Site hosted by Angelfire.com: Build your free website today!
I Just LOVE This Stuff; Don't You? But Cheer Up - It's Only 300 Miles to Castelgar!

IS YOUR CAR FRONT WHEEL DRIVE?

If it is, there are a few things you should know about driving one of these babies in slippery conditions. You may have been driving it for years without any problem, not knowing that when and if you encounter a condition of front-end skid, or fwd understeer, you life may well depend on knowing what to do, and most importantly,that you don't want to do what was correct with Rear Wheel Drive.

Front Wheel Drive vehicles, although they have been in production in various parts of the world for most of this century, first came to America in any kind of quantity with the advent of the Austin/Morris Mini, first introduced here around 1959. Prior to this time, although there was the odd Tucker, Saab, or Citroen to be found here and there, Front Wheel Drive was a rarity. But what the Minis started caught on, becoming much more popular with the introduction of the Volkswagen Rabbit, and then springing up under the badge of just about every major manufacturer, from Audi to Oldsmobile.

This was a Good Thing for some reasons - the unitized drive line inherent in FWD made production cheaper and easier, for example. And, once you hit the "edge" of adhesion, such as in snow and ice, FWD makes for a much more controllable car - But You Have To Know How To Drive It!

FRONT WHEEL DRIVE CARS OPERATE COMPLETELY DIFFERENTLY IN SNOW!

Let me say that again:

FRONT WHEEL DRIVE CARS OPERATE COMPLETELY DIFFERENTLY IN SLIPPERY CONDITIONS!

When the traction is good, and/or when the vehicle is being driven slowly enough, there is virtually no apparent difference between controlling a front wheel drive vehicle and doing the same with its Rear Wheel Drive Counterpart. Consequently, there are people all over the planet who have been driving their FWD cars for years in a completely blissful state of pure ignorance that there are fundamental and important differences between FWD and RWD.

So What's The Problem?

Just this: all this completely changes on that snowy day when you find yourself just a little fast in a corner that's just a little too slippery - when you get to "the edge." That's when you find out that the front wheel drive car is a completely different animal!

How so? It all becomes a function of throttle response - what happens to the handling when you vary the pressure on the gas pedal. Here's a quick table to explain the differences:

Rear Wheel Drive
Backing off on throttle
  • Makes Rear End "loose"
  • Has No Effect on Front Wheel Adhesion (Steering effect)
Applying throttle
  • Can Make Front Wheels "understeer" - vehicle fails to negotiate curve
  • Makes Rear End "oversteeer" - rear slides outward
Front Wheel Drive
Backing off on throttle
  • Has no effect on Rear End
  • Causes Front End to "Understeer"
Applying throttle
  • Can bring steering BACK to front end
  • Has no effect on rear end

So, what does this mean to the driver of a FWD vehicle? Just this: When it gets slippery, you have to be ready to drive completely differently! Let's look at what happens just before an understeer accident:

Rear Wheel Drive

You, in the driver's seat, are approaching a corner or curve in the road. As you get into the corner, your steering starts to go - your front wheels are slipping and not imparting a sideways force on the front end to pull you around the curve - this condition is called understeer.

The natural reaction to this little problem - your vehicle heading for the ditch, the cliffside, the river, or the oncoming traffic - is to back off on the throttle, naturally. And on the Rear Wheel Drive vehicle, this is precisely the correct move! The "braking action" the motor imparts to the rear wheels is just the ticket in this situation, and causes the rear end to slew around to the outside, pointing the vehicle to the inside, in the direction you want to go. In the more extreme cases, you may have to apply some steering to the outside as well, to prevent the oversteer from spinning you out completely, but in either event, pretty soon, you're usually pointed properly, you apply just a little throttle, and you're on your way again. (You will of course note that this is in the less-than-extreme cases; if you're just plain Over The Top, the best even the most experienced driver can do is pick the best place to crash.)

Now, let's take a look at what happens in the same instance with a Front Wheel Drive Vehicle:

Front Wheel Drive

As you approach the same corner, at the same speed, and your steering starts to go, if you back off on the throttle, you are in effect putting some brake on the front wheels! This causes them to lose completely any small steering effect they may still be having, and the resultant total understeer takes the vehicle straight off the corner, into the cliff, river, oncoming truck, or, at best, snow bank or ditch. If you do the natural thing, and take your foot off the gas pedal, this is the only possible outcome once understeer has begun.

