Driving in serious frost, in your mid engine RWD hatch, with crap, pretty worn tyres is quite funny. However, if you're force to accelerate up hill whilst turning to get out of a junction - it can get a *little* hairy.
Also I can't really recommend giving it subtle beans mid corner on a deserted back road (with nothing around to hit, at low speed) - just to see what happens. Although I must say, the resulting drift would have made Colin Mcrae (rip) proud :-) And I even ended still pointing the right way!
Well I was suddenly looking at the verge hehe :-) But yes, I'd be inclined to agree. Although once, I was chasing my mate in his Astra Turbo and got, what felt like a tiny little bit out of shape coming off a roundabout, and he said in the rear view mirror it looked like was fully sideways hehe.
Preferable to me though, than too much throttle on a FWD car where the car just goes straight on. At least with RWD you still have steering. I had a FWD car for about a year once and drove it in slippery and snowy conditions. I know which driven wheels I prefer. Mike.
I guess it might be different for us whippersnappers brought up on FWD. If I had to choose between my old 205 Diesel and my MX-5 for a drive up a hill with a couple on inchese of snow on it, I'd take the 205.
It's possible to be going too fast to take a corner in both configurations, but I think what to do when you lose grip is different.
I've driven FWD cars that weren't very good in the snow, and my Carlton surprised me by actually being quite good, so my preference isn't entirely down to FWD/RWD.
too much throttle in snow, ease off and the car stops ploughing on....sensible driving is the key with any car. For rear wheel skid, apply throttle and pull yourself out..
my sierra was surprisingly good in the snow, but it's not the handling thats the problem - in many cases you simply cannot get traction easily with RWD. Lexus I drove simply would not move with traction control on....
Not IME on snow or in very slippery conditions. Ideally to regain control you need to point the wheels in the direction you're travelling, until the tyres have enough grip to enable them to steer.
sensible driving is the key with any car. For rear wheel skid, apply
No way should you apply more throttle unless you want to skid even more. You should ease off the throttle, even go as far as dipping the clutch with a manual g/b. Having freely rotating rear wheels, with appropriate steering input is the quickest way to stop skidding oversteer in a RWD car. Mike.
Get a Sierra Cosworth awd: when they go, they are super-great in any grip condition.
Every time I am standing with a jerrycan with 20 liters of petrol, I think: "Set the bloody car on fire, Tom: it breaks down a lot, it costs an arm and two legs to keep it running. It's getting old and dated."
Then -I swear it is true- the Cossie whispers: "Hey, stupid asshole, fix me, put the petrol in and lets go for a spin."
The petrol goes in, I curse the ceramic clutch (because it is sure to stall in reverse), warm the whole thing up and then: Woehaaa! Bloody fire spitting mayhem!
It has been said (and written) that I am barking mad, but I cooled down a bit getting older. However when the bloody Sierra enters a corner, leaving 4 distinctif rubber trails behind, I know I am younger and behaving like a lunatic... but I like the feeling, similar to the one you had as a kid when visiting a toyshop.
Never been into drugs (being scared of needles) but if there was a drug that could give the feeling of the Sierra behaving like a bat with its rear on fire, I would buy it by the kilo, sell it by the gram and use my own stuff!
Some say Steve McQuin was insane because he talked to his cars. To me that seems the quality, even the definition of a man. I speak and argue a lot with machines, we always get our things sorted. Women... now that is something else: to try to understand them, you need a to be a rocket scientist! ;-)
Do I like the Sierra Cosworth? Nah... I think there is a big chance it will eventually kill me. But then I am sure to go happy!
Tom - always there for the worst advice you can get - De Moor
I drove a Celica GT4 for a couple of years. Very neutral handling even at quite high cornering speeds at full throttle. If really pushed the rear would step out first, but was easily controlled with a little corrective steering. Go even faster and the whole car would just drift sideways with it's tail hanging out a bit. You'd have to be really clumsy to get it to spin. Though I've seen it done by some on track days. It was fairly fast car but quite unexciting really.:-) Mike.
Yeahbut an XR4x4 is about a tenth of the price of a Cossie - perfect for some winter tail out fun, and if you put it in a ditch, who cares. Just pull it out, hammer it back into shape and do it again! Mine really annoyed me at the time because it mostly ran like a bag-o-s**te, but looking back I had some proper fun in it and it sounded great. Don't think I could put up with one all the time though - don't like the way they handle in the dry, but that's probably where the benefit of the Cosworth comes in. I'll try one one day.
I only talk to my cars when they make me angry. Then its probably defined as shouting/cursing rather than talking.
I am never very concerned when somebody says he is extremely good,terribly clever tec but those nitwits who claim they are just in to be there, because they had nothing else to do ... those buggers get my attention.
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