not that apparent as it also relies heavily on how the team set up the car and how good the driver is.

... and by the way would Audi fan boys PLEASE shut up about quattro being banned! get over it!

AUTO_UNION - 7/10/2007 9:11:13 AM

+1 Boost

AWD, in most conditions. AWDs only problem is weight! When it gets rid of it(lighter but stronger materials)it will be the best by far.

Heyhuub - 7/10/2007 10:08:04 AM

+2 Boost

Audi was banned from manny classes because the AWD is superior in longer racing condidtions.
Where RWD cars the tyres lose grip after a while because all the power is sent to only two wheels.
With awd where all the power is sent to all four wheels the tyres are under much less stress and wil retain their grip far better in longer racing circumstances.

matt635 - 7/10/2007 11:40:14 AM

-2 Boost

AUDI weren't banned from anything, they can compete anywhere they want as long as the cars conform to the rules... Quattro may have been banned.... so use RWD/FWD like everyone else!!

Audi fan boys take it too personally - but to fans of all motorsport coping with the regs is just another part of it. Audi are not the only manufacturer that have ever had anything banned in racing so GET OVER IT.

matt635 - 7/10/2007 11:40:15 AM

-1 Boost

matt635 - 7/10/2007 11:40:18 AM

-1 Boost

Heyhuub - 7/11/2007 3:59:22 AM

+2 Boost

Thats what i tried to say smartass.

THey now just compete with RWD in most major classes. Because AWD is banned in allot of racing classes because it's superior. I heard the same thing happend with the NIssan Skyline in the nineties.

rg12345 - 7/10/2007 11:32:33 AM

+2 Boost

As the article said, RW is no better on track than the front wheel drive. At least in the real cars world.

On a daily basis (not a race of any kind) I consider FWD much better on wet/snow and maybe the same on dry as RWD. AWD have a huge advantage on imperfect driving conditions, but they stack together with the others on dry pretty much. Why do I say FWD is better then RWD? Cause if u put a women on a RWD with some power in the wet she will make an un-programmed u-turn at every turn she would WANT to take. Or drive at 2mps to avoid that. With FWD you don't slip so easily (since the engine/weight is on the front tires), and even if u slip the car won't go crazy u-turning in the middle of the intersection. RWD are only lucky with the stability control and so on, otherwise they would make an unusable car for mases.

matt635 - 7/10/2007 11:43:00 AM

-1 Boost

And if Audi AWD is soooo good why do they not compete in Rallying - - instead of bitching all the time about how unfair it is that they can't use quattro in touring cars, whay don't they compete in something where AWD is a bonus!!!!

Htay7500 - 7/10/2007 2:23:06 PM

+2 Boost

umm they did compete in rallying.

moto - 7/10/2007 7:12:21 PM

+5 Boost

matt635 -- Audi and Porsche (and many other manufacturers as well) have discontinued sponsoring of factory race teams for many reasons, not the least of which is the enormous cost.

Porsche, interestingly enough, supports private race teams primarily with RWD chassis even though it also sells AWD road cars. That tells you a lot right there.

That which excels on the track is a good indication of what excels on the road, but don't forget that the right team and driver can make a car look good or vice versa. For one, a professional driver can handle the FWD torque steer that would be absolutely unacceptable in a high powered road car. High-HP FWD road cars are simply undriveable for the average auto owner.

Long story short: what drive layout is superior depends on the chassis, suspension, and balance, as well as the driving conditions. On a dry clean track, mid-engine RWD remains state of the art. Only when coefficient of friction drops does AWD generally have the advantage. FWD can be advantageous only in specific situations, with a strong-armed driver.

truecarlover - 7/10/2007 9:11:55 PM

+3 Boost

Their was a thing called the Pikes Peak rally which Audi broke the world record numerous times....and they were quite active and dominant in rallying in the '80's - if you knew the history you would know that is how quattro migrated to passenger cars.

matt635 - 7/11/2007 4:20:16 AM

+2 Boost

Yeah I know.... but what I'm asking is why don't they anymore?? They've made Lemans dull as pondwater, they've proved their point, why don't they go back to rallying and prove how good quattro is in motorsport??

ThierryHenry14 - 7/10/2007 3:23:28 PM

+2 Boost

Depends on the situation. AWD and RWD are great on tracks with open road ahead, but FWD is good when you are congested on the tracks. More overall control.

johnct - 7/10/2007 6:29:08 PM

+5 Boost

One other consideration in this series is the race team. The Realtime Racing Acura's are some of the best prepared cars in racing. They may not lead the points right now but they have been class champions many times.

ThierryHenry14 - 7/10/2007 9:19:20 PM

-2 Boost

btw, Speed World Challenge Touring Car and GT is the biggest garbage race series there is...

johnct - 7/10/2007 10:57:08 PM

+3 Boost

I think it is one of the most relavent seris out thier. What other series races cars as close to what we can drive on the street. Certainly not Lemans prototypes, ChampCar and IRL spec racers, NASCAR tube framed jalopies and unobtanium F-1 cars that can't pass.
I wasn't around for the late sixties Trans-am wars, but I think the Speed World Challenge is the closest to that we have.

How do you justify calling it garbage and if so what series do you prefer?

MeanVulcan - 7/11/2007 10:04:01 AM

+1 Boost

COMPLETELY FLAWED ARGUEMENT AND I TOTALLY DISAGREE.

