speedmaniac

It is actually funny how small minded some people are, I don't know Charlize but I have been the owner of several Porsches and currently have access to a Carrera GT as well a many other exotics since the company that I am associated with just opened an exotic auto dealership next to our Mercedes-Benz store... Just took her for a spin...

Have an RX8 at home in the garage with a few mods and drive her once in a while, I also get a brand new Mercedes demo every two months or 4,500 miles to drive with gas and insurance paid for as one of my perks... But you probably will not believe that as well...

I actually feel sorry for the kind of person who thinks like you do... :o

Steiner

Tell me how it goes. I'll be at my vacation home in the Hamptons this weekend putting the final touches on my homemade attack helicopter.

speedmaniac

You have an attack helicopter, cool...

Steiner

I needed air support for my gound troops, artillery divisions and mechanized units. It's a slippery slope. Next summer I'll probably have to put a sattelite up in orbit just to keep up with Jones'.

Kee1pride

this guy is so full of him self.

if all this is true then you can afford a digital camera. post some pictures of you driving one.

Shiri

Yes (for my car which is an R32, the R33 and R34 are slightly different as they have about 1% bias to the front wheels).

During power transfer, the center differential is activated via electrical signals that opens up hydraulic pressure to lock down the wet clutch, thus transfering power to the front differential. This is what the ATTESSA system does.

The ATTESSA system basicaly kicks in when the accelerometer detects that the front or rear is about to break traction (ie during hard cornering).



Read up about the ATTESSA system on a Nissan Skyline GTR.

DARKMAZ8

so basically rwd is better

Skunk

Actually, JGTC and Time Attack are proving that AWD cars are superior on road courses. The fastest Time Attack cars now are GT-Rs and Evos.

Skunk

Wait, what is Lambo selling that's faster than the Murceialago?

LostAngel

0ld thread!

kartweb

Better, faster etc., is all subjective based on the test application. There are so many variances to consider between AWD, RWD even FWD that one will never come up on top for all test applications.

For example on a road course there are variances - a long smooth track like Road Atlanta will favor RWD except when it's wet or very cold. A short track with twisties like Lime Rock will usually (but not always) favor AWD.

As far as everyday driving 95% of the time will generally favor FWD - mostly for economic reasons. Of course that 4% of the time when a true driver's car is preferred, RWD wins. And that 1% of the time when the pavement is slick, AWD tops the list.

There was a time when even the Indy Oval favored AWD. Long before Aero devices and tires with greater then .8 G's of grip the max turn speeds were in the sub-150 range with straight speeds of 180-190. AWD gave far more stability exiting turns - not necessarily faster so much as not nearly as likely to hammer the wall if a driver goosed it a tad early.

I prefer RWD, although if the only way I can get it is with AWD, thats what I'll buy. My CX-7 has AWD for that reason.

Obviously AWD adds more parts, weight and drag. Thats the tradeoff.

ruru

hard to say what is best I think - maybe this is better for this etc, but I mean, alot goes into a car and it being RWD, AWD or FWD will have alot of other factors to how it handles, etc......

What I do know is that RWD seems to be top dog now but I imagine AWD will only be improved upon and will end up being the future of top end cars......RWD is just so damn fun...and right now I have to say it is my personal preference - but **** this is an rx-8 forum - I guess I am a bit biased to begin with huh - lol

guess we'll see - does anyone know how that prelude did that got the RWD treatment off the rx7 - I would like to know what kinda improvements that guy saw -that is a good place to get some real world info on this issue for debate - we can compare AWD apples to RWD oranges all day but I don think we are getting anywhere......

pretty sure that prelude did not change anything once he started the conversion over to RWD [as far as his engine I mean] - maybe after work i will search for it and try to link some info....but it seems that if he did a good job with the conversion and got slower faster that would be a nice insight as to the changes that a car would have should it be converted.....just a thought...

ruru

ruru

ATTESSA system = badass - I had not seen this much in depth - nice

Steiner

A little OT but what can you tell me about your experience so far with the CX-7? My wife and I are thinking about replacing her '00 Xterra with one of them.

playdoh43

care to back that up? im not saying youre wrong, but last I checked the Z and Supras were dominating the time attacks. Nissan hasnt ran the GT-R for years... BMI has a segment every episode where they follow the JGTC season, I have not seen a GT-R or Evo at the top of the time attack chart for at least 2 years. Especially since GT-Rs were replaced by the Pitwork 350Z. I have not seen a single Evo in the top 10 charts in the GT500 class, where the fastest cars run. In fact I think Evos only run in the GT350 class if they run at all...

