Which car makers offer symmetrical or RWD-bias AWD?

Samir

Samir

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2005 Honda Accord EX-L, 2002 Ford Mustang LX
Just wondering, went to check out a couple of cars lately and a lot of these new "AWD" models seem to have a system where the car is FWD, until it detects a slip in the front wheels at which point it sends the torque to the rear. That's not all wheel drive!!! That's "get me out of this snowbank". These cars felt and handled just like FWD cars which greatly annoyed me.

So, does anyone know about different AWD drive systems and which ones handle the best?
 
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The Alfa Romeo Brera comes in a 3.2 litre AWD with 60% bias towards the rear, IIRC.
 
Samir said:
Just wondering, went to check out a couple of cars lately and a lot of these new "AWD" models seem to have a system where the car is FWD, until it detects a slip in the front wheels at which point it sends the torque to the rear. That's not all wheel drive!!! That's "get me out of this snowbank". These cars felt and handled just like FWD cars which greatly annoyed me.

So, does anyone know about different AWD drive systems and which ones handle the best?
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Subaru FTW!!!!

My 5MT is 50/50 power spilt...and if you really want, you can get an STi with DCCD and switch it over to rear-bias (35/65 i think), but i heard its just better to let the little computer decide.
 
Mercedes 4MATIC system has 45:55 split front-to-rear so thats reasonably AWD. There seems to be a trend in taking AWD cars and making them as RWD as possible. People favour more traction and therefore balance in the rear.

Most softroaders come with AWD in favour of the front wheels. And most of the time, they're completely 2WD which seems like a waste...
 
Samir said:
a lot of these new "AWD" models seem to have a system where the car is FWD, until it detects a slip in the front wheels at which point it sends the torque to the rear. That's not all wheel drive!!!
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Yes, thats four wheel drive, the common abbreviation for it is 4wd. Its used in cars that are normally front-wheel drive with sideways mounted engines, like the VW Golf, Audi TT, etc etc. These cars use a clutch between the rear and front wheels that only closes when you lose grip.
Contra: pretty much FWD handling, extra weight
Pro: almost FWD-like economy, useful on snow, you can tell your friends "I've got four wheel drive"
 
The reason softroaders favor the front is because thats where the weight is... and thats where you want the power off road.
 
The Veyron's AWD system can actually go from 0:100 to 100:0...think about over 920 lbs/ft of torque in a FWD.
 
M3lover said:
The current lambos have variable split. I think they go from something like 40/60 to 10/90 depending on the situation.
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AFAIK the Lambo is 10/90 by default, and then starts powering the front when the rear starts to slip. Completely the opposite of those soft-roaders that power the front and then send torque to the rear when things get slippy.
 
Lancia Delta Integrale 16v and Evoluzione have 47/53
Ford Escort RS Cosworth has 33/66
 
Checked out a Chrysler 300 w/ All-Wheel Drive today. To my great surprise I was able to send the tail spinning in the snow without the e-brake. Here is a question: The 300 and Charger Platform, based off the old Benz, is a RWD platform. Is their AWD system rear-biased?

Knowing about the Bugatti Veyron and the Lambo is nice and all, but let's be frank gentlemen, no one here is ever going to own those cars.
 
^^^ someone said 4matic was 45:55 split and I would belive that but I have never seen anything to prove it.
 
Samir said:
Checked out a Chrysler 300 w/ All-Wheel Drive today. To my great surprise I was able to send the tail spinning in the snow without the e-brake. Here is a question: The 300 and Charger Platform, based off the old Benz, is a RWD platform. Is their AWD system rear-biased?

Knowing about the Bugatti Veyron and the Lambo is nice and all, but let's be frank gentlemen, no one here is ever going to own those cars.
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32/68 for the chrysler. And i think im correct in saying that they use a version of the benz 4-matic system
 
SL65 said:
Mercedes 4MATIC system has 45:55 split front-to-rear.
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Mercedes originally had the GT-R/Porsche style system, where the fronts only came on when needed. They did this to make their cars appear more advanced than the Audi Quattro's.

Over the years they actually simplified (read: cheapened) the system.
 
none-U.S. Subaru SVXs also start with a rear split(US started 60/40, could go anywhere from 99/1 to 50/50 though, actually had faster 0-60 with fwd bias, electronically controlled either way

most common, cheap awd car i know that has such a split is the BMW 325ix(late 80s early 90s) started out 38/62, could transfer more either way through a torsen center diff, mechanically controlled of course :) !!!!!!
 
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M3lover said:
The current lambos have variable split. I think they go from something like 40/60 to 10/90 depending on the situation.
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actually i believe lambos start with a split of 30/70, then can o to 10/90 or w/e depending on varying levels of traction
 
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