How do rwd cars work

According to How Stuff Works , when the engine is placed over the rear wheels, the vehicle no longer needs a driveshaft but may be too heavy in the back. Automakers fixed this issue by dividing the transmission into the final drive and the gearbox usually with as the highest gear. Spinning the shaft faster reduces the torque and weight of the vehicle. Front-wheel drive vehicles with the engine in the front overtook RWD in popularity when fuel became more expensive after the Arab oil embargo and fuel crisis.

By the s, most American automakers had removed RWD cars from their offerings. GM, however, still offered the Camaro, Firebird, and Corvette sports cars in RWD, while Ford did the same for its legendary Mustang sports car and other vehicles built on the Panther platform which was discontinued for a front-wheel-drive layout in First, however, it's important to understand the benefits of FWD, including saving space by separating the driveshaft from the engine, expanding the available room for passengers and cargo.

FWD cars also have better traction on slippery roads in inclement weather. Despite these benefits of FWD, a rear-wheel-drive car provides a better balance for drivers because of its even weight distribution.

This also prevents uneven wear of your tires, which can lead to poor efficiency and even blowouts. Engineers can shift the vehicle's front wheels forward to take advantage of this effect. A RWD vehicle also has a center of gravity that lines up with the driver's seat, which provides the sensation of enhanced control that can improve operational prowess.

You may have noticed that your FWD vehicle doesn't move straight ahead when you accelerate, but instead seems to pull either to the right or the left. This phenomenon, known as torque steer, requires you to adjust your steering accordingly. This issue is rare in RWD cars. When you accelerate in an FWD car, the weight shifts to the rear wheels. This weight shift limits traction in this type of vehicle, while in a RWD vehicle it actually provides added traction when you need it most.

Understeering is another common issue facing FWD cars. A typical RWD layout In comparison with the other vehicle drives such as the front wheel drive and four-wheel drive , this configuration is simple from design and packaging point of view. Get Car Bike Tech directly in your inbox. You May Also Like. What is a Limousine and what are its main features? Know More. What is Sedan? What does the term Saloon mean? Know Here:. What is Four wheel drive 4WD or 4X4 technology in vehicles?

All-wheel drive: A drivetrain that employs a front, rear and center differential to provide power to all four wheels of a vehicle. As the name implies, all-wheel-drive systems power both the front and rear wheels all the time. But in practice, there are actually two types of drivetrains that are called AWD.

One does, in fact, drive all the wheels continuously, and some manufacturers refer to this as full-time AWD. The second, often called part-time AWD or automatic AWD, operates most of the time in two-wheel-drive mode, with power delivered to all four corners only when additional traction control is needed.