... infact its not even called JGTC anymore, they changed thier name to Super GT :-p

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JGTC#Championship_winners
wikipedia does not have time attack data, but as you can see, the GT-R has not been dominating since they swtiched over to the Z car... and EVO has never won any class ever... since the inception of the league... (no pun intended on EVO as I know how badass they are,im just siting stats) it seems to be RWD have been the dominating force this century (which i expect to change after the new GT-R comes out)

note im not aruging between RWD vs AWD here (i persinally think a AWD torque transfering system like the attesa is best), i just want to see what you are basing your claim on?

Steakboy42

I guess we can update this thread by saying that the fastest production car is the AWD 1,001 HP Bugatti Veyron. Since when it was mentioned before in the thread it wasn't production yet, but since then it has become a production car.

I'm not saying which is better, just stating a fact

-Steakboy

Hanzo

AWD - Faster because it has better/more grip, anyone watch/participate racing knows, grip means speed.

RWD - Not as much grip compare to AWD so in terms it's slower HOWEVER, 90% of the time RWD is more fun to drive than an AWD.

(The above statements can't really be use to compare a particular car since not all AWD and RWD cars are the same)

If racing sanction bodies like FIA would allow AWD in racing it will be popping up in every form of racing including F1.

Ike

I can't recall Supras and Zs dominating time attacks... I think you're confusing JGTC (Super GT) with time attacks. His statement was correct, cars like the Cyber Evo and HKS Evo hold just about every time attack record out there. They certainly hold the most important time attack record which is Tsukuba.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLxaWAgibvM

As for them being in the JGTC... The domination of the Skyline GTR is the reason why AWD was banned from the JGTC. And the reason why you don't see Evos out there is because the cars have to be coupes and can't be AWD... There was a special waiver given to Cusco so they could run their RWD Impreza.

Rootski

iTrader: (1)

RWD, AWD.... either one... who cares as long as we can all agreed FWD sucks?

painter1

^ Nope. I like FWD. I had hondas and acuras all my life. You can really abuse the car alot harder!

Before I bought my 8 I was seriousley considering an EVO. I always heard about the performance and thought it was an amazing machine. Then I drove it! I was extremely dissapointed. It felt sooo CHEAP! And was not nearly as fast as I thought. I also wasn't in love with the looks of it. F*ck that car! mitsubishi is crap!!
Then I went to nissan and drove the Z. The looks are better than the evo. I wasnt expecting much, but when I drove it...man now I really like that car. I love the cockpit. and the v6 RUMBLE... definately more fun to drive than the evo. and they felt similar in performance! But I wasnt happy with the price!
I finally decided on the 8. Fells nice! looks nice! better price! and fun to drive...(needs a bit more torque) I figured with the money I saved I would buy a turbo.. Im happy with it!
The evo and sti are RALLY cars!! Thats why they feel like that!
The 350z and rx8 are SPORTS cars!!
apples and oranges...

shaunv74

[QUOTE=Hanzo]AWD - Faster because it has better/more grip, anyone watch/participate racing knows, grip means speed.QUOTE]

That's mostly true. AWD cars don't have more grip. Grip is strictly a function of friction between the tires and the road and weight of the car. AWD can put more power down when you are accelerating in a straight line or are on an uneven surface where not all the wheels have the same amount of friction. AWD cars do not corner as well because they have to give up some of the available grip the front tires could use for turning for acceleration because they are also receiving power from the engine.

playdoh43

cool, i didnt know GT-R was banned from JGTC...

Ike

It's not, AWD cars are banned. There have been RWD Skylines cars in the JGTC but they weren't nearly as dominant as the AWD versions.

Hanzo

[QUOTE=shaunv74]Like I said not all AWD cars are set up the same way. Nowadays with computers it adjust torque to different wheels in real-time, doesn't matter if it's going in the straight line or cornering. The Subaru (Symmetrical AWD), Acura (SH-AWD), Nissan (ATTESSA-ETS), Audi (Quattro), Mitsubishi (AYC and ACD), they all have their own system.

For example the Nissan system is 100% RWD until the front wheels need torque. With modern technology AWD has become very advanced and can outsmart the road.

playdoh43

kodus