RWD v. FWD for snow use

[simple_gifts]

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
While I currently reside in sunny Florida, I grew up in Indiana.

It's all about the driver. With good snow tires a RWD car behaves just fine. Even a pickup does fine with a sandbag or two in the bed!

Such baloney, FWD is far from the only way.


Spoken like a true flatlander. 8) Loose traction in a RWD car driving up a substantial incline and you will be singing a different tune. The advantages come when one looses traction.

 

[SteveSRT8]

believe whatever you want, but with dedicated snow tires a rwd in the hands of an experienced driver is just fine.

Ha HA, and I live where most of you wish you did!

 

[simple_gifts]

The discussion is what is better, not whether it can be done. Physics favor FWD, simple as that. Directed traction, engine over the drive wheels. Not sure how an experienced driver accomplishes this, oh wait, they put sandbags in the back of the car..... 8)

 

[John K]

What surprises me about your post is that you are talking about 40 profile tires, in my mind far from ideal in slippery conditions.......

 

[fdcg27]

Actually, RWD is better uphill, just as it is in a hard launch.
No need for any sandbags in the back, either.
I used RWD cars for years in the snow, and I don't see any particular advantage in FWD, except for the guaranteed understeer to keep the ham-fisted driver out of trouble.
At least FWD lets you see the ditch you're headed for if you drive foolishly or cluelessly in slick conditions.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: fdcg27
Actually, RWD is better uphill, just as it is in a hard launch.
No need for any sandbags in the back, either.
I used RWD cars for years in the snow, and I don't see any particular advantage in FWD, except for the guaranteed understeer to keep the ham-fisted driver out of trouble.
At least FWD lets you see the ditch you're headed for if you drive foolishly or cluelessly in slick conditions.


+1

OT RWD is better for towing as well.

 

[Spazdog]

Originally Posted By: John K
What surprises me about your post is that you are talking about 40 profile tires, in my mind far from ideal in slippery conditions.......


When you only get maybe one winter precipitation event a year, it's just not financially prudent to have a set of dedicated winter tires. Even if I bought the proper tire storage rack they would degrade in the 120°+ garage from May to October. I would never get more than 10% of their service life out of them.

Granted, when we do get winter precipitation, it's generally ice. Lots of warm moist Gulf of Mexico air aloft over dense cold air straight in from Winnipeg, MB means that rain falls in liquid form and freezes as soon as it hits the ground. It usually melts the next day or two. This last year, it stuck around for the whole SuperBowl week.

But in my defense, my brother in law, who lives in Columbus, got rid of his '09 SLK 350 and got an E350 4matic rather than buy a set of winter tires that he would have actually been able to use for several months a year.

 

[Colt45ws]

I dont use sandbags either. Just keep the tank above 1/2 full.

 

[cchase]

Uphill slopes favor RWD in traction situations.

 

[eljefino]

This reminds me, I almost got my grandpa's Grand Marquis stuck on a packed dirt driveway backing up to turn around.

The weight transfer to the rear axle on snow can't be substantial. You need traction to set that up.

One nice thing about pickups and Panthers is they have a lot of weight on rather smallish tires and are sized width wise to fit the ruts. Try taking a Toyota Starlet or something tiny RWD out in the snow!

 

[volk06]

From my experiences RWD does ok in the snow but when it comes to hills I'll take my FWD. I live in a lot of hills with lots of snow. First car was RWD and did fine but when the hills had lots of snow it'd take a few trys to make it up the long steep hill, the fwd would just plow on through. What I hate is the darn traction control, I always have to shut that off other wise itll cut my engine rpms and lose my momentum going up hills. It works nice when starting out from a stop in snow but stinks when driving in snow. But the 4x4 in the truck beats both. Also I think it comes down to 2 things in the end, first the drivers experience and second the tires IMHO.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
This reminds me, I almost got my grandpa's Grand Marquis stuck on a packed dirt driveway backing up to turn around.

