- If you're looking for a car there are literally millions
of combinations you could choose from.
(upbeat music)
So many decisions to make from the color to the trim
to the number of doors but what
about the most basic question of any car?
How does the power get to the ground?
It's the most fundamental part of an automobile
and we still can't agree on how to do it best.
Do you want to drive to the front?
(engine revving)
Or to the back? (engine revving)
That's what we're here to talk about today on "Versus",
front wheel drive versus rear wheel drive.
(bright music)
We're gonna be looking at front wheel drive
and rear wheel drive across five categories,
availability, trackability, daily-ability,
fixability and customizability.
Each will be scored with a potential five points each.
The one with the most points at the end
of the video will definitively be the best of the two
and I will try and remain as impartial
as I can throughout this video.
Letting the numbers do the talking.
Round one is all about availability.
What kind of car exist in each drive train configuration?
How many of them are there?
And how do they vary?
Front wheel drive cars are the most popular in the world
but it wasn't always the case.
Before the '60s most cars where rear wheel drive
but this was mainly due to the ease of construction.
Front wheel drive cars had been done before
but one car really started the trend.
(engine revving) (upbeat music)
The 1959 Austin Mini,
it had a transversely mounted engine transmission
and differential which meant there was no need
for transmission tunnel on the floor
of the tiny car could be flat giving
it much more room inside.
This design was a hit and it was copied and copied over
and over until we reached the modern day
where front wheel cars completely dominate the sub compact,
compact and mid size markets.
In 2014 only 12% of cars sold in America
where rear wheel drive.
Rear wheel drive cars are also usually of a specific type.
They hold the market share of sports cars,
luxury sports and exotics.
Just because rear wheel drive are
the most popular sports cars doesn't make
them the most available fast cars.
Any brand new rear wheel drive car is gonna cost
you more than $24 000 and for
that you're getting a Fiat 124 Spider
of a four cylinder Camaro 1LS.
Through that money at a front wheel drive car
and you're looking at well optioned Fiesta ST's,
Veloster Turbo's and Fiat 500 Abarth's.
Is Abath the plural, I'm not even sure?
And even if you're not looking at factory options,
you can get a Fiesta ST with a stage three power pack
and a car back export before you can even get a spoiler
on that Camaro.
You'd be 30 horsepower down but a 1000 pounds lighter.
The economy of making a economy car has made it easier
to then progress to making them faster and more fun.
Did you know that most minivans are front wheel drive
but most full size vans are rear wheel drive.
Full size vans are rear wheel drive because they're build
on the chassis of base model full size trucks.
So rear wheel drive cars are all based off
of speed performance, off road and hauling performance
or they're parts bin cars and that's kind of the problem.
Performance cars are moving towards all wheel drive.
Look at traditionally rear wheel drive sports cars
like the 911 and NSX
if chasing performance means putting more power
to the road rear wheel drive isn't gonna be
around much longer.
And with non-performance cars being rear wheel drive
because they're borrowing parts that were already made,
the rear wheel drive models numbers
are gonna shrink twice as fast.
(racing sport car)
Even truck makers all see the benefit of all wheel drive
and once it become cheap enough to develop
as a base model they won't use
those two back wheels alone anymore.
Front wheel drive however will keep kicking
for years to come.
It's the only choice for cheap economy cars.
Right now the cheapest front wheel drive car
in the US market is the Chevy Spark starting
at a little over $13 000.
The cheapest all wheel drive car is $4 000 more than that
and the cheapest rear wheel drive car
is $7 000 more than that.
Rear wheel drive cars are some of the coolest out there
but as far as the availability goes
(ringing bell)
it's not easy to get your hands on one
and it's only gonna get harder.
I'm gonna give them two points.
Front wheel drive cars are cheap, plentiful
and have a long future ahead
of them whilst having a decent amount of history.
I'm marking them down for four points.
It looks like front wheel drive cars have some catching up
to do so let's see how tight they hang on in the next round.
This round is focused on performance
on track and in motor sport.
This is the stuff I love.
The numbers, the stats, the lap times and I'm sure all
of you I'm no longer talking
about the base model viability of cars.
Rear wheel drive cars are all over motor sport.
F1 is rear wheel drive, IndyCar is rear wheel drive,
NASCAR is rear wheel drive,
Formula DRIFT is rear wheel drive.
(upbeat music)
In fact the only race series that currently use
any front wheel drive cars are Grassroots series based
that were once road legal.
There was once a front wheel drive car that qualified
for Indy 500 in 1927 but it never finished the race.
Why does rear wheel drive have
such a strangle hold on motor sport?
Is it just because that's how this series started?
The main factor is weight transfer.
