Understanding the Drive Layouts
by: Alvin Agomaa
The drive layout is the arrangement of the engine, transmission, and driven axles. The types of drive layouts are Front engine Front wheel drive (FF/ FWD), Front engine Rear wheel drive (FR/RWD), Mid engine Rear wheel drive(MR), Rear engine Rear wheel drive(RR), Four wheel drive (4WD or 4x4) and the All Wheel Drive(AWD). Each of these layouts has their own performance, advantages and disadvantages.
Front engine Front wheel drive (FF/FWD) ? The Engine and the two driven axles are placed in front, where the power from the engine is transferred straight to the front wheels. This layout increases the interior space especially in small cars because there is no central tunnel needed for the driveshaft. FF layout has advantage when it comes on low grip surfaces, and its tendency to understeer reduces the risk of losing control. The disadvantage is the load placed on the front tires. The front tires must transfer all acceleration, steering, cornering, and braking forces to the road. This kind of tasks gives a lot of stress in front tires which may lead to wear and tear, while the rear tires have very little load on them.
Front engine Rear wheel drive (FR/ RWD) - This is the complement of FF layout, where the engine is placed longitudinally at the front but the two driven axles are placed at the rear connected through the driveshaft. With this kind of layout, installation of more powerful engine such as V8, V10 and V12 is not a problem. Since the FR has a driveshaft, central tunnel is present in this layout a little interior space is sacrificed. All of the disadvantages of the FF layout are the advantages of FR layout.
Mid Engine Rear wheel drive (MR) ? The drive layout that consumes a lot of interior space of the car especially the seating capacity, the engine is placed in the middle of the chassis and the driven axles are at the rear. Although it has more weight at the rear, entering a corner makes it more difficult because the front tires have less traction resulting to understeer and since the rear is heavy, the car tends to oversteer when exiting a corner. This kind of layout is commonly used in racing cars and sports cars because of weight distribution focused in the center of the car.
Rear engine Rear wheel drive (RR) - This layout places both engine and the driven axle at the rear of the vehicle, even though the rear wheels benefit from the additional grip due to the added weight given by the engine, the front wheels still need grip in order to steer the car effectively. That?s why RR layout car can also be prone to understeer.
Four Wheel Drive (4WD or 4X4) / All Wheel Drive (AWD) ? It is a term usually used to describe a car where the four wheels receive power from the engine simultaneously. This can be found in an off-road vehicle. A well distributed power to the four wheels improves the grip of the vehicle. The terms 4WD and 4X4
are used in jeeps and other off-road vehicles that require the driver to switch from 2WD used in street driving (two wheel drive) to 4WD to improve the grip depending on the road condition like mud, snow, etc. and it has a high and low gear selection. The AWD term was invented to identify the vehicle capable of driving all the wheels on any road condition without selecting high and low gear selection because the power is distributed on all the wheels. Unlike the 4WD with gear selection, you don?t have to select the appropriate gear to match the road condition. Most of the modern cars use AWD system for more traction and better handling.
About The Author
Alvin D. Agomaa is a car enthusiast who also write articles to give out advices about car maintenance, tips for buying cars and the like. For free car classified listings visit http://www.ozfreeonline.com/cars/.
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Should Cars Have High End Audio Cables?
Should Cars Have High End Audio Cables?
by: Adam Blake
For years it has been well understood in home audio that cables can have a tremendous impact on a sound system, both good and bad.
Choose the right cables and you can expect a system to come to life.
Choose poorly designed cables, and you may forever be wondering why you can?t get your system to come to life.
Car audio however, has been a different story.
While many companies still offer coaxial interconnect cables, most have come to realize that the basic twisted pair design offers far better noise rejection in a vehicle.
And then?
Nothing.
That?s it.
Innovation seems to have hit a brick wall at the shielded twisted pair interconnect in car audio.
This begs the question; Should Cars Have High End Audio Cables?
To begin with, let?s briefly go back to home audio.
After many years of fighting an uphill battle,...
Used cars > Should Cars Have High End Audio Cables?
Avoid Used Cars not having Certified Mileage; A Broken Timing Belt will flatten your Wallet
Avoid Used Cars not having Certified Mileage; A Broken Timing Belt will flatten your Wallet
by: Ralph Hoffmann
Premature failure of rubber automotive timing belts can easily cost two or three thousand dollars of repairs, possibly including a new engine. Therefore knowing the true mileage of a used car is imperative. Cars having 4 or 6 cyl. engines may have rubber timing belts and should be avoided.
Be warned
Five years ago an international oil company survey found that 50% of off-lease cars had their odometers illegally turned back and suggested consumers avoid buying off-lease (used) cars, or leasing used cars having uncertain mileage. If the cars really had 50,000 miles, and the odometer read 30,000, then the timing belts would fail long before the new owners expected them to fail.
What is an ?interference engine??
Rubber timing belts are usually used in ?interference? engines in which the
valves open further and...
Avoid Used Cars not having Certified Mileage; A Broken Timing Belt will flatten your Wallet
Used cars > Avoid Used Cars not having Certified Mileage; A Broken Timing Belt will flatten your Wallet
Understanding the Drive Layouts Used cars mortgages
Understanding the Drive Layouts electric generators
Understanding the Drive Layouts
Understanding the Drive Layouts
Understanding the Drive Layouts