There's a lot of talk here about major engineering (and subsequent costs) invested to overcome the basic flaw of FWD -- it doesn't work with any real horsepower. FWD was developed as a cost- and weight- saving measure for the car manufacturers, passing on to the buyer the issues and expenses of multitasking that Clarkson described in PPGMD's post. FWD sells because those manufacturers push the dubious advantage of additional traction for acceleration in slick driving conditions, ignoring the fact that it's a simple solution of putting the engine over the driving wheels as the VW Beetle did so successfully.

I don't follow Mercedes Benz much these days, but when they originally developed their AWD system, the FWD was designed to cut out at about 20mph, leaving the vehicle essentially RWD for safer handling once it was in motion.

Keep it simple and affordable -- if it's performance you want, go with RWD.

Can't add much to what others have said about High HP FWD - it's just plain silly, especially if you've had any performance driving instruction of merit - understanding the tiny tire patch you have to deal with, then braking, acceleration and cornering demands of any tire.

Even my Twin-turbo @ ~540HP which originally came as a RWD config, was changed by the manufacturer to be AWD to improve the image of the Widow-maker (GT2). And that chassis is meant to load the larger rear wheels when it squats on launch optimally.

I once had a 20lb boosted Mitsubishi blower on a Saab Viggen (FWD) and the torque-steer, hunt and peck traction-control was a nightmare. Yes, it was torque-limited in 1st and 2nd gears. 3rd was a long pull and pure joy, but getting there was near sheer terror.

You keep the front wheels from spinning on a FWD the same way you keep the rear wheels from spinning on a RWD. Only give it as much gas as the car can handle.

quote:

Originally posted by myrottiety:
I had a Dodge SRT-4 for years. If you slammed it from a stand still. It suffered from severe wheel hop. Fun car to drive. It was surprisingly fast from a roll. But from a stand still no thank you: I'll take a rwd any day.

I still have mine. Solid motor mounts and LCA bushings completely eliminated my wheel hop on the street.

The new Impreza's have torque vectoring with their AWD. I'd look into that.