As the car accelerates it leans back,
weight gets send backwards
and the back wheels get pushed into the ground.
For rear wheel drive cars this means
the drive wheels are gaining more mechanical grip
as they accelerate.
For front wheel drive cars
the drive wheels are getting lighter and less grippy
as they are being lifted into the air.
But rear wheel drive cars aren't perfect in this.
Overdo it and you lose traction.
In my track experience, I've had three spins.
Guess which car they were all in.
For front wheel drive cars though losing grip due
to over acceleration means the car will slow down
which means the weight will transfer to the front,
the tires will get more grip
and you can catch a mistake a lot easier.
(screeching tires)
Front wheel drive cars also have a advantage
when it comes to wet conditions.
Since they're biggest weakness is weight transfer,
it makes sense that when the whole field has less grip,
they aren't affected as much.
Because of this amateur rally cross is a sport
where if you're not in an all wheel drive SUVy
with a missing rear bumper,
you're probably in a front wheel drive car.
Winning more traditional motorsports event
in a front wheel drive car is not impossible.
Stephan Papadakis' 1998 Honda Civic drag racer broke
into the eighth second quarter mile times
and the Civic Coupe build
by Pezzi Tuning holds four global time track records.
Not front wheel drive records, over all.
The modern day Civic type R is an absolute track weapon.
It laps the Nurburgring in seven minutes and 43 seconds.
If you wanted to match that pace
with a rear wheel drive car you'd be spending three times
as much money at a Porsche dealership.
Could it be that front wheel drive cars can be just
as good at motor sport as rear wheel drive?
And it's just that manufactures don't build
them for performance?
Kinda, it's not as cut and dry as that.
Rear wheel drive cars still have the advantage
in most circumstances
(ringing bell)
and a still driver can avoid the pitfalls
of rear wheel drive.
With that being said, I'm gonna give three points
to front wheel drive for the amazing honorable mentions
that they do have
but four point to rear wheel drive for holding
on to the lion share of performance development.
Rear wheel drive is using that one point track advantage
to close the gap as there's only one point between them now.
Let's see what happens in the next round.
(clicking)
The next round is all about daily-ability.
How easy is it to have these cars on a day-to-day basis?
Right now, I drive a rear wheel drive car day-to-day
and I don't it at all in Southern California
but anywhere else in the world,
it gets a little bit harder.
Front wheel drive cars as we mentioned
last round have a natural advantage when it comes
to grip and slippery conditions.
If you live somewhere with rain or mud or snow,
it's easy to lose traction in a rear wheel drive car.
It doesn't take owning a Dodge Hellcat to kick the tail
out on accident,
all it take sis a lead foot and a slick intersection.
Also the advantages of weight transfer
that a rear wheel drive car has,
don't really apply on the road unless you're launching
from every stoplight
and I for one am definitely not launching
from every stoplight.
(whooshing)
Front wheel drive cars are manufactured
for comfort and ease of use.
The entire concept behind them was
to have a flat floor cabin which could allow for more space.
A part of how this was achieved was
with a engine transmission
and differential all being constructed
and designed together.
No U-joints, no drive shafts and less fluid needed.
All components ended up lighter
and a lighter car is easier to drive.
Lack of rotational mask also makes the more fuel economic
but while front wheel drive cars all have
this configuration,
it doesn't mean rear wheel drive cars don't.
Let's look at the Toyota Celica and Toyota MR-2 Spider.
Both are small two wheel drive sports cars powered
by Toyota 1ZZ engines.
But one is front wheel drive and one is rear wheel drive.
With the MR-2 being mid engine it gains a lot
of the packaging advantages of a front wheel drive car.
You have the same fuel economy and power
as the front wheel drive Celica.
This is honestly academic though.
As cheap mid engine cars are rare
and you can't tell me that a MR-2 isn't
an ideal daily driver.
In the same way that front wheel drive can make
a good track car, rear wheel drive cars could be built
to be better dailys but no manufacturer is really doing it
and it's a lot of RND dollars
(ringing bell)
just to prove a point.
For being efficient,
forgiving and spacious front wheel drive cars
get four points in this category and for having down sides
but none of them really being too detrimental,
I'm giving rear wheel drive three points.
That's a two point gap going into the next round.
Let's see if rear wheel drive cars can put the power down
and claw their way to the top spot.
(clicking)
The fourth round is all about how easy it is
to fix these cars and how often problems occur
in the first place.
In general though, front wheel drive
and rear wheel drive cars have some key differences
when it comes to maintenance.
Parts for front wheel drive cars are generally cheaper
and smaller than the equivalent rear wheel drive car.
This isn't just because a front wheel drive's place
in the market either.
