# What advantages are there to rear wheel drive cars? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 18, 2016, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-advantages-are-there-to-rear-wheel-drive-cars/743526 "2016-01-18T21:31:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-advantages-are-there-to-rear-wheel-drive-cars/743526/21 "2016-01-19T17:33:24Z")
The one time I noticed the disadvantage of Front wheel drive, was when I hit the brakes on an icy road, with stick shift. It locked the drive wheels, which stopped the engine, which left me with no control whatsoever. I never felt comfortable again, on a slippery road, knowing that I had to brake with both feet in a sudden emergency. It required a muscle-memory that one doesn’t get to practice often enough to coordinate both separate foot touches. ---
**Author:** ![leftfield6](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leftfield6/32/18780_2.png) [@leftfield6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leftfield6)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-advantages-are-there-to-rear-wheel-drive-cars/743526/22 "2016-01-19T19:35:23Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > It required a muscle-memory that one doesn’t get to practice often enough to coordinate both separate foot touches. Hmm, if I understand your scenario correctly, I disagree with your assertions. I’ve driven manual shift cars my entire life, and I instinctively hit both the clutch and the brake in an emergency stop. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-advantages-are-there-to-rear-wheel-drive-cars/743526/23 "2016-01-19T19:44:49Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > Thing is, _all_ cars understeer when accelerating through turns, because you’re pulling weight off the wheels that are supposed to be doing the turning. FWD cars will understeer a bit worse due to traction limitations, but as I alluded to, the fix is simply to change your driving habits a bit. The thrill of driving a FWD at speed comes not in powering out of corner with the tail hanging out, but in maintaining as much speed as possible going into one, standing the car up on it’s nose to find grip and managing the oversteer while on the brakes. It’s plenty entertaining if you know what to look for. But then, I grew up on FWD cars so it may just be what you’re used to. This is the big change I notice. Without thinking I’ll de-accelerate into a turn and accelerate out. FWD just doesn’t work right that way. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-advantages-are-there-to-rear-wheel-drive-cars/743526/24 "2016-01-19T19:47:05Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > The one time I noticed the disadvantage of Front wheel drive, was when I hit the brakes on an icy road, with stick shift. It locked the drive wheels, which stopped the engine, which left me with no control whatsoever. I never felt comfortable again, on a slippery road, knowing that I had to brake with both feet in a sudden emergency. It required a muscle-memory that one doesn’t get to practice often enough to coordinate both separate foot touches. > [@leftfield6](#): > > Hmm, if I understand your scenario correctly, I disagree with your assertions. I’ve driven manual shift cars my entire life, and I instinctively hit both the clutch and the brake in an emergency stop. I agree with leftfield5. I’ve driven stick most of my life and never had a problem with killing the engine during an emergency stop. Also, AFAIK, if you have this problem it doesn’t matter if your car is front or rear wheel drive. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-advantages-are-there-to-rear-wheel-drive-cars/743526/25 "2016-01-19T20:14:02Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I agree with leftfield5. I’ve driven stick most of my life and never had a problem with killing the engine during an emergency stop. Also, AFAIK, if you have this problem it doesn’t matter if your car is front or rear wheel drive. It only affects the subset of cars that have brakes on the drive wheels. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-advantages-are-there-to-rear-wheel-drive-cars/743526/26 "2016-01-19T20:18:57Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > It only affects the subset of cars that have brakes on the drive wheels. ??? Which one’s don’t? ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-advantages-are-there-to-rear-wheel-drive-cars/743526/27 "2016-01-19T20:19:42Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > ??? Which one’s don’t? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![GreasyJack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@GreasyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreasyJack)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-advantages-are-there-to-rear-wheel-drive-cars/743526/28 "2016-01-19T20:34:16Z")
Although to leap to **jtur88** ’s defense most newer (as in post 1980 or so) RWD cars and RWD/4wd trucks have brake proportioning valves that shift the brake bias heavily forward in a panic stop, specifically to prevent the rear wheels from locking up. There’s also the confusingly named “rear wheel ABS” systems that accomplish the same thing electronically, which a lot of truck type vehicles had long before they got real ABS. So, yes, FWD cars with manual transmissions do tend to be more prone to stalling in panic stops than RWD ones are. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-advantages-are-there-to-rear-wheel-drive-cars/743526/29 "2016-01-19T20:35:24Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > 😛 I’m having a hard time getting out of first gear today, was an obvious joke :smack: ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-advantages-are-there-to-rear-wheel-drive-cars/743526/30 "2016-01-19T20:46:32Z")
