hey, i'm bored so i just thought i'd put this out there.

I've always found myself daydreaming about drivetrain physics and engineering, and i use a couple Imaginative examples to illustrate my thinking.

RWD cars are "pushed" forward like rockets. Long and slender, with all the power coming from the rear and pushing the car forward. Allowing for immaculate handling due to the ability of the front steering wheels to be stricly dedicated to steering/suspension, as opposed to having to drive the car as well. Also, the weight balance in most FR/RWD cars is ideal-with the weight of the engine being up front, while the weight of the chassis and drivetrain is spread over the mid and rear sections of the car. RWD is the perfect platform for hi speed drag cars, except in some situations, if you can imagine the rocket powering thru the air, aerodynamics begins to play a big part. At high speeds, if the nose of the "rocket" gets the slightest bit loose, the rocket will initially begin to wobble, and then just hurdle completely out of control (i'm sure we've all seen this happen on the drag strip). Lift is also a considerable problem with RWD. With all the force coming from the rear, and the aerodynamic flow pushing against the nose of the car, its much more likely to have the front end "lift" off the ground a bit, reducing traction handling, steering ability, and ulitmately making the car handle very loosely.

FWD cars are "pulled" forward like those guys you see in chinatown pulling the buggies with the people in them. The obvious advantage of FWD is increased stability and handling in higher speed situations. With the weight of the engine being placed over the drive wheels, this increases their traction and insures that the car will "go" the direction the front wheels are pointed. However since all the weight is place over the drive wheels, its also harder to get started moving. Just imagine the man pulling the cart, it requires a LOT of energy/power to get the cart moving with 2 people in it, but once the cart is moving, it does most of the work by itself. The man really only has to exert energy/power when he wants to accelerate from the constant speed or slow down or stop. The speed of the cart is ultimately limited to how fast the mans legs (drivetrain components: axles etc..) can work. Also with this FWD configuration, there is much more stress placed on the "legs" of the car and are more prone to breaking problems than well built RWD drivetrains. Although in contrast, there is less parasitic drivertrain power loss in FWD transmissions.

just some food for thought. Didn't get down all my brilliant ideas..but u get the point. thoughts??