Front wheel drive trains are build more efficiently
which means less parts and less wear.
In theory manufacturers are also building
to a margin so they're not gonna give you parts
that handle much more than average of use unless
they're grabbing from the comparts bit.
In general though there's lots more that can go wrong
with the rear wheel drive front engine drive train
than with a front engine front drive configuration.
The transfer of power down the whole chassis through
so many components means there's more points of failure.
Front wheel drive cars also don't need separate fluid
for different transmission 'cause it's all in one unit.
CV axles tend to be a failure point
on front wheel drive cars
but they need replacing around about as often
as a rear differential bushing so it's not much worse.
Where the tables really turn is with transmissions.
A clutch replacement on a rear wheel drive car can take
a skilled mechanic under two hours.
On a front wheel drive car
though you're disconnecting all the front steering,
control arms, endlings and dropping the front sub frame.
I just put a ACT clutch in my Yaris over the winter
and it took my 10 days.
Now 95% of that is because I don't know what I'm doing
but most mechanics are looking at over six hours
to properly swab it Yaris clutch and that's
without power steering.
Differential work is also a big pain
on front wheel drive cars.
If you wanna see how easy it is
to remove a rear differential,
just watch James do it on "High Low".
- Hi, I'm James.
Today, we're gonna lube some groves.
(squirting gel) (beep)
- The overall take away is
that most front wheel drive cars can run for longer
with only standard maintenance but when there is an issue,
rear wheel drive cars are easier to fix
because the parts are more spread out and easier to access.
Though the parts cost cheaper
on those front wheel drive repairs so the bill might
not be so bad as you think.
(ringing bell)
Since you may have to shell out a big chunk at once
for front wheel drive cars repair,
I'm gonna give them three points.
And for having more points of failure
and more expensive parts,
I'm gonna give rear wheel drive cars also three points.
We've got one more round to go.
Front wheel drive is still ahead by two points.
Let's see if the last round can turn the tide.
(clicking)
The final round is all about customizability.
How much can you actually make these cars your own?
On the low end of things it's pretty similar.
There's no reason that either car couldn't have
any ride height, any forced induction setup,
any body styling and any suspension you want.
The car scene is full of Hondas from every end
of the spectrum and Camaros that can run the gambit
of styles and setups.
On an entry to mid level you can find unique parts
for just about any car.
The after market has grown to be so big
and so all encompassing drive train doesn't
really affect customization on an average budget.
The place where we really see the separation
is engine swaps.
With front engine rear wheel drive cars the sky is the limit
when it comes to engine swaps.
Do you wanna see a LS Datsun?
It's been done.
Do you wanna see Ferrari engine 86,
it's been done. (racing engine)
Engine swaps are the upper echelon of customization
but front wheel drive cars have some crazy swaps too.
Take a look at this Hayabusa swapped Mini Cooper.
Or this LS-X swapped Civic
or this super fat Fiat 500 hiding a Lamborghini V12.
If you've got the determination,
you can get any engine into any car.
There's just one problem.
All those front wheel drive cars I mentioned,
they're no longer front wheel drive cars.
The thing is if a motor is designed
for rear wheel drive the geometry of
where the power gets delivered it's so far off from
where a front wheel drive car would need it,
it's way easier to get a custom drive shaft
and just swap it in the rear end of a rear wheel drive car.
With a rear wheel drive car though you can use
any engine you can fit if you mount it the right way round.
Take a look at this K-series swapped FRS.
It uses a longitudedly mounted turbo charged K24
and transmission from a S2000.
The K24 is the engine from a Honda Civic SI which is
like the people's champion of front wheel drive cars.
And these guys made it drive the rear wheels of the Zion.
An engine that fought hard on the front lines
of front wheel drive cars has now defected
to the other side of the (beep).
Rear wheel drive simply has the edge
in this category because the engine bay isn't filled
with transmissions and CV axles.
(ringing bell)
For having almost no limit on what you can make,
I'm going to give rear wheel drive cars five points
in this category
but for representing with some crazy builds
and for having such a big impact on (mumbles) culture
in the first place,
I'm can't give front wheel drive cars anything less
than four points.
Which means that front wheel drive is our winner!
(bright music) (racing engine)
And man, did these numbers shock us.
Every one in the office was convinced
that rear wheel drive was gonna be the big winner.
But what do you guys think, let us know on the comments
if you're into front wheel drive cars like me
or if you're into rear wheel drive cars like me.
Hey everybody, I hope you're staying safe.
Just wanna let you know that Donut Media is putting
out seven shows a week right now so be sure
to follow Donut Media on YouTube
and the Donut Podcast channel and be sure to follow us
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