I’ve been driving manual FWD cars for years and though I’m worried, I am strongly considering a manual RWD car. This video is helping me decide to go for it.
@@alexbui91 when you see a turn ahead start to brake, downshift, build up your steering pressure once your rear wheels are past the apex, build off the steering pressure, while building the throttle pressure as you enter the next straight
That's the really satisfying aspect for me of driving my RWD manual transmission car, getting the braking, gear selection and rev matching done with a properly chosen line through a corner at speed.
Nice video, thanks. I have a 370Z sport coupe 6MT with the Synchro Rev Match feature. After playing with it initially, I went back to my heel and toe routine for braking and rev matching. I do the heel and toe without even thinking about it and I'm usually able to do it pretty smoothly, something that's very satisfying.
I am driving since over one year. Used to drive a FWD 125hp car as my daily, now thinking of buying a RWD BMW. I think you are right with understeering a FWD, once experienced that and its scary since you can pretty much only wait until you come to a stop.
@@Tibialstone7 bought an E92 shortly after. Owned more than 10 RWD BMWs since 2019, no incidents but a whole lot of driving pleasure and fun. Go for the RWD car :) sometimes it is a pain in the ass, especially in winter but apart from that it has been the best decision ever! Just don’t put crappy tires on the rear, you never know when you’ll need them.
Love RWD cars. All my cars have been RWD, 2006 mazda mx5 auto, 2009 mazda mx5 auto, 2003 mazda rx8 manual, 2015 Subaru BRZ manual. So much fun to drive on a rainy day :-D
Ok I bought a RWD Dodge Challenger. Drove it for the first time in rain. Scariest experience of my life! Now I know it was likely because I have low profile tires but man alive! I couldn't go faster than 45. It felt so slippery and Shakey.
I progressed from hot FWD cars (GTi 2x, Acura CL Type S) to hot AWD cars (Audi S4) and now continue my drivers journey with hot a RWD car (340i MPPSK) so I appreciate learning some of the dynamics. I’ve left traction on initially while I learned the car (and once or twice it pulled me back from a hairy choice) but now that I’ve got a little more time with it (7k miles) I’m graduating to sometimes going Sport + (dulled traction control) and seeing what the car does, when and why. I do love it and I have to say aside from the crazy AWD launches this is the superior platform in all respects. It’s just so fun and feels so much more related to my inputs as a driver. FWD you just go to to the limit and understeer sets in, beat you can do is slow down (not what a driver wants to do when having fun) or if it’s a well balanced car you can induce a second of oversteer with throttle off, but it’s more to correct over cooking entry speed. AWD is fun, but even with true Quattro and the sports differential sending more to read the car never felt like I could rely on it to bring the back around in a corner. More so those elements at best were helping compensate for a nose that was trying very hard to how wide (understeer) and so to be fast it was usually brake in, accelerate out using the grip to get on it earlier. RWD on the third hand is like a dance. My 340i has a staggered setup so it’s actually more inclined to understeer initially. But with RWD once you find that edge you can gently use the throttle to dial the understeer back to neutral. And once you know where that is going to happen to you get there a fraction of a second early and actually hit the line perfectly. I’m not quite that good yet but I see the possibility. It also lets you get a smile here and there from tighter corners or over 90* because you can give it a small stab and tuck things around quickly. Not fast probably, but damn fun. Thanks for the video, I have some more things to chew on when pushing.
I went from a Panamera Turbo to an F type S (400 special edition). So from AWD to RWD and I almost planted my car against a tree today. I have had many cars with lots of horsepower, but all were AWD. I can honestly say I am scared of my car, and love it at the same time.
Great Video. Very helpful. Being driving a front wheel drive car, really want a rear wheel drive car now. But I want to drive it fast, but safe. I don't want my pride and joy in a hedge.
Get an automatic bmw if you can afford it, one with the ZF transmission which is AWESOME. If you don't have the family, get a BMW 2 Coupe, you can go fast with it without fear since it doesn't depend on your manual shift skills and let's you focus on the corners.
This was helpful as I’ve driven manual front wheel drives for over 15 years. But...Just bought my first rear wheel drive Mustang and can’t for the life of me figure out ‘wtf’ lol. I’ve driven pickups, but that for landscape projects at home, fishing, etc...But as a daily? I’ve been completely lost and why I’ve been unable to control my new ride like I’ve been able to do the last 15 years. I KNEW something was up, and so you’re video should help.
Same. I got a Dodge Challenger with low profile tires. P225/55R22. It's slippery and Shakey and told it's because it's light in the ass end and the low profile tires don't help. So I guess the slip factor is just getting used to it.
JP 2099 : put some weights in the back . start with 100 lbs and see if that helps . if not add 50 more. i did that in my cadillac and it helped a bunch
@@jajajajenny6428 If you need to add 100-150 lbs to the back to make your car basically safe for you to drive, maybe just buy a fwd in the first place, no? Why burn the extra fuel just to make your car driveable? If you can't control it, then you definitely aren't going to enjoy driving it, so what benefit the rwd system?
I’ve been driving rear wheel drive cars for most of my time driving, since the first car I ever owned, and continue to own, is a 2007 Dodge Charger, although I learned to drive on front wheel drive cars, and there are some slight differences; I personally prefer the rear wheel drive feeling except when it comes to powering through curves, where front wheel drive cars naturally have an advantage.
I've owned lots of FWD VW's and AWD Audi's. The only RWD car I've owned was an E46 325ci. Just got a 472hp Lexus IS500 and found this video looking for some lessons. Thanks for the video!
I did a bad downshift in the middle of a speedy corner in my new Miata the other day. Spun a bit one way then the other. Luckily was able to get control back pretty quick and didn't hurt anything. Still haven't quite got all the shifting down yet but I know not to make that mistake again.
James Swift That was my mistake. I've got rev matching down pretty well now after 3 weeks of driving the car. Next thing to learn is heel and toe downshifts.
badWolfe42 I still haven't become fully confident at heel-and-toe in my Mx5 even tho I've had it for 6 months, I had a very similar experience to you when I first got it though where I got some snap oversteer and actually managed to spin 180° because I lifted off too much - learnt my lesson from that
What you were talking about being rough with the clutch and causing the wheels to slow down is also a technique is drifting. Locking the wheels will do the trick, but if you stay in, say third gear, and mid corner you push down the throttle and dip the clutch real quick then let it out fast but smoothly, the engine will speed up and cause the rear wheels to start spinning and will create oversteer. The name is called clutch kicking!
