<VV> Corvair vs. semi-mundane FWDs

[sethracer at aol.com]

In a message dated 1/19/2010 6:51:31 A.M. Pacific Standard Time,  
airvair at earthlink.net writes:

Also  consider that in racing, if you go too hot into a corner in a rear
driver,  you simply add gas and go thru in a four-wheel drift. In a front
driver,  all you can do is back off the gas to hang the tail out. And as one
pundit  put it, when you back off the gas in racing, you get slower. And
when you  get slower, you lose the race. It's why front drivers generally
make for  lousy race cars, and that most all purebred race cars are  rear
drive.



Most of what Mark says is true - with one exception. FWD cars  with "Plenty 
of power" can hang the tail without slowing down. A combination of  left 
foot braking AND power application can pitch the rear end out. The first  cars 
to perform this in a big way were the first SAAB turbos in showroom stock  
road racing. Don Knowles "wowed" everybody - as in "How can he do that?" I  
wouldn't have believed it until I tried it with an SHO Taurus I owned. I was 
 towing my Corvair-powered Lola with the SHO, and it rained heavily at one  
championship autocross event. Since almost any car was legal for  A/Mod, I 
raced the Taurus in the rain, since the Lola was on slicks. (PS - I won  
A/Mod that day, to the dismay of a couple of soaked open-wheel car  drivers). 
Of course, the rain helped, but it was easy to rotate the big  Taurus with a 
left foot brake and more power. The power overcomes the  braking activity on 
the front end, so the car doesn't slow down, but the braking  on the rear 
induces the turn. It isn't something I would do every day, certainly  the 
Corvair is more fun to drive than most FWD cars. The SHO was only a hoot on  
the freeway, where it scooted right along. I saw 140 in it once!
 


Seth Emerson

C's the Day! -  Corvair, Camaro, Corvette