The weight transfer to the rear axle on snow can't be substantial. You need traction to set that up.

One nice thing about pickups and Panthers is they have a lot of weight on rather smallish tires and are sized width wise to fit the ruts. Try taking a Toyota Starlet or something tiny RWD out in the snow!


Try a fox body Mustang (5.0L obviously). Holy poo, that's a nightmare in snow.

 

[Scum_Frog]

In order of preference (equiped with snow tires):
4X4/AWD
FWD
RWD

 

[austinlunsford]

we have fun in the snow with our rwds! but i would prefer my buddy's old land cruiser 4wd when we need to get to work when it does snow here.

 

[RamFan]

I gotta tell ya in my RWD Charger I have no problems driving in the snow. The only issues I've got is when I'm turning at an intersection, I need to go real slow and I mean REAL slow to prevent the back end from kicking out a bit. I don't mind purposefully letting the back end slide out a bit when no one is at the intersection, its fun to watch my girl freak out

I will say this though. I got stuck pulling into her driveway one time this past winter with about a 1'-1.5' of snow. First two times pulling in I just turned the TC off coming up to the driveway and was able to push through no problem, on the third time pulling in I hit the driveway a little sharp and the back passenger tire hit the water drain off which sits about 2'' lower then her driveway and it was just enough to let the tire spin. I had to dig out some snow around the tire, rocked the car in reverse and forward turning the steering wheel as needed and got her out of the rut and plowing through the snow in about 10 minutes.

 

[Hokiefyd]

I learned to drive in the snow on RWD vehicles, and did so for a long time. FWD handles better to me on snow, but not significantly. There are a ton of factors involved, like weight distribution, type of tires, etc. Our Mopar minivans were fantastic in the snow. Didn't even experience a ton of understeer, if driven at reasonable speeds.

But geez, after getting an AWD vehicle and taking it out in the white stuff, there's really no comparison. It's just a tank and will go anywhere.

Snow in North Carolina (and I'm sure my fellow statesmen can attest to this) is amplified 2x or 3x by other drivers who are out there, mostly driving 2wd pickups with no weight in the back or with bald tires that go nowhere. With the road to myself, my FWD vehicles have been good. I drove through an 8" snowstorm with my '07 Corolla quite easily, but the roads were deserted. If I'm out there with others, I'd much rather have the security of AWD. Because when we're sitting on a hill of sheer ice, and both lanes are blocked by a pickup truck and a Trans Am spinning away trying to climb the hill, I can drive right around them with no problem.

 

[Ed_T]

I drove home from Boston in the Blizzard of '78 in a beater Chevy Townsman station wagon with 1/2 bald tires, that night. No problems at all. The snow was deep, but powder so the tires just pushed it to the sides. Had it been wet snow, probably couldn't have gotten out of the parking lot. It was an unforgettable, surreal drive.

 

[Trajan]

Much depends on the driver IMHO. Never had trouble with the Z4, if the snow wasn't too deep. (If it was as high as the bumper, I didn't go anywhere.)

Driving on 309 in one storm, I passed many FWD/4WDs on the side of the road.

One sees it so often. Drivers who think a snow covered/rain swept road is the same as a dry one.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: Trajan

One sees it so often. Drivers who think a snow covered/rain swept road is the same as a dry one.


It's usually the 4x4 drivers that think because they drive a 4x4 they can do anything in rain or snow that they can do in dry weather. These are the people stuck, or wrapped around trees and poles. Not only are they a danger to themselves, but worse, a danger to everyone around them.

 

[RamFan]

Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Originally Posted By: Trajan

One sees it so often. Drivers who think a snow covered/rain swept road is the same as a dry one.


It's usually the 4x4 drivers that think because they drive a 4x4 they can do anything in rain or snow that they can do in dry weather. These are the people stuck, or wrapped around trees and poles. Not only are they a danger to themselves, but worse, a danger to everyone around them.


Very true, most of the people I see on the side of the road during snow are SUVs, Trucks, or Semis.