[Mean Green Z28]

So f'n douche bag at work got a '07 Subaru Impreza WRX Wagon, and now thinks he's the holy grail of motoring. He says AWD cars (like his WRX, which ofcourse is what god designed himself and put on the dirt road) isn't supposed to be driven on anything else but rallies (just like Ferrari's as supposed to be on the track and not on the road) and cannot be setup for the track and people need to stay off the gas to drive it around an asphalt track and that RWD is where it's at for anything performance oriented 'cos you can bring the ass end around at will. I'm not disagreeing with the RWD part (although I've noticed our f-body's like to understeer) but of course I've never driven an AWD car around a track but from what I've read, heard and seen, AWD's push a lot and have quite a bit of understeer and need more of a nose down attitude to get the handling right and then can be pretty competitive on the track. What say you? If I'm wrong, I'm gonna shut up and cry in a corner (ofcourse, having learned something ... but I ain't telling him, I'll just say I got sand in my eyes .. lol)

so ... does a properly setup AWD like a WRX match, supersede a prepped RWD or will they forever be lagging behind 'cos they belong on the dirt road?

This post has been edited by Mean Green Z28: Dec 27 2007, 05:10 PM

[1meanZ]

from what I've seen in auto-x and road racing, AWD only has the advantage on slow speed courses or slow corners because you can go WOT much sooner and put the power down. Ovbiously this is great for Auto-x. Once you are up to enough speed that a 2wd car can hook, AWD is nothing but a power drain. AWD has even less of an advantage at the drag strip. Tire and suspension technology has come far enough that a 2wd vehicle can hook just as well with the right equipment. Once you're rollin' AWD does nothign but hurt your trap speed.

That being said, on most street tires, or in the rain and snow, AWD rules.