For anyone who Autox's, Time attacks, or Road races.

[OBEEWON]

I got into a discussion with one of my friends on here about FF and FR vehicles. I don't want to bias this discussion so I'll just ask the question straight out for the benifit of my friend. Which car would be faster(handle better) around a track; FF or FR, and why.

[whitezenki]

depends on suspension, driving style, power, and all kinds of other stuff

[TROLL]

I would make the argument that FR is superior because it allows the front tires to steer the car and the rear tires to accelerate instead of making the front tires do dual duty like on a FF car. Thats not to say that there aren't some amazing FF race cars out there.
And of course we all know that AWD ownz all since it has been outlawed from most professional racing :mrgreen:

[sisforsurfing]

It's not even a question that for building a car with the only purpose of driving quickly around corners, FR is superior to FF. Exactly like Bryan said, there are plenty of insane FF track cars, but you can't argue FR being more ideal. How many Le Mans, Trans Am, JGTC, etc cars do you see that are FWD? Illustrates the point pretty well... leave the fronts to stop (mostly) and turn, the rears will do the power.

[OBEEWON]

LOL Agreed. You just can't match exit speed with AWD which is why it isnt part of the question. But for all extents and purposes say a FF car and FR car are equal in wieght, power, and similar in suspension upgrades, and driven by the same driver just for argument sake. Is there a line that either car can take that the other cannot to give it an advantage? If so describe this ideal line.

[TurboTagTeam]

UnderSteer sucks= FF sucks

Broken Drivetrain sucks= 4WD sucks

FR ownz all

[TROLL]

when you say broken drivetrain you mean that whole thing where the power is actually transferred to the pavement right?

[ozthunder]

For me, I like FR. It's just much more fun.

Btw, did you see the Evo vs. Sti on Top Gear? Wtf is up with all that understeer on the STI?

[piknockout]

As stated, it really depends. But of course your top cars in racing are all FR. Just how it is. I don't see Ferrari building a FWD 599 GTB Fiorano any time soon. The FR is better in almost all aspects IMO. From having the front only needing to steer, to better weight distribution.

But don't count out FWD. You can make a bad@ss FWD car that can/will own many AWD/RWD cars. Just depends on the car setup/driver. Anyone see who won the 2005 Super Street Time Attack challenge? John Heinricy in a time attack prepped Cobalt SS. Flat out fastest time there over some pretty serious Skylines, EVO's, WRX's, etc. :wink:

http://www.superstreetonline.com/eventcoverage/130_0511_timeattack/

[OBEEWON]

But don't count out FWD. You can make a bad@ss FWD car that can/will own many AWD/RWD cars. Just depends on the car setup/driver. Anyone see who won the 2005 Super Street Time Attack challenge? John Heinricy in a time attack prepped Cobalt SS. Flat out fastest time there over some pretty serious Skylines, EVO's, WRX's, etc. :wink:

http://www.superstreetonline.com/eventcoverage/130_0511_timeattack/

Yeah I did see that. He had the second fastest time ever on that track next to a GTR. That suspesion must have been worked, and they did that with just over 300whp.

My friend believes there is a line that a FF car can take that will minimize or even eliminate understeer. Can anyone corraborate this?

[piknockout]

I don't know, but I don't think it's a matter of taking a different line as much as it's driving the car differently. In a FWD car you may use some throttle lift upon turn in to get the car rotating, but then you can get on the gas earlier and pull yourself through the turn on the line that the car is now pointed, as opposed to a RWD car where giving it gas too early could result in a tail out spin. Is this what you're talking about?

[MPowerKai]

I would make the argument that FR is superior because it allows the front tires to steer the car and the rear tires to accelerate instead of making the front tires do dual duty like on a FF car.

You know you got that from initial d :-p

[auk113]

if anything the tires on the FR are going to last longer.

[htheduck]

FD and RD have different lines, but there are too many variables to state why:
-It can depend on driver ability, HP, handling, elevation, and even tempurature conditions which people behind the wheel choose different lines to take.
-A lapping day is different than a race day.
-The fastest line is not necessarily the shortest line.
-The optimal line is not necessarily a defensive line.
-There are two rain lines: dry and wet.

As for your original question: A PURPOSE built racecar would tend to be RD.
FD is just a drivetrain that the team/driver has to contend with.