I'm getting my first car soon, a mx-5 nb. I was on a test drive yesterday and I noticed the rough shifting, but I thought it was just because I'm not used to driving a sports car. Now I know that this is only one of the reasons. At one point when I was rolling over a slippery area on the street I felt the rear wheels sliding a bit, but it never happened while driving through a corner (and the car had summer tires). So yeah, it's not that scary actually. Just gotta get used to the car
Been a long time since I drove the rear wheel. Still my first experiences are rest drive and manual stick in The Philippines. Yes, wet weather is a challenge. Driving this one is like a bull holding it by the horn as steer. Be mindful that you are driving a rear drive.
I got recently bitten slightly by my 370z, I had the traction control off (as you do when start feeling a bit cocky) and gave it some throttle on a wet tarmac, the rear broke loose and I went straight into a curb. I got me thinking because I'm not absolutely certain why it took off so violently, even though I thought I KNEW the basics of how RWD cars behave. And I can see the same happening to a lot of people in all the 'car show-off fail' videos online: even on a straight, 3 or 4 lanes wide road people manage to slam their mustangs and whatnot into a wall or a curb when they attempt to get some simple wheelspin going. I wonder what the common denominator is in all those cases? Too much throttle? Too little throttle? Too much or too little counter steer? Some people say it's because they lift off the throttle, but then again do you really want to stay on the throttle when you're already headed for the ditch? I guess I have to pay a visit to a local wet surface practice track to get more acquainted with the car.
me too. Just put my 350z over a curb. A big curb. I put too much throttle into a turn and over corrected whipping twice each way before going backward into the curb. Such a bad feeling and now it is at the body shop. Hard lesson learned, but hopefully it's back in shape in a few weeks and I can take it easy... go learn more at a proper training course. I've never wrecked a car until now so definitely an eye opener. Much shame.
@@bjornironsides6474 Yeah I feel you bro. I was fortunate that I only totalled the rims and tyres, and I had an insurance so I only had to pay the excess. The total damage would have been around 5000 euros, since the stock rims are ludicrously expensive. Even with cheaper after market rims and a new set of tyres it still would have been something like 2500 euros. I did visit a slippery surface training track afterwards, and I drove it throughout the winter too in extremely slippery conditions, but still I've never fully figured out what happened that day. Part of the reason probably is that the 275 tyres at the back normally offer extreme grip, so in order to break traction you have to be already pushing the envelope quite hard. And when you get the traction back, it's a violent jolt that can throw the car in some unexpected direction if you don't know exactly what you're doing. So slimmer tyres would probably be a lot more forgiving if the intention is to do some drifting stuff. Additionally, it was a very narrow bit of the road where I cocked up, so I suspect my rear end actually first hit the curb on the other side of the road and ricocheted off to the other side, which made correcting it impossible since I wasn't expecting it.
@@MacKaris Yeah, I'm just hoping all is structurally sound. It seems it was, it did drive off the curb but my steering linkages are trashed and rim is cracked. It look like everything was fixable/replaceable. The engine and gearbox still felt normal driving it off. No leaks, no overheating, and still shifted smooth. Hoping for the best and lesson learned. I've had it kick out before and straightened it right out, but this time felt like I could do nothing about it. Makes me wonder any other time I was driving harder what could have happened. It always felt so planted and agile so I've got to remember not to be fooled..traction can still get you.
@@MacKaris Well, sad news, the insurance company totaled it since it's older and the parts are still costly. I almost took the salvage route to take what I could and pay the rest out of pocket, but body shops here just couldn't give me the time of day to schedule it in for a frame assessment. I never got a full body shop quote, but they suspected my rockers rolled as my door wasn't shutting all the way. I waited 5 days to see if they could give me a certain answer on the frame as I would have paid to fix it if the frame was good. With all the hoops to jump through a rebuild title... I just took the total loss settlement :( To think that it may have been fixable breaks my heart, but the logical choice was to take the money. Live and learn. At least I'm back exactly to what I had in the bank before I bought the car. I'm a lot more aware of what can happen than I was before so my mindset will be right next time. Also going to take a course where I can get use to the limits of the car.
When you get used to RWD you do not want anything else anymore. Driving pleasure is unmatched. I have a 350hp RWD car and i turn TC and stability systems always OFF. Just know not to floor things mid corner if you do not know how to drive like a maniac :P
Im watching this because i wanna buy a manual z06 or mustang and im so use to my fast fwd cars where i can floor it around a turn and not fishtail into a pole when i takeoff
I've just brought a brand new BMW m140i I think I need a lesson or two on how to drive the thing, not sure how far to go with the thing. It's a great engine and gear box but not sure about..... in my case its driver.
Hahaha the 140i is the most exciting hot hatch but my god it's scary with how tail happy it is. Glad I got a 340i instead, turns out to be a lot more stable and easier to drive because you can push it to the limits and throw it in and out of corners with a lot more confidence.
Occasionally I would try to practice heel and toe downshifting but I either press the brake harder or softer as I try twist my foot. I can't get the braking consistent and smooth. Any tips?
The way I get around it sometimes is that I slow down with the brake and during that I put the car in neutral, once I get slow enough and am near the turn, I put the clutch in, shift to the desired gear, rev match, let off the clutch in a controlled but concise manner and off I go. Only thing is you need to be very quick on the pedals to be able to do it all safely, I don’t have very good stability to keep my braking smooth and apply throttle at the same time, but I can move my feet very quickly to the point where it’s just as good
kipzonderkop1994 I usually do that but I wanted to just take my driving to the next level! An update though, been able to heel and toe one time and it felt muad!!! Fked up after that though but progress still!
So would you consider a newer RWD with AT and TC, as safe as a FWD for people who don't know driving dynamics ? At least in my area they crash everyday when it rains in their RWD (F150 specially), FWD they just do MUCH better.