I just bought a 2016 Subaru WRX and it has really spoiled me as far as handling goes, the engine is a boxer so the pistons are horizontal allowing it to sit lower and lower the center of gravity and the engine is centered in the engine compartment instead of off to one side. I’ve never driven anything that handled so well. I can understand the sporty enjoyment of RWD sports cars in cornering but I want to be able to drive on slick surfaces without the back end sliding out, I feel like AWD has spoiled me though and I feel weird driving other cars now, I recently drove a huge RWD Dodge truck with a Hemi in it that was a rental and it was somewhat scary to make semi-sharp turns in the rain and I didn’t know the rear tires would spin out if you slammed on the accelerator from a complete stop as I had only ever driven FWD and the AWD car I have now before. For someone like me to drive RWD it’s like I have to unlearn everything I know about how the car handles. ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-advantages-are-there-to-rear-wheel-drive-cars/743526/31 "2016-01-19T20:54:44Z")
I’ll add though that people who really know how a RWD handles can do some amazing things with them, but they are a lot less forgiving to the less experienced driver. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-advantages-are-there-to-rear-wheel-drive-cars/743526/32 "2016-01-19T22:11:53Z")
> [@leftfield6](#): > > Hmm, if I understand your scenario correctly, I disagree with your assertions. I’ve driven manual shift cars my entire life, and I instinctively hit both the clutch and the brake in an emergency stop. I’m with you too, I do the same thing, but I can also see **jtur88** ’s winter scenario happening in a non-panic (or whatever you want to call it) braking scenario. On ice, the wheels lock up - not hard to do - the engine stalls, and power to many systems including power steering is gone. To recover on the fly you’d have to turn off the key and restart with the starter and not by popping the clutch because you don’t have the traction, and you could also lock the steering wheel. All while moving on a slippery road and in a situation where you needed to brake suddenly. Although this has never happened to me I can envision it happening and it could be a little unnerving. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-advantages-are-there-to-rear-wheel-drive-cars/743526/33 "2016-01-19T22:21:35Z")
> [@pool](#): > > I just bought a 2016 Subaru WRX and it has really spoiled me as far as handling goes, the engine is a boxer so the pistons are horizontal allowing it to sit lower and lower the center of gravity and the engine is centered in the engine compartment instead of off to one side. I’ve never driven anything that handled so well. I can understand the sporty enjoyment of RWD sports cars in cornering but I want to be able to drive on slick surfaces without the back end sliding out, I feel like AWD has spoiled me though and I feel weird driving other cars now, I recently drove a huge RWD Dodge truck with a Hemi in it that was a rental and it was somewhat scary to make semi-sharp turns in the rain and I didn’t know the rear tires would spin out if you slammed on the accelerator from a complete stop as I had only ever driven FWD and the AWD car I have now before. For someone like me to drive RWD it’s like I have to unlearn everything I know about how the car handles. A lot of what is described in this thread, and not just this post, is because of where the engine is located compared to the drive wheels. In a front engine, RWD vehicle it’s easy to break traction at the rear wheels. But there’s also this situation: I have an old RWD car with the engine also at the rear. If in a turn you have to slow quickly you better know what you’re doing or with all that weight in the rear and with the weight transfer under sudden braking and turning, one can quickly find the car pointing in the opposite direction. Drivers need to be mindful of where the engine is (the heaviest single item in a car, usually), and which wheels are powered. ---
**Author:** ![GreasyJack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@GreasyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreasyJack)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-advantages-are-there-to-rear-wheel-drive-cars/743526/34 "2016-01-19T22:27:43Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > I’m with you too, I do the same thing, but I can also see **jtur88** ’s winter scenario happening in a non-panic (or whatever you want to call it) braking scenario. On ice, the wheels lock up - not hard to do - the engine stalls, and power to many systems including power steering is gone. To recover on the fly you’d have to turn off the key and restart with the starter and not by popping the clutch because you don’t have the traction, and you could also lock the steering wheel. All while moving on a slippery road and in a situation where you needed to brake suddenly. > > Although this has never happened to me I can envision it happening and it could be a little unnerving. Unless you’re driving on some physics professor’s hypothetical frictionless surface, letting off the brakes should restart the engine just fine. And of course that’s exactly what you should be doing anyways in a skid with a non-ABS car. (This wouldn’t happen to a car with ABS.) Best practice is just use the brake pedal and if you happen to remember the clutch right as you’re coming to a stop, fine, but if not the car stalls as it stops, no big deal. The problem is if you see the engine stalled when the wheels locked up, your brain says “oh, right, clutch!” and then you put the clutch in, at which point when you let up on the brakes and the wheels regain traction the engine doesn’t restart. Then you’re in trouble, unless your brain says “oh, right, clutch!” and you let the clutch back up. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-advantages-are-there-to-rear-wheel-drive-cars/743526/35 "2016-01-19T22:36:14Z")
Jack, it doesn’t appear you’ve done much driving in icy conditions. No hypothetical surface, there. See **jtur88** ’s post above and the scenario he described. That scenario can occur with either a FWD or RWD car. ---
