Quote:
Originally Posted by t walgamuth
And that is why 4wd was outlawed in both Indy cars and Formula one? I don't think so. You guys have not done your homework.  |
I respectfully disagree with that.
Those are race cars that often time have a minimal weight to compete. they often include ballast weights to bring it up to minimum weight. they also use race tires as well as a lot of aero dynamic tricks. This cannot be compared to street cars.
Also i believe there is a limit on the engine type, but not the HP so its drive trainloss can be negated.
with the same minimum weight (1415lb) the AWD car theoretically will turn/brake and accelerate as fast as the RWD car (assuming race tires have the grip necessary for both). with the added benefit of possibly gaining any additional traction on loose surfaces.
In this specific example it does not include any of the downfalls of a typical AWD street car.
I never believed AWD to provide more grip, the handling at and over the limit are different and you get on the throttle at a different time. personally to me the downfall has always been the weight associated with them.
since you autocross - i also had a 99 miata which i miss everyday!!
S2000's dominated Bstock, same class as the Subaru WRX STI's. despite having AWD and more HP. but in BSP where they can crank up the HP and add a lot of tires they dominate - however i think S2000's are in A Stock now?
now i have been at an event where it rained half way through and all the AWD cars were dominating.
i dont mean to be rude or anything, I also agree with everything Brian said, i just want to bring some real world examples.