I bought a BMW 135i 1 series pretty tuned almost 450+ hp I was still learning the car got to cocky and lost control and totaled it watching this for next time
FWD and RWD are both good platforms, but front wheel drive cars can only do so much. If you think about it the front tires only have a limited and set amount of traction, as the speed of the vehicle increases and as one corners that set amount of traction steadily declines. If you're going around a corner and you know the car is on the edge of traction you know it is foolish to increase the amount of power to the wheels or request more steering angle. If you're going around a corner there is a limit to the amount of power you can send to the wheels as well as the amount of angle you can send to the wheels before understeer rears its ugly head. The combined function of steering angle and power delivery make FWD more prone to understeer. That doesn't mean that you can go infinitely fast through a corner just because the front wheels have only one task, what it means is that it is impossible for the front tires to break traction from a throttle request because that power is being sent to the rear rather than the front. If you soak some pavement in water and do a burnout with a FWD car, it is impossible to steer so power neither directional input can be expressed regardless of the true speed of the car. The car is technically going 0 miles an hour, however this can happen while in motion. RWD is superior in this aspect because the front tires will never break traction from a throttle request, but they may break traction from steering angle requests at particular speeds. Basically, going slowly around a tight corner on a rainy day in a FWD and punch the gas mid corner and you're likely to go off the road and possibly into the driver's side of the car in the other lane, you weren't going fast at all but because the steering tires are acting like they are ( basically accelerating) you combine an extreme steering angle with a lot of torque. Do the same thing in a RWD car and you'll oversteer and if you don't correct it you could end up in the other lane just the same. Any interaction regarding moving the car increases the likelihood of understeer in a FWD car and the more violent those interactions the more that likelihood increases. In a RWD car the front tires are only meant to point the car in a new direction and roll, the total amount of traction you have available for the front tires is higher because they are being spun by the ground instead of a powerful engine. There is also the other argument about tire wear on fwd cars as well.
Switching soon from a 2017 stock Ford focus se to a 06 Lexus gs430 with bc coilovers, with swift springs 16k front 10k back on 20 inch gtr tires. Has rear Megan toe and control bars along with sway bars. Any tips or notes or just helpful information would be appreciated.
This is the classic way to handle understeer (loss of front wheel grip) -- unwind the steering wheel and let up on the gas. For oversteer, steer in the direction you want to go.
So,i want a rwd car but i dont have a rwd experience,so the thing i have to do is go easy on the gas pedal the clutch and when i want to drive fast and go into corners revmatch or else my car will understeer?
Allow me to elaborate on what he said. In a RWD vehicle if you are not smooth with the clutch when you are shifting mid corner at high speeds, your car is likely to jolt slightly. This jolting is caused by the engine either slowing down or speeding up the rear tires suddenly and causing them to lock or break traction from spinning which will cause oversteer. Tl:Dr Being rough with your clutch when shifting while cornering is likely to break traction in the rear wheels and cause oversteer.
When he mentioned understeer he is talking about weight transfer that may happen if you panic if your car starts to understeer. When you press down the throttle the weight goes to the back of the car and you can basically imagine how that feels like when your head is pressed against the head rest. If you're going through a corner and a lot of power is being sent to the rear wheels and the car starts to oversteer, you may panic and completely let go of the throttle. When you suddenly let go of the throttle the cars weight goes toward the front similar to how it feels when you suddenly slam in the brakes, so now that you have tried to correct for that oversteer all of that weight is on the front tires and you will suddenly go in that direction because those tires have found new traction from all that weight on them.
@@collinjohnson7006 thank you for your time and writing!you made th8ngs a lot clealer.im thinking about miata nc for my first rwd.but i dont know time will show.
@@christosynwa3559 I'm glad to help! I wouldn't worry too much about oversteer in a Miata as much as I would a mustang or Camaro etc. You can still have fun in a Miata if you know what you're doing. Most importantly be safe!
@@collinjohnson7006 thats what im scared off,im a bit crazy with the car and i think if i start learn8ng oversteer i will kill my self,thats why i want a "slow" rwd car,dangerous still
To me, rear wheel drive cars are much much better than front wheel drive cars. Literally anyone can learn how to handle a rear wheel drive or front wheel drive. Between the two, rear wheel drive cars give the driver more control and much more handling characteristics than front wheel drive cars regardless of weather. Understand your vehicle and what it can and cannot do and literally there is no reason to own a front wheel drive car.
Yeah you mention fwd cars in the rain and people being afraid of rwd cars in the rain... If you think about it fwd cars are liable to understeer already by method of power delivery, combine that with the fact that the front tires make the first contact with the water, AND they have to create steering angle to move the car by the method of friction. It's much more logical to say you're afraid of a FWD car in the rain than a RWD, based on the sheer fact that you can control oversteer however you can't control understeer (only try to prevent it).
More solid content! My only niggle is the audio where you capture a lot of wind noise and there was a fair amount of clipping and crackling when you started recording in the car
I think you really have to push it a lot to have an understeer problem with fwd. Maybe it's because I drived fwd all my life but you can enter corners very fast and still have good grip with trail breaking. RWD's always scared me. Probably because I'm not used to driving them
Hmm. I traded in my wrx for a miata. I feel less comfortable pushing the limits of traction accelerating out of corners, definitely seems a bit sketchier by comparison. I wonder if it's actually just a difference in tires though.
Compared to your WRX with awd and more weight, the Miata will definitely be more lively with the power down coming out of corners. Especially slow speed. Your wrx could take full gas with lots of steering angle in second or even first gear, where a miata will want to step the back out. Just gotta be smoother (gas and steering) on the middle and exit of fast corners.
I'm planning on buying a BMW 3 series gran limousine and I'm super scared coz it's not only RWD but also has 50:50 weight distribution. Should I be worried about driving in the rain on highways?!
