AWD vs RWD vs FWD - Which is the Best for Touge?

MODS:
TSRB AE86
Civic EK9
Tsukuba Fruits Line

Front Wheel Drive, Rear Wheel Drive or All Wheel Drive. Which is best for the touge? In this video, we’re going to be discussing how each differs, and how to use each one properly. So, make sure you stay tuned because, you won’t want to miss out on this one.
So, let’s start with the classic layout of engine in the front, and power in the back. This makes rear wheel drive cars well balanced in terms of weight. Making this configuration ideal for conventional performance driving. Front engined, rear wheel driven cars, also known as FRs accelerate out of corners naturally, transferring weight to the driven wheels in the back, improving traction as we step on the accelerator out of a corner.
However, with FRs, or most other rear wheel driven configurations such as Front Mid Engined FMR, or Rear Mid Engined RMR, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. Typically, but not always, a small amount of power out of the causes a light front end, inducing understeer. And, a lot of power causes oversteer, also known as wheelspin. But that’s not all. If you suddenly lift off the throttle whilst accelerating and turning, you will cause lift off oversteer. Finally, a bad downshift, or a money shift will cause the rears to massively decrease in speed or even lock up. And in turn, you will most likely experience a terrifying spin. If you’re not driving a FR, but an FMR OR RMR, the likelihood of all of this happening will increase dramatically, as the engine being placed farther back, only moves the centre of gravity rearwards, making the car even more unbalanced through corners.
But, despite Rear Wheel Drive’s many risks, they’re mostly forgivable for the fact that rear wheel drive allows some classic power oversteer and drifting. However, many skilled drivers are also able to use rear wheel drive’s downfalls such as lift off oversteer or money shifting to their advantage.
Now let’s move on to the most popular drivetrain on the planet. Front wheel drive. But if rear wheel drive is deemed to be the be all and end all of a proper driver’s car, then why is front wheel drive so popular? Well, to put it simply, it’s vastly more simple, and ultimately cost effective to build. But also, with front wheel drive, a powertrain isn’t invading the cabin, giving you more room for activities in a small form factor car.
Front wheel drive’s biggest advantage is the fact that the car is being pulled instead of pushed around a corner which results in a much tighter turning circle. This means front wheel drive cars can take those tight corners much more efficiently. Additionally, they won’t need to worry about oversteer on the exit of corners. Even if a front wheel driven car does oversteer, all you need to do is full throttle and the rear tyres will fall back into line instantly.
Not only this, but the powertrain is mounted directly above the front wheels, giving better traction in wet conditions. But, as will rear wheel drive, it’s not perfect, at all. Front wheel drive can really hinder even a decent driver’s pursuit of a quick touge time. Those poor front tyres have got to do almost everything. They accelerate, steer and do most of the braking at the same time. When two tyres are asked to do too much, they typically fail. Tyres only have a certain amount of grip. When you accelerate, turn and brake, a chunk of that grip is taken away. So, when the front tyres have to have all three actions to content with, it’s extremely easier to hit the limit of grip. So, if you want to trail brake into a corner, which requires both braking and steering at the same time, you have to be very cautious to not overstress the tyres and enter understeer. The same applies with accelerating out of a corner, or any combination of accelerating, steering and braking.


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[lonlyRacer]

"High power turbo and all wheel drive, a car isn't complete without them"

-Kyoichi Sudo

[Dominik]

Yes technically AWD is best on Touge in theory. The thing is that it all really depends on the Touge you're driving.

[CrowJam]

I was always the fastest with FWD when playing on a joystick, since you gotta be so aggressive at the turn in, just set the rear bias quite high to help with understeer

[Alicia-kdvv]

I grew up in FWD, it can be super fun, also good for low grip roads or dirt.

[venominonbg]

I've always found the differences between drivetrains intriguing. Personally I prefer RWD cars the most as they are silly fun and quirky to drive. My experience is that RWD often performs better while cornering (either that or I am a natural talent) and quick directional changes, while AWD has unbeatable acceleration and exit speed. I've driven FWDs the least, but I've noticed they're super easy to push to the limit and often tend to be lighter than cars in the same power range. Curious what anyone else can add to the topic.

[ichiroudesu_.]

"Drifting in a traditional sense is impossible in a FWD car"

Shingo disagreed with that.

[munmunyee]

FWD is surprisingly good on downhill-focused, technical tracks. Happo out and Tsukuba both come to mind.

[kisbalintkirill]

From history, the Group B Lancia 037 was faster (which was RWD) than the Audi Quattro in tarmac rally stages due to its lightweight chassis and better weight distribution and because losing traction in tarmac wasn't really an issue. Everywhere else on loose surfaces the Quattro was faster.

[Phoenix-skyy]

AWD with 85% of the power being sent to the rear and 15% to the front is the life

[mooker]

Fwd all day. You can mitigate most all the negative aspects with suspension mods and alignment. Use its properties to get a better turn and control.

[christopher_s_]

Let's not forget the Impreza, AWD with a longitudinal boxer engine, which allows the car to behave more like a RWD (yes it can drift) and have better front-to-rear weight distribution.

[SRK_]

4:23 That is one fantastic example mate, I always do that whenever I'm in a supermarket 😂💙

[johnxina]

It totally depends on the touge and the cars, I'm fastest down most roads in an aw11 mr2, even though something like an evo5 is technically way faster

[ericskullbunny]

I would love to see all at the same time with their fastest runs. Next to each other or all ghosts from above in one view. To really see the diffrence

[Crzd]

Thanks for explaining the difference between 4WD and AWD, that had never been fully clear to me.

[nttx]

I have a Civic IRL (not type R, but still) and I absolutely love how that thing handles. For the 2 and something years I own it, i went into understeer only a few times, and always succesfully recovered, thanks to driving it it AC. FF IMO is the superior drivetrain, if you know how to corner properly and how to manage tire wear. It's easy to have front tires at 180°C 3 minutes into Usui pass. Also recently, I've began to play with AWD cars (22B Impreza), and I love how easy drifting is with them. If you mess something up, just turn the other way and press gas. Maintaining drift is also very nice and natural for me. That cannot be said for RWD cars tho, honestly I have no idea how can anyone drive them aggressively. They oversteer way too much and controlling anything more than driving in a straight line is next to impossible.
For togues (subjectively), AWD is the most fun. You can drift and control it easily, but also go grippy as hell and have nice times. FWD is when you want to have fun around corners at high speeds and feel the lateral G's.

[rallymana]

I think the best drivetrain is up to the driver’s preferences
In my case, It would either be awd or rwd, just because I don’t like how fwd cars handle

[RyuKyu]

Great vid man. Glad to see you used the cars I sent to you for this vid.

[Nrdburgring]

On a sim setup I prefer fwd. Especially if it’s a course I know fairly well. The ability to manipulate off throttle/braking oversteer as well as the ability to correct somewhat reliably make it my favorite for this kind of stuff

[mohe]

The visualization with the tires as pi diagram is the best one I have ever seen for that issue. I will always explain it that way from now on.