Rented a RWD Magnum in wintery Montana - Yuk!

Aren't limited slip differentials pretty much standard now? Even in FWD cars,
I think.

In this Dodge Magnum, that was not the problem. The problem was a heavy RWD
car, with a heavy engine in front, with little weight over the rear wheels.
The problem was most noticeable when accelerating from a stopped position.
FWD cars are clearly superior in those situations.

 

I don't believe so.
Hasn't traction control replaced it?
We have neither, haven't felt the need for it.
Tip: When one wheel slips on starting off, simply apply slight brake.

Back to summer weather, I rented a Magnum for two weeks in Hawaii.
No traction problem, good cornering on hard curves, but it brought back
memories of my past RWD experience on slight highway curves.

I had to continually make slight steering corrections as I changed power.
With our FWD cars we just turn into the curve and hold it while we apply
the power we need; the car just follows those front wheels.
Much nicer and more precise steering.

 

That's true. I had three Beetles and went every where on summer tires.
However there were just a few negatives. >
-The front was so light you didn't always go where you turned, I went
off the road twice, fortunately into snow banks at low speed.
Light to lift back on the road though. <
-In a strong cross wind you were driving with the steering cranked over
scrubbing the front wheels.
-Yes I knew all about putting weight in the front, but I did need to put
more than bricks in that luggage compartment.
-When you came to deep snow you had to go fast enough to go over it, as
the bug tobogganed up on it and if you got stuck in that position you
had a real shoveling job.

I'll take my FWD Concord any time over the Beetle for snow.

Yes got great fuel mileage for that time, about the same as I now get
with my twice as large automatic Concord. As for passing power and hill
climbing, forget it. A few times I went up over 3,000 ft. and barely
made it to the top wheezing at 5 mph.
Fortunately my first (no gas gauge) bug went far enough on reserve to
get fuel.
The original heater/defroster was terrible, when they added the gas
heater the fuel mileage went to hell. You did smell some fumes from
that heated air that passed over the engine. Oil leaks were not nice.

Did my first ('56) bug ever carburetor ice, there was even ice on the
outside of the manifold.

Solid?
The rear axles swung vertically, having a tuck under tendency, but not
as bad as GM's Corvair copy. Weren't there rubber boots at the
transmission?
Yes the 4 speed was very good, it had to be as it was used very
frequently.

I did love my bugs though, much better than the NA sloppy handling boat
cars of the 50s.
Oh yes, no antifreeze.

 

Never claimed to be. You might try reading what you're responding to.

 

Used to do it all the time but without the chains and back seat weight.
Worked great, not to mention I never lost steering the few times I lost
traction. Thanks for making my point for me.

 

Let us know when the effects of those hallucinogens have worn off...

 

LOL! You are one reason why insurance rates are so high. Who cares
about control? Just point and shoot...

 

It was obvious to this newsgroup. Now it's obvious to you. Good.
Acknowledging the problem is the first step towards recovery. You're making
progress!

 

I'd expect traction control to work better than limited slip.
Regardless, on our new truck (2007 Dakota on order), limited slip was
most definitely an option. I don't know what we paid for it (my
FIL is retired Freightliner, so we get employee pricing), but it lists
for a worth-every-penny $295.

 

Typcial USENET fodder. As the thread progresses, responder makes up
stuff as he goes. SSDD.

 

Great response. lol!

 

I live in Finland, Europe. Town of Kauhajoki. Coordinates: 622748N 0222328E

And yes, we do have snow and ice here for about 3 - 4 months a year.

And yes, I do drive quite a lot. I own a taxi (Chrysler 300C, but stw. Like
Dodge Magnum with Chrysler front clip and interior). And I would never ever
buy a fwd car. Maybe I would if we did not have these winters here. When
traction is good it does not matter which end of the car is pulling/pushing.
But when it gets slippery there is no substitute for RWD.

My car is equipped with ESP and ABS and so on, plus tyres with studs. They
are still allowed here.

And I'd rather drive my 1959 Dodge Kingsway STW on icy road than any fwd
car.

I guess you could say that I don't like fwd cars

Sorry about the bad english.

Risto Nevala

 

One of the problems with the 300 & Magnum cars isn't RWD, it's that
they have little ground clearance.
My FWD cars (the VW beetle as well) only bog down when deep snow piles
up underneath.
Even AWD isn't much help when that happens, adequate ground clearance is
needed.

I used to use studs when I had RWD cars. They were a great help, but
sure tore up the road and stopping distance on pavement was much
greater- very dangerous IMO.

That's obvious and also it's obvious you don't have much experience with
them.

 

Most automibles today are FWD? I think not. Thankfully, "today" isn't
1985 anymore.

 

Joe wrote:

ring. Not a good thing.

Heck, you can even "steer" a rear-drive car with the throttle. All you
can do with the throttle on a powerful FWD is put yourself in the ditch.

I do concede that FWD is a little better in snow, but not enough to
justify putting up with its crap handling the majority of the year.

 

Eldorado and Toronado. Yes, I remember them. Not fondly.....

But more to the point GM does it TODAY and has for the past 20 years.
Cadillacs have had FWD and v8s since the late 80s, and a 300+ horsepower
v8 and FWD since about 1993 (you have heard of the Northstar v8, I
assume). They handle like crap, but they are powerful FWD cars.
Ironically, the big barges are rather potent at the dragstrip where
handling doesn't matter, though.

 

Some O wrote:

Already covered in another thread.

1) Torque steer has NOTHING to do with unequal halfshaft lengths
2) Even if it did, LH cars have (ta daa!) unequal length halfshafts (get
under it and LOOK. The differential is offset to the right side of the
transaxle, so the passenger-side halfshaft is much shorter than the
driver's side halfshaft.)
3) LH cars with the 3.5L engine have enough torque steer to mess you up
REAL good if you're not careful. I have 240,000 miles on an LH myself.
Great car, but would be better if it was rear-drive.

 

Very true. 4WD and FWD may get you moving faster in snow or ice, but
*everyone* has 4-wheel brakes... so getting going faster just makes you
more likely to hit something (or someone).

 

Said by one who obviously has has yet to learn how to drive a FWD car or
any car in difficult conditions.
I now have about equal years driving each, all years on difficult
Canadian winter roads including many years driving up ski hill mountains.

With FWD no chains or winter tires anymore, just good all season tires
year round.
In good conditions I easily shake off the RWD bumper smelling vehicles
on our more curvy roads. I only do it on a left turn else the dummy
bumper drivers may hit on coming traffic. If it's a RWD larger SUV I
don't take it so fast as one almost went off a cliff.
Even with such cornering I've not reached the point of front tire
complaint from my LH car.

 

That's what many AWD people find, too much speed for the road conditions.
Unfortunately many of the Camaro personality crowd now drive large 4WD
vehicles and cause road hell for those they hit.