Nah don't let it scare you, just means you should be a lot more critical about tyre choice (make sure they're a high wet rating) and don't let them get near bald tread. Take it easy when the rain gets heavy and back the speed down for a bit until you get a feel for how the car reacts to puddles even at slower speeds. Get some skid pan lessons if possible too, will give you endlessly more confidence in the car. GL! :)
I drive a FWD and I'm thinking on buying a RWD. 3 Times my car suffered from understeer, it was a bit scary the first time but it can be easily fixed. I never drived a RWD But I do prefer and I'm not sure about oversteer. I heard it is more hard to control but does it happen a lot of times? What I am saying is imagine im going on a high way and out of nowhere it occurs
Oversteer is much easier to control than understeer imo. If you oversteer just let off, and countersteer, as easy as that. Understeer is very scary to me, because it's usually caused by too much speed, which is usually too late to fix. A rwd car does oversteer more often than a fwd car does understeer, but however, it doesn't just happens out of nowhere on the highway. As long as you keep an appropriate speed and smooth inputs (steering, clutch, accelerator, and brakes), you'll be fine. And if you were able to fix the understeer, I think you're skilled enough, and have good enough reflexes to drive a rwd car. Also, the good thing about rwd cars is that you can try oversteer in a parking lot or somewhere else safely so you know what to expect. With fwd, you just wait until it happens to see if you die or not lmao
well this is mostly true with TCS off, but if that's on, there's barely any difference. maybe it skids more on icy or slippery surfaces - that's about it.
He’s not dead. Woah. 😂 still can’t believe they let you use that car.. you yobo. Great video, quite interesting. Keep em coming. “My name has been alex...” it won’t be alex next time.
Just lost control of my corvette and am lucky to have not have hit anybody but fuck was it scary. Whatever direction the car is turning towards is it safe to turn it immediately in the other direction, smash the gas pedal and turn the wheel back into straight?
I spun out my fwd drive civic in the rain with traction control turned off. It was the first day I had it & idk why I was doing that but yea oops anyways is it possible to drive that through the rain? Am I a dumbass for not being able to control it or what
The pedals are closer in sporty cars making it easier. Try braking harder so the pedals are closer I remember doing this I realised I needed to brake pretty hard
I don't see why you would have to shift down WHILE you're on the brake, unless you're driving in a race or something. Simply get off the brake, and give it some throttle while you have the clutch depressed and shift down normally.
So if I turned on traction control or DSC, would it be safe around wet corners? I'm gonna buy a rwd car. And my whole life I've been driving a fwd car.
I’ve been driving manual FWD cars for years and though I’m worried, I am strongly considering a manual RWD car. This video is helping me decide to go for it.
JeremyTD Go for it . I own a Fusion tdci ,2005 plate , second whip gotta be a salon / sedan , Lexus 1997 plate .
Lol, my dad really decided that it would be a great idea to have my first car be a manual RWD 💀 Did you ever end up getting anything tho?
@@hella_randoms7289 I think he opted for a RWD car, went sideways once, and was never heard from again. Tragic outcome.
@@uptown3636 How very devastating 😔 Tragic one must say 😭
RIP Jeremy😞🕊
I only watched this after I spun out in my RWD, should have looked this up before, haha.
That's why I'm here too because I spun out on my Jeep 🥴 lol
Lol, same, just spun out in my e30
lol same, got loose in my g35
I started to slide around a turn and over corrected like 3 times and then went off the road
Put my commodore VF in a ditch. Now I’m here
If in doubt slow in fast out, rinse and repeat.
initial D?
What does tbat mean
@@alexbui91 when you see a turn ahead start to brake, downshift, build up your steering pressure once your rear wheels are past the apex, build off the steering pressure, while building the throttle pressure as you enter the next straight
Just gotta drive smoothly👍 unless you want to slide, that's the best part of having a RWD car 😁 Great video, glad to see you back!
That's the really satisfying aspect for me of driving my RWD manual transmission car, getting the braking, gear selection and rev matching done with a properly chosen line through a corner at speed.
Nah it’s not fun it’s scary sometimes when u don’t know how to drift
@@Jynecticexactly bro practice with powersliding on empty streets with traction on you learn real quick
Nice video, thanks. I have a 370Z sport coupe 6MT with the Synchro Rev Match feature. After playing with it initially, I went back to my heel and toe routine for braking and rev matching. I do the heel and toe without even thinking about it and I'm usually able to do it pretty smoothly, something that's very satisfying.
Great car lad. Definitely something that gets easier over time and eventually becomes fully natural. Feels weird not doing it to me these days
Just be smooth, even when i started sliding on accident i was smooth and relaxed> you freak out then your car freaks out
wait don't u mean you car freaks out when you freak out
@@josiahvalle he said then not when
@@rahulray5411 ah ok
That last sentence is how i went into a ditch
Taken me a year and a half to be comfortable wen the back end accidentally kicks out a lil bit 🤣
I am driving since over one year. Used to drive a FWD 125hp car as my daily, now thinking of buying a RWD BMW. I think you are right with understeering a FWD, once experienced that and its scary since you can pretty much only wait until you come to a stop.
I am in exactly the same boat as you! 5 years later, what did you end up doing? Did you go for the RWD BMW? Thank you! :)
@@Tibialstone7 bought an E92 shortly after. Owned more than 10 RWD BMWs since 2019, no incidents but a whole lot of driving pleasure and fun. Go for the RWD car :) sometimes it is a pain in the ass, especially in winter but apart from that it has been the best decision ever! Just don’t put crappy tires on the rear, you never know when you’ll need them.
@@atlasblue1978 This is so helpful, thank you very much mate! I am gonna take your advice :)
Thanks for this video! Moving to my first RWD car. Been put off by a few people but this video has helped and is super detailed 😁
Love RWD cars. All my cars have been RWD, 2006 mazda mx5 auto, 2009 mazda mx5 auto, 2003 mazda rx8 manual, 2015 Subaru BRZ manual. So much fun to drive on a rainy day :-D
Ok I bought a RWD Dodge Challenger. Drove it for the first time in rain. Scariest experience of my life! Now I know it was likely because I have low profile tires but man alive! I couldn't go faster than 45. It felt so slippery and Shakey.
