[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

[CrashTestDummy]

Douchebag +1

While the AWD cars can be a bit heavier and tire-limited WRT many of their competitors. Depending on class, however, they can be quite competitive. They are getting lighter, due to the use of light-weight materials and tire width limitations isn't that much of a limitation when your driving another pair of tires. They are tough to beat when it rains.

The biggest problem I see with them is that the individual parts are a bit more stressed, so breakage of expensive parts can be an issue. Many roadracers I talk to call Evos 'AWD timebombs' and the Scoobie's center diff and tranny are known to be delicate (although they are getting better). Probably 20% of the Scoobie drivers in the Houston Region have replacement trannys in their WRXs, some multiple times. One driver I know is three-for-three, starting with a WRX, and now on his second STi, putting transmissions in the things. The WRX took two before being traded.

I have ridden in and driven stock-class STi's, and can tell you that with the proper driver, they can be made to power understeer, power oversteer, brake understeer, and brake oversteer. It depends on how you handle the car.