**Author:** ![GreasyJack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@GreasyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreasyJack)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-advantages-are-there-to-rear-wheel-drive-cars/743526/36 "2016-01-19T22:53:19Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > Jack, it doesn’t appear you’ve done much driving in icy conditions. No hypothetical surface, there. > > See **jtur88** ’s post above and the scenario he described. That scenario can occur with either a FWD or RWD car. Uh, yes, I have done enormous amounts of driving in icy conditions. Even on pure sheet ice, if you let off the brakes, the wheels start spinning again. If you’re at a parking lot crawl, yeah, you might not be able to restart the engine if it’s too icy, but at any kind of road speeds if you stall the engine with the brakes, letting off the brakes will restart the engine provided you don’t put the clutch in. And, yes, this can happen to FWD or RWD cars, but it tends to happen to FWD cars more. ---
**Author:** ![SpyOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@SpyOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpyOne)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2016, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-advantages-are-there-to-rear-wheel-drive-cars/743526/37 "2016-01-20T17:02:32Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > I have an old RWD car with the engine also at the rear. If in a turn you have to slow quickly you better know what you’re doing or with all that weight in the rear and with the weight transfer under sudden braking and turning, one can quickly find the car pointing in the opposite direction. > > Drivers need to be mindful of where the engine is (the heaviest single item in a car, usually), and which wheels are powered. I learned to drive stick on one of those. I think I owe a lot of the skill I have as a driver today to spending my early years switching between Front Engine FWD, Front Engine RWD, and Rear Engine RWD depending on whether I was driving my Mom’s car, my Dad’s car, or my own. And I remember this excerpt from Car & Driver’s road test of the Porsche 911. They asked a race driver who had bought one to practice for IROC (I think it was Bobby Allison) to review the car for them, and among the things he said was “Everything about this car is counter-intuitive.” He said if you felt it start to slide in a curve and reacted the way years of training had taught you to react, that would only make things worse. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2016, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-advantages-are-there-to-rear-wheel-drive-cars/743526/38 "2016-01-20T18:15:51Z")
> [@SpyOne](#): > > I learned to drive stick on one of those. I think I owe a lot of the skill I have as a driver today to spending my early years switching between Front Engine FWD, Front Engine RWD, and Rear Engine RWD depending on whether I was driving my Mom’s car, my Dad’s car, or my own. > > And I remember this excerpt from Car & Driver’s road test of the Porsche 911. They asked a race driver who had bought one to practice for IROC (I think it was Bobby Allison) to review the car for them, and among the things he said was “Everything about this car is counter-intuitive.” He said if you felt it start to slide in a curve and reacted the way years of training had taught you to react, that would only make things worse. Yes. If you’re going around a corner and feel the tail end start to get loose, do NOT step on the brakes or otherwise slow down drastically (low gear, throttle lift off) or you’ll soon be facing the turn’s entrance instead of its exit. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2016, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-advantages-are-there-to-rear-wheel-drive-cars/743526/39 "2016-01-20T18:37:13Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > I had Continental that was good at that. A bit slow, but good. Yeah, about 2 cm per year. 😉 > [@Charlie\_Wayne](#): > > After driving rear wheel drive cars for most of my adult life, I bought a front wheel drive care and within 30 minutes of driving that car, I went around a corner at normal speed and the car accelerated sharply and I drove right into another (parked) car. I am having a hard time understanding this. I can see how understeer might be an issue but you said “the car accelerated.” What possible explanation could there be for that? ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2016, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-advantages-are-there-to-rear-wheel-drive-cars/743526/40 "2016-01-20T19:14:23Z")
RWD in high-performance and racing applications: -Weight balance -Ability to leverage oversteer (throttle, steering action and weight transfer manipulation) to rotate car through turns/apexes -No torque steer through front wheels -Less load on front tires, which must handle most braking, turning and accel loads all together in front drive applications, and can become overwhelmed In reality, most people cannot benefit from what RWD offers, and while RWD has a higher potential performance limit (generally speaking)… in the real world FWD works because of packaging and the fact that most people react to understeer (a FWD trait) better. . [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-advantages-are-there-to-rear-wheel-drive-cars/743526.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-advantages-are-there-to-rear-wheel-drive-cars/743526.md?page=3)