I mean it is a boat
@@zavi247 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣👌🏽
@@zavi247 imagine buying a challenger and pretend that it can turn
@@zavi247 😂😂Fr he should’ve been boolin in the rain
just drove my rwd mustang for the first time in the rain. definitely scared the shit out of my friend
I progressed from hot FWD cars (GTi 2x, Acura CL Type S) to hot AWD cars (Audi S4) and now continue my drivers journey with hot a RWD car (340i MPPSK) so I appreciate learning some of the dynamics. I’ve left traction on initially while I learned the car (and once or twice it pulled me back from a hairy choice) but now that I’ve got a little more time with it (7k miles) I’m graduating to sometimes going Sport + (dulled traction control) and seeing what the car does, when and why. I do love it and I have to say aside from the crazy AWD launches this is the superior platform in all respects. It’s just so fun and feels so much more related to my inputs as a driver. FWD you just go to to the limit and understeer sets in, beat you can do is slow down (not what a driver wants to do when having fun) or if it’s a well balanced car you can induce a second of oversteer with throttle off, but it’s more to correct over cooking entry speed. AWD is fun, but even with true Quattro and the sports differential sending more to read the car never felt like I could rely on it to bring the back around in a corner. More so those elements at best were helping compensate for a nose that was trying very hard to how wide (understeer) and so to be fast it was usually brake in, accelerate out using the grip to get on it earlier. RWD on the third hand is like a dance. My 340i has a staggered setup so it’s actually more inclined to understeer initially. But with RWD once you find that edge you can gently use the throttle to dial the understeer back to neutral. And once you know where that is going to happen to you get there a fraction of a second early and actually hit the line perfectly. I’m not quite that good yet but I see the possibility. It also lets you get a smile here and there from tighter corners or over 90* because you can give it a small stab and tuck things around quickly. Not fast probably, but damn fun.
Thanks for the video, I have some more things to chew on when pushing.
I went from a Panamera Turbo to an F type S (400 special edition). So from AWD to RWD and I almost planted my car against a tree today. I have had many cars with lots of horsepower, but all were AWD. I can honestly say I am scared of my car, and love it at the same time.
and its for this reason I cannot get out of an AWD car lol ....
Great Video. Very helpful. Being driving a front wheel drive car, really want a rear wheel drive car now. But I want to drive it fast, but safe. I don't want my pride and joy in a hedge.
Get an automatic bmw if you can afford it, one with the ZF transmission which is AWESOME. If you don't have the family, get a BMW 2 Coupe, you can go fast with it without fear since it doesn't depend on your manual shift skills and let's you focus on the corners.
@@ΧρήστοςΔενέχεισημασία with or without x drive?
This was helpful as I’ve driven manual front wheel drives for over 15 years. But...Just bought my first rear wheel drive Mustang and can’t for the life of me figure out ‘wtf’ lol.
I’ve driven pickups, but that for landscape projects at home, fishing, etc...But as a daily? I’ve been completely lost and why I’ve been unable to control my new ride like I’ve been able to do the last 15 years.
I KNEW something was up, and so you’re video should help.
Same. I got a Dodge Challenger with low profile tires. P225/55R22. It's slippery and Shakey and told it's because it's light in the ass end and the low profile tires don't help. So I guess the slip factor is just getting used to it.
JP 2099 : put some weights in the back . start with 100 lbs and see if that helps . if not add 50 more. i did that in my cadillac and it helped a bunch
are i serious
@@jajajajenny6428 If you need to add 100-150 lbs to the back to make your car basically safe for you to drive, maybe just buy a fwd in the first place, no? Why burn the extra fuel just to make your car driveable? If you can't control it, then you definitely aren't going to enjoy driving it, so what benefit the rwd system?
I’ve been driving rear wheel drive cars for most of my time driving, since the first car I ever owned, and continue to own, is a 2007 Dodge Charger, although I learned to drive on front wheel drive cars, and there are some slight differences; I personally prefer the rear wheel drive feeling except when it comes to powering through curves, where front wheel drive cars naturally have an advantage.
I've owned lots of FWD VW's and AWD Audi's. The only RWD car I've owned was an E46 325ci. Just got a 472hp Lexus IS500 and found this video looking for some lessons. Thanks for the video!
What a superb choice of car, love a V8 Lexus. Have fun with it and stay safe!
I did a bad downshift in the middle of a speedy corner in my new Miata the other day. Spun a bit one way then the other. Luckily was able to get control back pretty quick and didn't hurt anything. Still haven't quite got all the shifting down yet but I know not to make that mistake again.
don’t shift in corners bro
and rev match before the corner so you don't unsettle the rear end
James Swift That was my mistake. I've got rev matching down pretty well now after 3 weeks of driving the car. Next thing to learn is heel and toe downshifts.
badWolfe42 I still haven't become fully confident at heel-and-toe in my Mx5 even tho I've had it for 6 months, I had a very similar experience to you when I first got it though where I got some snap oversteer and actually managed to spin 180° because I lifted off too much - learnt my lesson from that
Well I was more unlucky and did a 360 and hit a pole in my na and now will need to replace my fender
What you were talking about being rough with the clutch and causing the wheels to slow down is also a technique is drifting. Locking the wheels will do the trick, but if you stay in, say third gear, and mid corner you push down the throttle and dip the clutch real quick then let it out fast but smoothly, the engine will speed up and cause the rear wheels to start spinning and will create oversteer. The name is called clutch kicking!
Clutch kick is well known yeah
To drift low power RWD
He was giving the basics tho
Nice vid, also really classy t-shirt you got there. Keep it up.
Hahaha, thank you dude
Paynos not so classy in the pocket
Good info! Nice car too !
Tf you doing here😂
Exotics lair into cars too?👀
Wtf exotics lair????
That car is better than your girlfriend
I'm getting my first car soon, a mx-5 nb. I was on a test drive yesterday and I noticed the rough shifting, but I thought it was just because I'm not used to driving a sports car. Now I know that this is only one of the reasons. At one point when I was rolling over a slippery area on the street I felt the rear wheels sliding a bit, but it never happened while driving through a corner (and the car had summer tires). So yeah, it's not that scary actually. Just gotta get used to the car
Good reminder about shifting smoothly, one mistake can cause you to lose traction unexpectedly.
Cars like Mustangs/M class BMWs (looking at you M3) seem particularly excitable on the 1st to 2nd gear changes haha
Learnt so much from this. Extremely educational. Thank you.
Cool shirt+ Cool Abarth Spyder= smooth video!
good taste!
A quick tips for those out there and for me too: make pushups and bars and the steer will feel 100% more responsive. Thank me later 😉
I lost control of my mx5 na in the rain on the motorway on ramp and hit a pole. Now have to replace my fender.
Just got my Camaro thanks for this
Why do spyders never have a body colour roof? It always looks like someone DIY'd a roof with some spare cloth.
felixthemaster1 also the carbon fiber boot makes the car look like its been in a crash.
