[Audio-Me]

FWD is dumb, accident waiting to happen. Learn how to brake with your left foot if you drive an FWD vehicle, it'll save on your insurance bill someday.

andrze - do yourself a favor and learn to drive before you do stupid **** ending up damaging something.

grancasa - if you can get an old rwd car, go in reverse (15-20mph), handbrake and turn, just before you pull the 180, release the brake and hit the pedal as far as it'll go.

 

[andrzejpw]

Quote:

Learn how to brake with your left foot if you drive an FWD vehicle, it'll save on your insurance bill someday.

I was a bit curious about this technique. If I'm driving a stick, just how does this work out? Does my foot hover over the brake, then when I shift I press on the clutch, then back to brake? What if I'm stopping? I move both my left/right foot a position left(left foot on clutch, right on brake), and then brake like that?

A&M: I know, I know. But a big parking lot with no posts, etc, just looks much too enjoyable.

 

[DarkWolf]

Why do you think FWD is bad, Audio&Me? I think it's pretty nice, and I know I'm not alone here.

Anyway, I know in a FWD car if you pull the hand brake, it locks the rear wheels, but what happens if you are in a RWD or AWD vehicle? I didn't want to try hitting the hand brake in the WRX.. I could just invision the transmition hinking that the rear wheels sudenly had tons of traction on something and sending all the power back there. At red line in the WRX, that's a LOT of power, and I wouldn't want to break anything... Some people at the race were sayng that the hand brake doesn't do much for AWD vehicles anyway.. And then what about RWD? Does it lock the front tires or something?

 

[chillysalsa]

Actually, doing some snow driving can teach you some valuable skills for everyday. For example: get going reverse with some speed, then engage the clutch and turn hard in one direction. If you get it right, you'll do a 180. This is particularly useful to know if you're being chased by terrorist bad-guys, and you start of facing them from a stand-still. It works on pavement too, but you need more speed & quicker turning.

 

[Multi]

Quote:

Originally posted by DarkWolf Why do you think FWD is bad, Audio&Me? I think it's pretty nice, and I know I'm not alone here.

FWD is pretty bad

. Well FWD cars are faster if you're talking about low HP cars. But the understeer very easily when driven hard and fast. Then again the general US public would prefer the simplicity of FWD.

On the subject of driving in the snow, driving a FWD car seems easier than driving a RWD. But a FWD is a compulsive liar, it gives you false feedback from the frontwheels due to different traction on each wheel in snowy conditions, and the rear end won't tell you anything before it's too late. FWD then would spin off the road.

Anyway. AWD is the king of rally though, have fun with the WRX

.

 

[N@Z]

FWD need not neccasarily mean bad handling. If you have a chance try the classic VW GTI's Mk1 & Mk (A1 & A2). They have really good handling. Resists understeer quite well, still understeers nevertheless but only at the limit. There's also the faster Pugeot 205 gti. Before the time of the vetecs & WRX's they were king.

Ahh... the VW GTi... brings back sweet memories!

 

[tooler]

Use your right foot for braking around town and emergency stops and maneuvers.

Skid control would be good to practice in the snow in an empty parking lot. It will be all the "fun" (adrenaline) you need. Just remember to look where you want to be and your hands will naturally pull you out of it.

 

[DarkWolf]

Ok, so my question is still this: What happens when you pull the handbrake with AWD? I saw a GTI using the handbrake with great effect to controll them selves on the sheer ice skid pad, but I didn't want to try the handbrake witht he WRX. What would it do?

 

[Mr.PD]

Quote:

Originally posted by DarkWolf Ok, so my question is still this: What happens when you pull the handbrake with AWD? I saw a GTI using the handbrake with great effect to controll them selves on the sheer ice skid pad, but I didn't want to try the handbrake witht he WRX. What would it do?

I wish I could answer that for you. I hate to see someone ask a question and get no response. I have AWD in my Dodge pickup, but the hand (foot) brake has been disconnected for many years.
I did this because Dodge routed the cable into the brake drum in a perfect spot to catch on everything and get kinked.

 

[DarkWolf]

Hmm. I think that your pick up has 4WD, which is a little different from what people refer to as AWD. AWD, at least on subarus and the like, has the ability to rout power to any combination of the 4 wheels based on which ones have traction. 4WD is (I think) a fiarly even distrabution, or at least doesn't have the variable center coupling...

 

[grancasa]

Thanks to this thread, I've been using my hand brake EVERYWHERE! It's actually pretty cool parking my car now. I just go to the empty part of the parking lot, aim at the space at about 20mph, and then snap a 180 and park that baby! Plus I've been sliding through most of the turns on my street, scaring some of the people out walking their dogs late at night. Too much fun. Thanks DarkWolf!

 

[DarkWolf]

Well you say you have an outback? What happens when you pull the hand brake witht he gas going? It doesn't try to dump the power into the rear does it?

 

[Mr.PD]

Quote:

Originally posted by DarkWolf Hmm. I think that your pick up has 4WD, which is a little different from what people refer to as AWD. AWD, at least on subarus and the like, has the ability to rout power to any combination of the 4 wheels based on which ones have traction. 4WD is (I think) a fiarly even distrabution, or at least doesn't have the variable center coupling...

My grandfathers 1962 Scout was labeled as AWD.
Yes my pickup is considered 4 wheel drive. But it is the old full time 4 wheel drive that is always engaged. It will route power to any one of the wheels at any time. The one that is easiest to drive.

(like the opposite of the Subaru sytem) I have to put it in a 4 wheel lock position with a lever on the floor. Either high or low range is available in either normal or lock position.

Trust me I've had this truck since 1980. It is always in AWD. You can drive down a gravel road at 30mph and stomp on the gas, and the front tires start spinning.
Remove a drive shaft and the thing will not move, all the power goes to path of least resistance. Until you put it in a lock position.

 

[Audio-Me]

grancasa - try this on a dry dirt parking lot if you can find one

open spot in between two other cars, power slide into the spot. =) You will scare the living **** out of your friends and the looks on other peoples faces will make your day if you're into such mischievous things. I do this mostly at camp grounds.

 

[Mr.PD]

Quote:

Originally posted by Audio&Me grancasa - try this on a dry dirt parking lot if you can find one open spot in between two other cars, power slide into the spot. =) You will scare the living **** out of your friends and the looks on other peoples faces will make your day if you're into such mischievous things. I do this mostly at camp grounds.

[size=small]Sure you do[/size]

And I usually get my old pickup on two wheels to squeeze between cars that are going slower than me.