Awd, rwd, fwd.

[Brighter.Tomorrow]

So, I had a question that I hope you can answer! =D

What's the real difference between All Wheel Drive, Rear Wheel Drive && Front Wheel Drive?
Do they change the way in which the car handles, or are they just different makes?
[[Yes, I really am this uneducated when it comes to cars. >-< ]]

[Ender]

it changes the way a car handles.

Law enforcement usually uses RWD or AWD :) For manueverability.

[Brighter.Tomorrow]

it changes the way a car handles.

Law enforcement usually uses RWD or AWD :) For manueverability.

Mind explaining a little more detailed? =]

[JackOfClubs]

Front wheel drive is fine for the average person. Light cornering, no racing.
Rear wheel drive is better for acceleration, cornering, and maneuverability, as all the front wheels are doing is steering, not propelling the car.
All wheel drive is best for traction, and all the stuff rear wheel drive is good for.

[DanielM]

FWD cars for when you want to see the tree that is going to kill you
RWD cars for when you dont want to see the tree that is going to kill you
AWD for good handling and means you will be able to laugh at the FWD and RWDS :P

[JackOfClubs]

FWD cars for when you want to see the tree that is going to kill you
RWD cars for when you dont want to see the tree that is going to kill you
AWD for good handling and means you will be able to laugh at the FWD and RWDS :P
Top Gear. Nice.

[Bmatlman]

fwd is when the front wheels spin and pull the car. this is the basic for most cars
rwd is when the rear wheels spin and push the car. this is what most mustle cars have. with this you can also drift.
awd is basicaly fwd and rwd combined. this is what all the supercars use like ferrari's and stuff. this will make the car a lot easier to control will also increaseing the aceleration since it has for wheels moveing it.
4x4 or 4wd is when all the wheels are locked together to distibute power evenly. not really good for preformance.

[Alfred Pennyworth]

Bmatlman, I have just a couple corrections for you, as i'm paranoid about car stuff like this. :P I just have one little thing to change on the AWD/4WD definition. Awd and 4wd are essentially the same except for AWD is usually full time, and can handle higher speeds than 4WD, for example, most Lamborghinis are AWD, and they can hit speeds of 200+, while your average 4WD setup is made for offroading of simply high traction driving and is not made for normal driving,because of this, most 4WD setups can go up to maybe 60, because the parts simply aren't built for the speed, for any higher speeds, they have to switch back to 2WD(usually RWD) mode.

[george]

Realistically, AWD on cars like the Audi R8 isn't really like 4WD on a Ford F-150 or Chevy Silverado since most of the time, barely any power is being sent to the front wheels while most of the power is being sent to the back wheels. The only time where power would be sent to the front wheels is when they're slipping i.e. When driving on snow and ice.

[Bleed Teal]

fwd is when the front wheels spin and pull the car. this is the basic for most cars
rwd is when the rear wheels spin and push the car. this is what most mustle cars have. with this you can also drift.
awd is basicaly fwd and rwd combined. this is what all the supercars use like ferrari's and stuff. this will make the car a lot easier to control will also increaseing the aceleration since it has for wheels moveing it.
4x4 or 4wd is when all the wheels are locked together to distibute power evenly. not really good for preformance.

Supercars use RWD ferrari has no AWD offering at all, Lamborghini do, but awd is too heavy for supercars to use.

[Bleed Teal]

FWD- It cheaper for car companies to make. The Front wheels receive the power from the engine and have to steer the car. Normally they under steer because of this, the front tires have a hard time putting the power to the ground while steering the car so you have to drive much more carefully

RWD- the Rear wheels receive all the power while the front wheels do the steering, its a basic set-up that provides for some of the best handling and safest driving characteristics

AWD- all the wheel receive power, however the amount of power each wheel, or axle receives depends on the situation the car is in, and the car can actually transfer power to which ever wheel needs it the most

[Daniel_]

AWD = all wheels are spinning.

RWD = Back wheels are spinning, and are pushing the front wheels.

FWD = Front wheels are s[pinning, pulling the back wheels.

[disassociation2016]

This has probably already been explained well, but I'ma give my take on it.

-In essence the main benefit of AWD is power in a straight line. While it does help you avoid some of the understeer that you'd see in a FWD car it's still going to be there.
-FWD cars are prone to Under Steering, when you have to much force between Longitudinal (Wheels pushing you forward) and Lateral (Car's inertia trying to travel in a straight line) acceleration
-RWD cars tend to oversteer when to much power is put to the rear wheels they break traction and the car begins to oversteer.

Over Steering
http://automotive.8flo.com/files/2010/06/Oversteering1-1024x531.jpg


Under Steering

http://automotive.8flo.com/files/2010/06/Understeering1-768x398.jpg


AWD Advantage

http://www.pbase.com/nogaroblue/image/107472877/original.jpg

[willaston007]

Top Gear. Nice.

Just what I was thinking too. Lol

[TheMatrix]

Just what I was thinking too. Lol

Do not bump old threads. This one is from 2010, about 2 years ago.