1994-2002 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
Agree with all of Steve's points. One clarification I might make though.
"2) With more weight (both engine and transmission) sitting over the drive wheels, you will have LESS traction accelerating hard as the weight will
transfer rearward."
This isn't completely true. Yes, you definitely have less traction accelerating hard, because weight shifts rearward during acceleration. However, it's not because of more weight in the front that this happens. No matter what your weight distribution, weight will shift rearward under acceleration (and forward during deceleration). The reason is simply because your drive wheels are in front, and you're taking weight off of them to balance static moment equilibrium. If you have a rear drive car, you're giving more weight to the drive wheels as you accelerate, thereby giving you more traction with which to accelerate.
Forward biasing the initial (i.e. not accelerating/decelerating) weight distribution is a means of trying to overcome this effect. I believe the Viggen, for example, has a slightly more front-biased weight distribution than the base 9-3, since it's trying to put more torque down in front. Generally speaking, the more torque a front drive car is trying to put on the road, the more front-heavy it's gotta be.
A front bias has other implications for deceleration and handling as well, as noted. Remember that more weight goes to the front wheels as you brake in a straight line, no matter what your initial weight distribution. If you're already front heavy to start with, your front brakes/tires are doing more work. This effect applies to any car, but is more pronounced on a front-heavy one.
Cheers,
'Roo
'01 9-3SE
'89 900S
posted by 130.76.6...
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