<VV> Novas and Vairs - driving 'dangerous' cars

Fri Apr 13 15:58:30 EDT 2007

A friend confided that driving dangerous cars slow is more fun that driving 
safe cars fast ...

More exciting anyway ...

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bill Elliott" <corvair at fnader.com>
To: <mhicks130 at cox.net>
Cc: <virtualvairs at corvair.org>
Sent: Friday, April 13, 2007 6:34 AM
Subject: Re: <VV> Novas and Vairs

> To anyone who thinks FWD is dangerous or not fun to drive, may I remind 
> you of the tremendous success of the Mini Cooper S in numerous outright 
> rally wins against much more powerful (and more "sporting") competition?
>
> FWD, like all other forms of driveline, has advantages and disadvantages. 
> It is the best configuration for low traction surfaces (proven in any 
> number of tests), it makes for forgiving handling (natural tendancy to 
> understeer, drop throttle corrections, etc),  and makes for a convenient 
> power unit for design and engineering purposes (as does a similar power 
> unit in rear engine RWD designs) with little encroachment into the 
> passenger space.
>
> For all of its benefits, rear engine, RWD fails the "forgiving handling" 
> test. Even though the handling  limits may be higher (handling limits in 
> FWD are necessarily limited by the conditions already discussed) the 
> behavior at and after that limit is more suitable for a larger number of 
> drivers. Plus FWD gives you much more early information to slow down... 
> Only the advent of traction control and stability control (as well as 
> modern tire design which make the handling limits harder to reach in 
> normal driving) makes the return of RWD practical for the general market. 
> ABS also makes a significant improvement in the safety of FWD handling...
>
> So for the masses, I think FWD is the best solution, but outside of my 
> Minis, I try to avoid it for my own cars...
>
> Bill
>
> mhicks130 at cox.net wrote:
>
>>>------------------------------ 
>>>
>><snip>
>>And when you do break the drive wheels loose, it's going to slide off 
>>wherever it wants. With rear drive, you will still have some semblence of 
>>steering control, which may make the difference between hitting a bridge 
>>abuttment or missing it. I say no thank you to FWD. To each his 
>>own..... -Mark
>>>------------------------------ 
>>>
>>
>>I've driven FWD cars since I started driving (1976) and I've driven near 
>>bridges and I've NEVER run into a bridge abuttment or anything else for 
>>that matter.  How's that for anectdotal evidence for ya?
>>FWD is forgiving and typically has lots of understeer but I don't think 
>>that equates to not being fun to drive.  I loved driving my '85 Golf on 
>>windy roads.  Just because I didn't have to worry about the rear end 
>>coming around on me doesn't mean I wasn't having fun.  I absolutely love 
>>driving my Corvair but I also loved driving that Golf.  I like 'em both I 
>>guess.  But to say FWD is bad or dangerous is just wrong in my book.
>>
>>mikeH
>>
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