First the SCCA Speed World Challenge is an "Affordable" venue that allows not only small teams to participate but it is also great for OEMs to participate with certain limitations. Clearly there is great disparity between teams.

I'll get right to the point. Two of the best drivers in SCCA World Challenge recent history in both GT and Touring are R.Pobst and M. Galati. Who ever can afford to pay them will actually substantially increase their odds in winning despite the car drive configuration.

Pobst and Galati in recent years competed for Audi in A4s and RS6s and completely dominated the field. Pobst now competes for Mazda and Porsche and he wins for them.

Audi and BMW are run by small teams, no longer supported by big money and thus have less experienced drivers. Put Pobst again in the Audi's and say bye bye Mazda.

As a side note the SCCA Speed World Challenge has no clue how to run a racing spectacle. They are NASCARizing the sport. From adding ballast weights to winners, restricting power to cars that dominate, and now restricting power to Audi's at the start... why not just give everyone the same car, call it Mini-NASCAR and start loosing viewership. It is ridiculous how they get to say who wins rather then letting the best win on their own.

If you want to compare FWD, RWD and AWD, here is a starting point: count how many times each configuration has been banned or severely limited in competition due to its inherent advantages. One and only one configuration dominates: AWD.

ThierryHenry14 - 7/11/2007 1:43:51 PM

+1 Boost

Le Mans/ALMS is probably the most relevant, because they run cars that I drive/prefer to drive. Speed World Challenge is all about teams, not cars.

MeanVulcan: thank you for typing out what I was thinking. I was too lazy to type all that out, but you did it! THANKS!!!

11SWC - 7/11/2007 10:49:03 PM

+2 Boost

Good points MeanVulcan. But let me make a few points in the series defense.

First I agree that Randy and Mike are two of the best drivers out there. As their GT team mate I know exactly how good they are. But there are other major and equally as talented hitters in the series. Ron Fellows (a guys so good that GM came out with a Ron Fellows limited edition Vette), Andy Pilgram, Tommy Archer, Max Angelli, Max Papis, and Eric Curran (and formerly Bill Auberlin). And that's just in GT. Touring has a field so deep that 13 of the drivers have either won or podiumed in a World Challenge race and four of them are mulitple, multi series champions. So as good as Randy and Mike are, having them on your team doesn't make winning a race a forgone conclusion.

Also the Audi did not dominate in the years it ran in fact the last season it lost the championship to Archer in the Viper. However it was an awsome car.

Now I also disagree that putting Randy in the Audi would send Mazda packing. First of all Chip Herr is a pretty fast shoe himself and Ian Bass was Randys 24 Hour of Daytona team mate the year he won, and Peccorarri is good enough that he had to miss last weeks race in Toronto to run with AMLS. So Audi already has itself some pretty damn good drivers. Also even without Randy Mazda would still have Jeff Altenburgh who has been winning in Trans Am for the past 15 years! Also Mazda just brought in Roberto Santos who has matched Randys pace in equal cars (but has not shown quite the same consistency as Randy). The drivers for Audi and BMW (and Dodge) might not have Randys experience but they are right there in terms of speed.

Now as for SCCA "NASCARizing" the series I have to disagree again. If SCCA just stepped out of the picture two things would happen. First the factory teams would start throwing insane amounts of money at their teams (enough that it would make Cadillacs $30m budget seem like pocket change) after a few years the manufactures would realize that they were spending way too much money and they would withdraw and leave the series a shell of its former self (see BTCC). Secondly in the near term Dodge would dominate because they (we) would pull the restrictors run insane levels of boost and end up with a more hp than most of the GT cars and walk away from everyone (the rest of the field (other than Audi) run normally asperated engines). Then everyone would start running Subaru's and Mistubishi's (sorry and Audis) and the series would turn into the AWD Forced induction series with 750hp AWD Touring cars.

SCCA does not decide who wins and they do a fairly good job of making the cars more equal so that manufactures can't just come in and spend their way to a championship. Last year at Denver 13 cars qualified within 1 second of each other. I was .3 off the pole and looking in data I made a couple of errors that cost me a least that much. So the only thing that kept my from winning was me, not the SCCA. The other thing you are ove

11SWC - 7/11/2007 10:53:21 PM

+2 Boost

overlooking is that while the cars might be somewhat equal in lap time, how each brand gets there is completely different. The Mazda and the Acuras have great overall balance (good cornering and power) however the Mazdas brakes are the best of the field. The Audis get great starts (still) and are strong off the corners just like the BMW's and the Dodges have the best straight line speed. But all of those diferences make for some great door to door racing (IMHO).

Lastly tell me what series (other than F1 which to a degree is a stock series: same platform, same engine spec) doesn't balance the cars in some way. AMLS took fuel away from the Audis and now the P2 Porsches win often; Grand Am ... don't even get me started, WTCC just gave a weigh break to the SEAT's. World Challenge is no different then everyone else. Anytime you have completely diffent cars (FWD, RWD, AWD, V6, I4, I4T, multi link suspension v. strut suspension) some "equalization" is going to be necessary.

BTW ThierryHenry14 saying that World Challenge is all about teams and not cars (which is a valid opinion however one I still totaly disagree with) is a long way from saying that World Challenge is a "garbage series".

Sorry for the long post. :-)