Is front-wheel-drive
really better in the snow?
By
Jeffrey Fazio
DriveTime Columnist
All-wheel-drive,
is of course, the best option for driving in snow, but what if AWD is
not an option? I've always been told that front-wheel-drive is the
preferred choice over rear-wheel-drive. Maybe those who preach this
have not considered the benefits of mid-engine rear-wheel drive?
This
past Sunday, the Northeastern Pennsylvania region of the SCCA (www.nepa-scca.com)
had an autocross scheduled at the Schuylkill Mall in Frackville,
Schuylkill County. I had originally planned on making this event, but
after the huge snowstorm the night before, it was no longer a
consideration.
So
Sunday rolled around and I had a lazy morning at home enjoying the
view of the newly fallen snow. Just before noon I saw that the roads
were clear and I had some errands to run, so off to the mall I went.
As I turned onto Mall Road, the scheduled autocross popped back into
my head. Surely the event would have been canceled, but I had to drive
around to the backside of the mall just to confirm.
Imagine
my surprise when I rounded the bend and saw orange cones dotting a
snowy landscape with a red Honda Civic sliding around them. I couldn't
believe it. These fools were actually racing their daily driven cars
in three to five inches of snow.
It
took me less than 30 seconds to realize that I was capable of being
just as foolish. I parked my car and ran up to the timing truck to see
if they had any loaner helmets since I hadn't brought my own. Within
moments I signed the insurance form, paid my fee and was heading back
to my car with a helmet in hand.
There
were only three cars running with four different drivers. Since there
were so few people present, there were no course workers so if we
knocked a cone down, we had to stop and put it back up. It was rather
comical watching the antics of frustrated drivers having to stop
mid-race to upright a cone they had just knocked over.
The
three cars that were racing before I showed up were a Honda Civic
hatchback, a Kia Rio and a Nissan 200SX. All three cars are
front-wheel-drive. I know the Nissan had new snow tires up front and
all-season tires in the rear. I'm not sure what kind of tires the
other cars had. I was driving my 1985 Toyota MR2 with half-worn snow
tires. The MR2s mid-engine rear-wheel-drive layout seemed to work out
perfectly fine for the task at hand.
The
driver of the Nissan was holding the fastest time of the day at 1:06.
The rest of the drivers were spread out back to 1:12. On my first run
I managed a 1:02 -- all while staying in first gear. I was braver on
my second run and third run and put down a blistering 59-second run
which ended up being the fastest time of the day.
So
I guess it's not always true that FWD is better than RWD in the snow.
There seems to be an inherent benefit to having the power plant above
the drive wheels. At least two of the other drivers there are
consistently faster than I am on dry courses, so I am sure the
difference was the car (and the tires!).
Now,
please don't run out and buy a Ferrari for winter driving at my
implication that mid-engine RWD can be good in the snow.
At
any rate, about an hour after I started racing, the snow on the track
started to get really packed down and everything became extremely
slick. I've never wiped out so much in an autocross before. I was
doing 360's all over the place and just maintained throttle until I
floated back onto the course. I've never raced in the snow before, but
I will be looking forward to doing it again. What an incredible
experience.
Hopefully
it will snow again for the March 12 event at the Schuylkill Mall. If
so, see you there. |