neidu3@sh.itjust.works
on 11 Apr 01:33
nextcollapse
Not really, but there are some tricks one can do in a pinch when it’s snowy, such as using the parking brake while doing a wheelspin at full turn.
Other than that, they’re the same. FWD in general has a limited turn radius, since the drive mechanism need to accommodate varying angles, and this becomes rather complex at high angles.
If you really need tight turn radius, a RWD is your best bet. And doing some custom modifications to make it even tighter is relatively simple.
There are also some vehicles that permit turning the rear wheels a bit as well to get the turning radius down a bit more. My impression is that it’s kind of a luxury feature.
The late 80s early 90s Civic had an incredible lock to lock angle, and this supertight turning radius. They dropped that setup when they wanted to enlarge the cabin space in the future models
No, but in fact you’re on the right track to a deeper understanding of the nature of powertrains. AWD vehicles have a differential gear between the front and rear axles, allowing them to rotate at different rates - this is as opposed to 4WD vehicles, which do not have a center differential and have the front and rear axles locked together (when 4WD is engaged).
Being locked together is better for off-road conditions, but on hard surfaces while turning, having the front and rear axles locked together means the tires will scrub - since the front and rear wheels inscribe a different turning radius, they want to turn at different speeds, but if they’re stuck rotating at the same speed, a given wheel’s rotational speed doesn’t match the speed at which it’s moving over the road, and the wheel drags/scrubs. This does harm the turning radius a bit, but more importantly driving around like that damages the tires and powertrain.
threaded - newest
Not really, but there are some tricks one can do in a pinch when it’s snowy, such as using the parking brake while doing a wheelspin at full turn.
Other than that, they’re the same. FWD in general has a limited turn radius, since the drive mechanism need to accommodate varying angles, and this becomes rather complex at high angles.
If you really need tight turn radius, a RWD is your best bet. And doing some custom modifications to make it even tighter is relatively simple.
There are also some vehicles that permit turning the rear wheels a bit as well to get the turning radius down a bit more. My impression is that it’s kind of a luxury feature.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steering#Active_four-wheel_…
And, of course, a short wheelbase helps.
The late 80s early 90s Civic had an incredible lock to lock angle, and this supertight turning radius. They dropped that setup when they wanted to enlarge the cabin space in the future models
No, but in fact you’re on the right track to a deeper understanding of the nature of powertrains. AWD vehicles have a differential gear between the front and rear axles, allowing them to rotate at different rates - this is as opposed to 4WD vehicles, which do not have a center differential and have the front and rear axles locked together (when 4WD is engaged).
Being locked together is better for off-road conditions, but on hard surfaces while turning, having the front and rear axles locked together means the tires will scrub - since the front and rear wheels inscribe a different turning radius, they want to turn at different speeds, but if they’re stuck rotating at the same speed, a given wheel’s rotational speed doesn’t match the speed at which it’s moving over the road, and the wheel drags/scrubs. This does harm the turning radius a bit, but more importantly driving around like that damages the tires and powertrain.
Thus, you were on the right track. Namaste.