rwd vs 4wd challenge

[Hakkola]

So this has been bothering me for awhile, I see a lot of people who think awd/4wd is the shit but they use all-seasons etc, and I have a feeling my rwd with studded tires will outperform a lot of the awd/4wd crowd.

Not entirely sure how to make this happen, but I was thinking maybe we could get some fwd/rwd/4wd/awd cars together and make an obstacle course and see how we compare with different setups. It wouldn't be a perfect test obviously since we have varying amounts of power etc but it is something that I think would be interesting.

Ideas, comments?

[projekz]

That'd be fun. I'm thinking empty parking lot... you would have to set out some rules like : who's got winter tires and who doesn't. I think sedans would be the easiest, for example G35, G35x, Altima...

[Twin_Cam_Turbo]

My family has

2007 BMW Z4M with Pirelli Sottozeros
2010 BMW 135i with Pirelli Sottozeros
1992 Nissan 180SX with Dunlop Winters
1998 Jeep Cherokee with A/S but they look much more like a winter tire

I could bring out my Nissan or Jeep, dunno if my parents want me borrowing their cars.

I would be interested to see what happens.

[Xtrema]

If just have more wheels spinning with AWD without the right tires.

My boss's 335xi was a good example.

[gretz]

Can I enter a FWD?

[sillysod]

I will bring a 4wd station wagon with blizzaks on if this is a go.

If you want something exciting I can bring my dropped A4 with summer tires, a big turbo and brutal turbo lag (nothing... nothing... nothing.... 25psi... AWD SPINNNNNNNNN). haha

[wintonyk]

you would need to compare different awd systems too. Its like the test they did a while back with subaru awd vs toyota 4wd etc.

would be interesting to see.

No doubt in my mind though that myself on summer tires in a rwd is better than half the soccer moms in their awd suvs.

[Hakkola]

Originally posted by gretz
Can I enter a FWD?

Yes. We have to find a good spot and time to do this. Would like to do it legally of course.

Anybody know how long the snow is supposed to last? It would probably be best to do it on a fresh dump.

[projekz]

Tuscany Home Depot parking lot is always nice, fairly open plus it's away from unwanted attention.

[Scuderia]

Originally posted by projekz
Tuscany Home Depot parking lot is always nice, fairly open plus it's away from unwanted attention.

x2, used to do some winter drifting there all the time.

[nobb]

This sounds like fun. Any ideas on what you'd like to accomplish for this and how to do it? eg. setting up pylons and doing timed runs, acceleration/braking/cornering tests etc...

[Hakkola]

Originally posted by projekz
Tuscany Home Depot parking lot is always nice, fairly open plus it's away from unwanted attention.

I want to do this completely legal, so we'd have to get permission from Home Depot or whoever owns the lot.

Originally posted by nobb
This sounds like fun. Any ideas on what you'd like to accomplish for this and how to do it? eg. setting up pylons and doing timed runs, acceleration/braking/cornering tests etc...

I was thinking pylons and a timed run, though separate tests might be a good idea.

[FraserB]

Im down, I'll test out the 4wd and mud tires section

[Sugarphreak]

...

[Aleks]

Originally posted by Hakkola
So this has been bothering me for awhile, I see a lot of people who think awd/4wd is the shit but they use all-seasons etc, and I have a feeling my rwd with studded tires will outperform a lot of the awd/4wd crowd.

Not entirely sure how to make this happen, but I was thinking maybe we could get some fwd/rwd/4wd/awd cars together and make an obstacle course and see how we compare with different setups. It wouldn't be a perfect test obviously since we have varying amounts of power etc but it is something that I think would be interesting.

Ideas, comments?

More of a comment - I have an AWD subaru and a RWD bmw both equipped with snow tires. There is no comparason. The subbie is superior. Im sure if I threw the garbage all seasons back on the subaru the AWD advantage would dissapear in all but maybe straight line acceleration.

[black13]

Interesting idea.
I'd be curious to see who would do better in an uphill start. I think a rwd w/winters and a 4wd w/o winters would perform almost the same but not sure.

Don't see how braking on a 4wd vs. rwd/fwd would make a difference. Main factor there would be tires.

And good choice of cars would be a 350z/g35 w/winters and a newer maxima w/o winters since they got the same engine and what-not.

[Hakkola]

Originally posted by Sugarphreak
Legally you have to not only get permission, but insurance if you want to race on somebody's lot in case you damage their property, in addition to that you need to have people sign an insurance waiver. Oh and be prepared to get hassled...

Yeah, I didn't think about insurance, but from the beginning I didn't think a parking lot would suffice, which is why I didn't mention it at the start.

I think the only real option would be private land, I'm not going to suggest or participate in anything illegal, especially when I'm doing it through beyond.

^^Yeah, the brake test would be useless.

What I'm most interested in here is how I fare with rwd and studded tires vs awd with regular winters or just all seasons for the simple reason that is see so many people brag about their awd winter driving capabilities and I don't think awd is a substitute for quality tires. I'm also interested in fwd etc... as well if others are.

Originally posted by Aleks


More of a comment - I have an AWD subaru and a RWD bmw both equipped with snow tires. There is no comparason. The subbie is superior. Im sure if I threw the garbage all seasons back on the subaru the AWD advantage would dissapear in all but maybe straight line acceleration.

I have no doubt that the subie is superior with the same tires, what I want to know is if the bimmer in this case is as good as, or better with superior tires.

It would be great to have a 3 series rwd with studded tires against a 3 series xi with all seasons or winters to compare.

Unfortunately my studded tires are on the E320 and not the 328i.

[nobb]

Ghost Lake would be a viable idea. Don't they usually have yearly ice races there? Just wait until right after the ice races are done so you know the ice is thick enough then you can have your own little event on the lake. Just make sure there isnt going to be too many people or too many cars parked in one area to limit the stress on the ice.

This would be the best choice. Wide open space, lots of fun.

[Sugarphreak]

...

[Bizzareo]

I'm down, I mean chevettes have there own league for ice racing

~50hp + rwd + Winter tires and sandbags = fun