Because coloured cloth softtops look tacky as hell. Keep it black
It's Anti-Glare Black
Also , racing stripe throw back tribute to its racing heritage
That wee sideroad is becoming famous at this point. You going to get some lights and a DXracer chair set up and do us a layby tour?
GuitarWean hahaha. Sounds good, just needs a Gfuel sponsor and we're good to go
Good vid mate as always
This guy gives great reviews
I've just gone from a 1.4 na seat ibiza to a nissan 350z. If you drive sensibly it's so easy and fun to drive an rwd
Nice choice bro love the 350/370z’s 👌
Please do more videos, everyone loves them
Thank you man. Just getting it to the point where I can do it pretty much full time slowly. It's getting there! 😉❤
Been a long time since I drove the rear wheel. Still my first experiences are rest drive and manual stick in The Philippines. Yes, wet weather is a challenge. Driving this one is like a bull holding it by the horn as steer. Be mindful that you are driving a rear drive.
I hear a good exhaust note, I hit like.
I got recently bitten slightly by my 370z, I had the traction control off (as you do when start feeling a bit cocky) and gave it some throttle on a wet tarmac, the rear broke loose and I went straight into a curb. I got me thinking because I'm not absolutely certain why it took off so violently, even though I thought I KNEW the basics of how RWD cars behave. And I can see the same happening to a lot of people in all the 'car show-off fail' videos online: even on a straight, 3 or 4 lanes wide road people manage to slam their mustangs and whatnot into a wall or a curb when they attempt to get some simple wheelspin going. I wonder what the common denominator is in all those cases? Too much throttle? Too little throttle? Too much or too little counter steer? Some people say it's because they lift off the throttle, but then again do you really want to stay on the throttle when you're already headed for the ditch? I guess I have to pay a visit to a local wet surface practice track to get more acquainted with the car.
me too. Just put my 350z over a curb. A big curb. I put too much throttle into a turn and over corrected whipping twice each way before going backward into the curb. Such a bad feeling and now it is at the body shop. Hard lesson learned, but hopefully it's back in shape in a few weeks and I can take it easy... go learn more at a proper training course. I've never wrecked a car until now so definitely an eye opener. Much shame.
@@bjornironsides6474 Yeah I feel you bro. I was fortunate that I only totalled the rims and tyres, and I had an insurance so I only had to pay the excess. The total damage would have been around 5000 euros, since the stock rims are ludicrously expensive. Even with cheaper after market rims and a new set of tyres it still would have been something like 2500 euros.
I did visit a slippery surface training track afterwards, and I drove it throughout the winter too in extremely slippery conditions, but still I've never fully figured out what happened that day. Part of the reason probably is that the 275 tyres at the back normally offer extreme grip, so in order to break traction you have to be already pushing the envelope quite hard. And when you get the traction back, it's a violent jolt that can throw the car in some unexpected direction if you don't know exactly what you're doing. So slimmer tyres would probably be a lot more forgiving if the intention is to do some drifting stuff. Additionally, it was a very narrow bit of the road where I cocked up, so I suspect my rear end actually first hit the curb on the other side of the road and ricocheted off to the other side, which made correcting it impossible since I wasn't expecting it.
@@MacKaris Yeah, I'm just hoping all is structurally sound. It seems it was, it did drive off the curb but my steering linkages are trashed and rim is cracked. It look like everything was fixable/replaceable. The engine and gearbox still felt normal driving it off. No leaks, no overheating, and still shifted smooth. Hoping for the best and lesson learned. I've had it kick out before and straightened it right out, but this time felt like I could do nothing about it. Makes me wonder any other time I was driving harder what could have happened. It always felt so planted and agile so I've got to remember not to be fooled..traction can still get you.
@@MacKaris Well, sad news, the insurance company totaled it since it's older and the parts are still costly. I almost took the salvage route to take what I could and pay the rest out of pocket, but body shops here just couldn't give me the time of day to schedule it in for a frame assessment. I never got a full body shop quote, but they suspected my rockers rolled as my door wasn't shutting all the way. I waited 5 days to see if they could give me a certain answer on the frame as I would have paid to fix it if the frame was good. With all the hoops to jump through a rebuild title... I just took the total loss settlement :( To think that it may have been fixable breaks my heart, but the logical choice was to take the money. Live and learn. At least I'm back exactly to what I had in the bank before I bought the car. I'm a lot more aware of what can happen than I was before so my mindset will be right next time. Also going to take a course where I can get use to the limits of the car.
@@bjornironsides6474 oh man, what a bummer :( well at least you didn't get financially ruined, so you can get another Z and try again 😁
Mk2 mx5 as my second car from an economy fwd, thanks for the vid
Excellent video.
cool vid. bout to hop from awd wrx to a miata, my first rwd car. hope i dont crash it!!! :)
S N A P O V E R S T E E R
pretty useful tips on rev matching, thanks!
Thanks buddy, real informative
When you get used to RWD you do not want anything else anymore. Driving pleasure is unmatched. I have a 350hp RWD car and i turn TC and stability systems always OFF. Just know not to floor things mid corner if you do not know how to drive like a maniac :P
well, that was the beginning and end of my interest in rwd
Im watching this because i wanna buy a manual z06 or mustang and im so use to my fast fwd cars where i can floor it around a turn and not fishtail into a pole when i takeoff
2006 Honda civic ex coupe to a 2006 mustang gt.... yes. I had to change my driving habits.
Some good tips. I bet that hard down shift without rev matching would be particularly bad if one has a nismo 2way lsd.
He knows his shit guys!
Dwiving style
I’ve just come from a awd Audi A4 to a Lexus GS rwd cvt 450h new experience for me.
I've just brought a brand new BMW m140i I think I need a lesson or two on how to drive the thing, not sure how far to go with the thing.
It's a great engine and gear box but not sure about..... in my case its driver.
Hahaha the 140i is the most exciting hot hatch but my god it's scary with how tail happy it is. Glad I got a 340i instead, turns out to be a lot more stable and easier to drive because you can push it to the limits and throw it in and out of corners with a lot more confidence.
you finally got a decent car well done
Occasionally I would try to practice heel and toe downshifting but I either press the brake harder or softer as I try twist my foot. I can't get the braking consistent and smooth. Any tips?
