<VV> squirrely FWD, was: supersize wheels

[jvhroberts at aol.com]

 I've had Corvairs with studded snows at all four corners. Definitely a GREAT snow car! But then I got my first Subaru, a 1982 GL 4WD wagon. DAYUM!! Off road, on road, bad weather, about impossible to get stuck unless you're an idiot. 

Front engine, RWD does stink in bad weather. BMWs, traditionally SUCKY cars in bad weather, tried to recover their reputation in the mid 90s with traction control. Well, that didn't work, so now we have AWD as an option on most BMW models. 

Back to the Corvair as a winter car. What amazed me, with its relatively low ground clearance and long wheelbase, I had little trouble with drifts in a Corvair. My Subaru, MUCH shorter in wheelbase and more ground clearance, had greater issues with its underside. It most definitely didn't get stuck, but the relatively smooth underside of the Corvair had its advantages. 


 


John Roberts

 


 

-----Original Message-----
From: airvair at earthlink.net <airvair at earthlink.net>
To: jvhroberts at aol.com <jvhroberts at aol.com>; hmlinc at sbcglobal.net; ronh at owt.com; virtualvairs at corvair.org
Sent: Fri, Aug 7, 2009 7:23 pm
Subject: <VV> squirrely FWD, was:  supersize wheels










JR, you're SO right! People praise front drive for the wrong reasons.
They're all, no doubt, used to "conventional" cars like the '75 Nova 2dr
sedan "stripper" or the '71 Buick Estate Wagon that I used to have (both of
'em). Those kind of cars are miserable in the winter or on slippery
pavement. Which is why a lot of people like having the engine over the
drive wheels (as in a front driver.) If people really wanted to know just
how bad front drive is, they should try a rear engine, front drive car (and
that's also why there are none of them).

The main problem with front drive is that once you break the traction
wheels loose, you've also lost all steering control. It just slides off
wherever it wants. With a rear driver, at least you'll still have some
semblemce of steering control left. And THAT may make the difference
between hitting a bridge abutment and missing it. Yes, front drivers are
not immune to breaking traction. They can even do it just on engine torque
alone, or for that matter, just backing off the throttle. I've seen it
happen, or even had it happen to me. So if any car needs traction control,
it's the front drivers. They should have it mandated by law. It's also why
front drivers have pointed me more times towards the ditch than all the
rear drivers I've ever owned put together. BTW, "squirrley" is absolutely
THE best, most a accurate word I can think of to describe front drive, IMO.

A note in passing: Probably few conventional cars were as capable as my '84
Impala police car. For a front-engine, rear-drive car, it always behaved
admirably in winter weather.  Would that the others were like it.

Corvair content:
I've driven everything short of 4WD, and found NOTHING (possibly short of
4WD) goes as well in the winter as a Corvair. Corvairs have put me thru
most of 15 winters, and if it weren't for the salt paving crews here in the
rustbelt (they don't call it that for nothing), I'd STILL be driving them
in the winter.

So you can keep your squirrley front drivers, thank you very much. I'll
take a rear driver, preferably a REAR engine rear driver, any day.

-Mark

> [Original Message]
> Subject: Re: <VV> supersize wheels, No Corvair
>
>  I'm with you! No wrong wheel drive for me! In fact, of all the cars I've
owned, only two have been front engine/rear wheel drive. Most of my RWD
cars have been either mid or rear engine! And most of my front engine cars
have been either AWD or 4WD. 
>
> John Roberts
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: J R Read_HML <hmlinc at sbcglobal.net>
> Subject: Re: <VV> supersize wheels, No Corvair
>
> Especially if you enjoy running off the edge and into the ditch on icy, 
> curvy roads - or hitting the light pole on the far side of an
intersection. 
> Don't these sound like fun things to do?  Not to me, they don't.  No FWD
for 
> me.?
>
> Later, JR?
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Ron" <ronh at owt.com>?
>
> To: <virtualvairs at corvair.org>; <jvhroberts at aol.com>?
>
> Sent: Friday, August 07, 2009 12:48 AM?
>
> Subject: Re: <VV> supersize wheels, No Corvair?
>
> > You don't need AWD and 4WD with FWD so it's a great all purpose
version!?
>
> > RonH?
>


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