What's the alternative? Well, obviously, you want to slow down a bit. So, believe it or not, you apply the brakes! Not too hard, mind you, but hard enough to cause some braking of the rear wheels - the same effect as above with the rear wheel drive vehicle, remember.

But won't that also apply brakes to the front wheels? Not if you also apply some throttle at the same time! - This will "cancel" the effect of the front wheel braking, yet occasion some braking at the rear. Furthermore, the control you now have with your right foot (gas pedal) will allow you to "feel around" for some traction with the front wheels, Turned in the direction you want to go - into the corner and a little experimentation will usually pull you back into your own lane!

Yeh, yeh, I know, most people have been trained not to apply brakes in a curve or corner, and never to apply brakes and throttle at the same time, but those rules were made before front wheel drive cars were popular. It's a silly way to drive a rear-wheel-drive vehicle, but it can save your life with front-wheel-drive! It's this simple:

The Rules Are Different, Because The Vehicles Are Different!

Yet, for some reason, it doesn't yet seem to be popular knowledge that a front wheel drive vehicle is completely different creature to control once the limits of adhesion are reached. I have asked many drivers of FWD cars if they are aware of the different driving style required in event of a skid, and I don't remember finding a single one who knew what I was talking about. I have, however, encountered a few who won't drive their FWD in winter, saying it just acts "too squirrely" on ice and snow.

Rally drivers, for whom the Mini became the ne plus ultra within a year or two of its introduction, (there were other, less popular fwds, such as Saab and Citroen) found the differences very quickly. Sports car magazines of the time were full of praise for the way FWDs "pulled their way around corners," in slippery conditions, while the best one could do with the rear wheel drives was to "cross them up" and hope for the best - using power to the (rear) drive wheels to control how far outward the rear end slews, and correcting for the inevitable outward skid by steering the front end outward to compensate. A little too much power, of course, and the car would inevitably sail right off the outside of the corner - sideways - or come to a halt after spinning around for a while. How did the Minis do? They Cleaned Up! Their driver discovered that front wheel drive was not necessarily a detriment - once mastered, it gave the driver huge advantages over the "conventional" configuration!

STEERING FROM BOTH ENDS

Here's why they worked so well:

  • Even once traction has been basically lost, the front wheels can be pointed in the direction you want the front end to go, and by varying the engine rpm to "find" the best traction, the front end will generally "claw" its way to where you want it - around the corner, in your lane.

  • Adhesion of the rear wheels can be modulated, at the same time, by VARYING LEFT-FOOT BRAKE PRESSURE in the corner! Thus the best cornering style, at speed, involved using right foot on the gas, and left foot on the brake, at the same time. More yaw at the rear is effected by more brake pedal pressure; more claw at the front by applying more throttle.

  • Bonus: You still have the steering wheel, and now it's not just something you have to use to correct rear-wheel oversteer. You can use it to adjust the position of the front end towards or away from the center of the corner, as you simultaneously adjust traction with the right foot, and keeping the rear end where you want it with the left foot.

SOUNDS A LITTLE DIFFERENT,DOES IT?

You can imagine what would happen if you tried to drive a rear wheel drive car in this fashion. Brakes and Gas at the same time? As you power through a corner?

Conventional wisdom, and all the driving manuals we studied for our first driving licence, caution against using either brakes or power in a corner or curve. Yet, in the case of the FWD, both of these are used to advantage. Conclusion?:

FRONT WHEEL DRIVE CARS HANDLE DIFFERENTLY

And, here's another little thing to keep in mind:

IGNORING THIS CAN GET YOU KILLED!

Pretty strong language. But for good reason. Every winter, literally thousands of lives are made miserable, or ended, by a failure on the part of those in charge of training us to drive to publicize this difference. Drivers manuals still tell us to do such ridiculous things as "in the event of a skid, take your foot off the gas pedal, and turn the front wheels in the direction of the skid until you regain control," WITHOUT DIFFERENTIATING BETWEEN FRONT AND REAR WHEEL DRIVE! I wrote this article because I got tired of seeing this kind of brainwash still being handed out in the late '90's! It's now 2001, and I still haven't seen any attempts to put it right in the minds of the millions of drivers of FWD cars. Hopefully, some readers will begin to prepare themselves for their first (or next) encounter with "FWD Understeer." Let me summarize:

THE CORRECT FIRST ACTION

Is obviously NOT to "let off completely on the gas pedal." No, in fact a good BASIC first reaction is to apply SOME gas pedal with the right foot, and at the same time, apply SOME brake with the left foot. The slight braking of the rear wheels will bring on some slewing around of the rear of the car, and the braking of the front wheels will be offset by the power applied to them at the same time. In other words, the effect will be about the same as if you'd let off on the throttle on a rear wheel drive car.