Challenger160 just practice bro. Only way you get better at it
The way I get around it sometimes is that I slow down with the brake and during that I put the car in neutral, once I get slow enough and am near the turn, I put the clutch in, shift to the desired gear, rev match, let off the clutch in a controlled but concise manner and off I go.
Only thing is you need to be very quick on the pedals to be able to do it all safely, I don’t have very good stability to keep my braking smooth and apply throttle at the same time, but I can move my feet very quickly to the point where it’s just as good
kipzonderkop1994 I usually do that but I wanted to just take my driving to the next level! An update though, been able to heel and toe one time and it felt muad!!! Fked up after that though but progress still!
Challenger160 as long as there’s progress 🙌🏼,
Challenger160 Awesome stuff man. Just keep progressing
Im looking to get the abarth 124 and so happy i found this video it was exactlt what i was looking for😭
You'll love it! Seriously cool little car
So would you consider a newer RWD with AT and TC, as safe as a FWD for people who don't know driving dynamics ? At least in my area they crash everyday when it rains in their RWD (F150 specially), FWD they just do MUCH better.
Almost spun out my 300zx so im here now🎉
Well done for saving it! Lovely cars
good and to the point… you should make one on porsche behavior and also on
front engine rwd vs rear engine rwd
Great idea, absolutely love the way Porsches drive. Weird if you don't know how they work, amazing if you do
I bought a BMW 135i 1 series pretty tuned almost 450+ hp I was still learning the car got to cocky and lost control and totaled it watching this for next time
🙈🙈🙈🙈🙈
FWD and RWD are both good platforms, but front wheel drive cars can only do so much. If you think about it the front tires only have a limited and set amount of traction, as the speed of the vehicle increases and as one corners that set amount of traction steadily declines. If you're going around a corner and you know the car is on the edge of traction you know it is foolish to increase the amount of power to the wheels or request more steering angle. If you're going around a corner there is a limit to the amount of power you can send to the wheels as well as the amount of angle you can send to the wheels before understeer rears its ugly head. The combined function of steering angle and power delivery make FWD more prone to understeer. That doesn't mean that you can go infinitely fast through a corner just because the front wheels have only one task, what it means is that it is impossible for the front tires to break traction from a throttle request because that power is being sent to the rear rather than the front. If you soak some pavement in water and do a burnout with a FWD car, it is impossible to steer so power neither directional input can be expressed regardless of the true speed of the car. The car is technically going 0 miles an hour, however this can happen while in motion. RWD is superior in this aspect because the front tires will never break traction from a throttle request, but they may break traction from steering angle requests at particular speeds. Basically, going slowly around a tight corner on a rainy day in a FWD and punch the gas mid corner and you're likely to go off the road and possibly into the driver's side of the car in the other lane, you weren't going fast at all but because the steering tires are acting like they are ( basically accelerating) you combine an extreme steering angle with a lot of torque. Do the same thing in a RWD car and you'll oversteer and if you don't correct it you could end up in the other lane just the same. Any interaction regarding moving the car increases the likelihood of understeer in a FWD car and the more violent those interactions the more that likelihood increases. In a RWD car the front tires are only meant to point the car in a new direction and roll, the total amount of traction you have available for the front tires is higher because they are being spun by the ground instead of a powerful engine. There is also the other argument about tire wear on fwd cars as well.
very helpful, what argument tho?
Cool - helps with my Z4 M40i - which always seems to be overtaking me...
Great video!
Informative- thanks
Switching soon from a 2017 stock Ford focus se to a 06 Lexus gs430 with bc coilovers, with swift springs 16k front 10k back on 20 inch gtr tires. Has rear Megan toe and control bars along with sway bars. Any tips or notes or just helpful information would be appreciated.
Great video 👍🏼
Wouldn’t awd be better for putting down power on bumpy roads?
If you're skidding DO NOT BRAKE...just let off the gas and counter steer it
And be ready for snap back! It got me. I'm sure TCS and Stability control would have helped :( Don't know what made me turn it off that day. Stupid.
This is the classic way to handle understeer (loss of front wheel grip) -- unwind the steering wheel and let up on the gas. For oversteer, steer in the direction you want to go.
So,i want a rwd car but i dont have a rwd experience,so the thing i have to do is go easy on the gas pedal the clutch and when i want to drive fast and go into corners revmatch or else my car will understeer?
Allow me to elaborate on what he said. In a RWD vehicle if you are not smooth with the clutch when you are shifting mid corner at high speeds, your car is likely to jolt slightly. This jolting is caused by the engine either slowing down or speeding up the rear tires suddenly and causing them to lock or break traction from spinning which will cause oversteer.
Tl:Dr Being rough with your clutch when shifting while cornering is likely to break traction in the rear wheels and cause oversteer.
When he mentioned understeer he is talking about weight transfer that may happen if you panic if your car starts to understeer. When you press down the throttle the weight goes to the back of the car and you can basically imagine how that feels like when your head is pressed against the head rest. If you're going through a corner and a lot of power is being sent to the rear wheels and the car starts to oversteer, you may panic and completely let go of the throttle. When you suddenly let go of the throttle the cars weight goes toward the front similar to how it feels when you suddenly slam in the brakes, so now that you have tried to correct for that oversteer all of that weight is on the front tires and you will suddenly go in that direction because those tires have found new traction from all that weight on them.
@@collinjohnson7006 thank you for your time and writing!you made th8ngs a lot clealer.im thinking about miata nc for my first rwd.but i dont know time will show.
@@christosynwa3559 I'm glad to help! I wouldn't worry too much about oversteer in a Miata as much as I would a mustang or Camaro etc. You can still have fun in a Miata if you know what you're doing. Most importantly be safe!
@@collinjohnson7006 thats what im scared off,im a bit crazy with the car and i think if i start learn8ng oversteer i will kill my self,thats why i want a "slow" rwd car,dangerous still
Your videos was such a help... 1 more subscriber
To me, rear wheel drive cars are much much better than front wheel drive cars. Literally anyone can learn how to handle a rear wheel drive or front wheel drive. Between the two, rear wheel drive cars give the driver more control and much more handling characteristics than front wheel drive cars regardless of weather. Understand your vehicle and what it can and cannot do and literally there is no reason to own a front wheel drive car.
