Cars Q&A

Around since the 1920's, front wheel drive didn't catch on with American consumers until the gas crisis in the 1970's. As Americans struggled against high fuel prices, automakers began to seek new ways to increase fuel efficiency. The best way of course was to reduce the size (and thus the weight) of most vehicles. As Detroit aimed to make cars smaller, they needed a more efficient layout that would yield more interior room in a smaller package.By placing the engine and transaxle in the front, there is no large transmission housing or driveshaft tunnel running through the passenger compartment. In addition, engines were positioned transversely to reduce the size of the engine bay. And there was another advantage as well. With 60% of its weight at the front, 40% at the back, fwd holds an advantage in slippery conditions such as ice or snow as more weight is over the drive wheels reducing slip during acceleration. But most of the advantages end there.As most of the weight in up front, a fwd car is not as well balanced therefore it doesn't handle quite as well. Also, as vehicles continue to become more powerful, front wheel drive becomes more of a liability. Torque steer (when the steering wheel pulls to one side during acceleration) is a serious issue with many front wheel drive cars that exceed 250hp. As such, we've seen a resurgence in the popularity of rear wheel drive in more powerful vehicles.Over the last few years we've seen more and more vehicles (re) introduce rear wheel drive. Why? Well, it simple. As cars become more powerful it is difficult to have one set of wheels doing the steering and the accelerating. By having the front wheels do the steering, and the rear wheels driving the car, you get a better-balanced vehicle. This eliminates torque steer and improves acceleration. Rear wheel drive offers better weight distribution (much closer to 50/50 than fwd), which in turn offers more predictable handling. Finally, with the advent of traction control and stability management systems, the front wheel drive advantage in slippery conditions has been significantly reduced

Thanks Mr.Anil for your details.

Anil you are a hero man ....... keep up the good work .......

Very useful jnformation. Thanks.

mr Anil one of the ever best explantion

Dear Anil, thanks for such an important input.

can u tel me ,maruti cars are fwd or rwd?

wonderful ( brief article) answer about rear wheel drive, I always love to drive the rear wheel drive vehicle.

Thanks Mr. Hasan.

Thanks Mr. Anil. For useful answer