NOW FOR THE FRONT WHEEL DRIVE DIFFERENCE!

But you're in a better position, because you can also vary the power to the front wheels with the gas pedal, and "hunt" for a throttle opening that will give the best traction, as you steer INTO the curve. If you find the traction window, which you usually will, you will be able to make the front end "claw" its way arond the corner. So, once you learn to drive a FWD in snow, is it better? You Bet it is!

YOU SHOULD BE READY FOR THIS

If you're still with me, and this makes sense to you, you're not yet out of the woods for your first encounter with "failure to negotiate." Although practice makes perfect, it is most cases not very practical for the average person to go out and practice being a rally driver to be ready for the time when you may need it. But you CAN do these:

  • Programme this First Reaction. A few times a day, while driving in slippery weather, ask yourself, "What would I do if this thing refused to go around the next corner?" Then, tell yourself, "I would apply SOME throttle, at the same time as SOME brake, and STEER my way around the corner."

  • Practice doing it, at slow speeds, with just LIGHT pressure on each, when it's safe to do so. (Check that mirror first!) Hopefully, you'll find, in the event that you run into trouble some bad day, that you've programmed yourself to take the right action, instead of the wrong one in the drivers manuals.

  • If you're lucky enough to have somewhere to try it out, such as an empty, snow-filled (or icy) parking lot, (WITHOUT HIDDEN CURBS!) you might want to give a few gentle turns a try with the both-feet method. Start slowly at first - it's a real drag to pile your car up while trying to learn how not to pile your car up!

"Point The Front Wheels Where You Want To Go, And Stuff It"

This was the popular adage for newly-converted Rallye Mini Drivers 'way back then. It was a little extreme - I'd personally not go so far as to recommend such a gung-ho attitude on the part of Joe Family, the first time he finds his mini van heading for the logging truck, but I Sure As Hell would NEVER recommend letting off on the throttle and expecting it to act like the old '69 Chevy. - Although that's what the Driving Manuals are still telling us to do!

No, the best First Action is somewhere in between - light brake and gas, and remember the drive wheels are trying to get enough traction to pull the front end to where they're pointed. But whatever you do, DON'T JUST LET OFF ON THE GAS AND PRAY. Because if you do, you're very likely to meet the gent to whom you're praying - sooner than you want.

I have sent mail on this subject to my Provincial Ministry of Highways, and to the Governent Car Insurance agency, with each change of government for the past two or three changes, now, and gotten nowhere. (Well, I just did with our latest one - the results aren't in yet on that one.)(2 years later update: still nothing!)

So I hit on the idea of making this page available to the planet. If it saves just one life, it'll be better than nothing. But I wish someone would get to the various Highway Safety Councils, etc. all over the planet. Feel free to copy and distribute this information all you like. Tell everyone you know to check the website. It's a long url, but then, _everybody_ doesn't have a domain name, like (www.fwd-death.com) Till then, I hope you never need to know this, but if you do, remember:

HALF GAS, HALF BRAKE, STEER.

SHINY SIDE UP, EVERYBODY!

Disclaimer: All the above is my opinion only; if you decide to try this out for yourself, as I have many times, and things don't work out for you, well just remember there are many other factors in keeping your butt where it belongs when you hit slip city. Exercise caution and discretion in all matters.

Come to think on it, if you feel like suing somebody, how about the people who are still putting out manuals that tell you to take your foot off the gas in all cases, with all cars?

Besides, you don't want to sue me, anyway. I have no money, but I _do_ have a Pit Bull with AIDS, who, in the words of Mick Jagger, is "Dyne......... ta meetcha."

And finally, don't end up like this guy:
My Snow Valley Performance Products Pages



Comments? Mail me here if you like




- Thanks to "The Far Side" and Gary Larson.....

PS: Does any of this apply to 4 wheel drive vehicles?

Some of this also applies to 4WD, since they are of course also FWD, but RWD too. Click Here for a rant on 4WD