Yeah you mention fwd cars in the rain and people being afraid of rwd cars in the rain... If you think about it fwd cars are liable to understeer already by method of power delivery, combine that with the fact that the front tires make the first contact with the water, AND they have to create steering angle to move the car by the method of friction. It's much more logical to say you're afraid of a FWD car in the rain than a RWD, based on the sheer fact that you can control oversteer however you can't control understeer (only try to prevent it).
Yes true ,but with fwd you can lift off the throttle,but with rwd thar back end goes out
Most people CANT control oversteer ,but understeer is controlled by lifting off ,which is an instinctive thing to do in extremis
More solid content! My only niggle is the audio where you capture a lot of wind noise and there was a fair amount of clipping and crackling when you started recording in the car
I waited way too long to go RWD
came here out of curiosity after watching a video of a teenager crashing his new car twice in less than a minute at the snow
My only fear is oversteering
I think you really have to push it a lot to have an understeer problem with fwd. Maybe it's because I drived fwd all my life but you can enter corners very fast and still have good grip with trail breaking. RWD's always scared me. Probably because I'm not used to driving them
I love your explanations!! Thanks for putting in extra effort to get people like me to understand cars more !!! (I’m not very educated on cars lol)
You're too young to know that all cars used to be rear wheel drive. Those new fangled front wheel drive cars just steer funny.
Hmm. I traded in my wrx for a miata. I feel less comfortable pushing the limits of traction accelerating out of corners, definitely seems a bit sketchier by comparison. I wonder if it's actually just a difference in tires though.
Compared to your WRX with awd and more weight, the Miata will definitely be more lively with the power down coming out of corners. Especially slow speed. Your wrx could take full gas with lots of steering angle in second or even first gear, where a miata will want to step the back out. Just gotta be smoother (gas and steering) on the middle and exit of fast corners.
@@Paynos thanks! Makes sense.
I'm planning on buying a BMW 3 series gran limousine and I'm super scared coz it's not only RWD but also has 50:50 weight distribution. Should I be worried about driving in the rain on highways?!
Nah don't let it scare you, just means you should be a lot more critical about tyre choice (make sure they're a high wet rating) and don't let them get near bald tread. Take it easy when the rain gets heavy and back the speed down for a bit until you get a feel for how the car reacts to puddles even at slower speeds.
Get some skid pan lessons if possible too, will give you endlessly more confidence in the car.
GL! :)
@@Paynos Sure, I will. Thank you 😄
Stick to a pushbike!
Don't change gear during a corner, change before, simple enough, save you fucking up a downshift, also who changes gear mid corner anyway??
Volvo 240
RWD but tend to understeer
I have a stage 1 cupra but I’m thinking of getting a m140i but I’m low-key scared of a rear wheel drive 😂😂😂😂😂😂
Enjoying the videos m9 ;) keep up the good work!
Now do a AWD video
I drive a FWD and I'm thinking on buying a RWD. 3 Times my car suffered from understeer, it was a bit scary the first time but it can be easily fixed. I never drived a RWD But I do prefer and I'm not sure about oversteer. I heard it is more hard to control but does it happen a lot of times? What I am saying is imagine im going on a high way and out of nowhere it occurs
Oversteer is much easier to control than understeer imo.
If you oversteer just let off, and countersteer, as easy as that.
Understeer is very scary to me, because it's usually caused by too much speed, which is usually too late to fix.
A rwd car does oversteer more often than a fwd car does understeer, but however, it doesn't just happens out of nowhere on the highway.
As long as you keep an appropriate speed and smooth inputs (steering, clutch, accelerator, and brakes), you'll be fine.
And if you were able to fix the understeer, I think you're skilled enough, and have good enough reflexes to drive a rwd car. Also, the good thing about rwd cars is that you can try oversteer in a parking lot or somewhere else safely so you know what to expect. With fwd, you just wait until it happens to see if you die or not lmao
Cars don't understeer or oversteer,it is all induced by the drivers input.
Most people on here sound like sh....it drivers.
Watching this since im thinking of getting a is350. Don’t know if I should go with awd or rwd
Watching this before I pick up a 340i next week, coming from a fiesta 😂
Enjoy man! Great cars
well this is mostly true with TCS off, but if that's on, there's barely any difference. maybe it skids more on icy or slippery surfaces - that's about it.
I can’t believe this video is a thing.
He’s not dead. Woah. 😂 still can’t believe they let you use that car.. you yobo. Great video, quite interesting. Keep em coming. “My name has been alex...” it won’t be alex next time.
Thanks
RWD Dodge Charger owner here, I have my first hour commute in the pouring rain 😭 nervous as hell!
Did you survive?
evidently not rip
@@RhysCPFC tragic 😥
Lol y’all are funny, I’m very much alive and well, thanks for asking
@@joystick396 haha good to hear
Sounds like a tigershark motor
My rwd Stinger scares me even on dry pavement 😅
Just lost control of my corvette and am lucky to have not have hit anybody but fuck was it scary. Whatever direction the car is turning towards is it safe to turn it immediately in the other direction, smash the gas pedal and turn the wheel back into straight?
I spun out my fwd drive civic in the rain with traction control turned off. It was the first day I had it & idk why I was doing that but yea oops anyways is it possible to drive that through the rain? Am I a dumbass for not being able to control it or what
What can i do for heel toe if my accelerator is significantly lower then my brake
The pedals are closer in sporty cars making it easier.
Try braking harder so the pedals are closer I remember doing this I realised I needed to brake pretty hard
I don't see why you would have to shift down WHILE you're on the brake, unless you're driving in a race or something. Simply get off the brake, and give it some throttle while you have the clutch depressed and shift down normally.
@@MacKaris cause i wait to til the last second to brake
@@Daniel_Anthony i found I can do it bare foot. with sneakers I need more practice, but no way with work boots
@@byron5306 but why?
So if I turned on traction control or DSC, would it be safe around wet corners? I'm gonna buy a rwd car. And my whole life I've been driving a fwd car.
traction control ON is defs safe. If the system is good, itll keep you going where you want to go (source: experience)
Looks like a 2019 mx5
Built in the same factory! Gets fiddled with a bit over in Italy by Abarth but that's it haha
I didnt get it,Schould you snap off the throttle when the car accidentally starts to slide or no?
CKE I wouldn’t, the snap oversteer with the opposite lock can put you in the same or even worse situation
what if its a midship rear wheel with the engine in the back?