Know your wheels.
We all love to drive, well almost everybody loves to drive. We ride motorbikes, cars, trucks, and anything on wheels.
We know that the wheels are an integral part of any vehicle, well it is the thing that moves the vehicle. Wheels have been the first and most important thing in the movement of vehicles.
And when it comes to the four wheelers, do you know how wheels move, rotate or which of those four wheels actually move.
I would like to start with a basic question about your car; do you know where the power is transferred from the engine? Is it to the front wheels or to the rear wheels or to all of them?
If you know the answer that’s really good, if not, it doesn’t really matter in most of the cases, as the people who are living in big cities are stuck in traffic or in their city or town limit where the car is well below the speed limit. So there are not many reasons to know unless you are in a snowy area where there can be a few traction issues.
But before the movement of wheels, let’s talk about the understeering and oversteering.
There are two main terms which you should know if you’re driving a car; understeer and oversteer.
Understeer: It happens when the front set of tyres has lost traction and even after giving more steering input to the car it continues to go straight.
Why does the understeering happens, it happens when we head to a corner or when turn very fast because of which front end loses grip and the car stops responding to the steering input while you start turning and the car keeps going straight. It mostly happens in FWD (front wheel drive) cars as those are heavier at the front portion.
Oversteer: it happens when the rear set of wheels have lost traction while going around the corner because of which car turns sharper then intended or you might spin the if there is too much oversteer.
Why does oversteer happen? It happens when a car loses front end grip or can be because of a sudden increase in power or sudden increase in speed or sudden change in direction because of which backend loses grip and you might end up going sideways or turning sharply. It mostly happens in front engine RWD cars (FR).
But, if you are a frequent rider, you should know whether your car is FWD, RWD, AWD or 4WD because if you don’t in some cases you might not be able to get your car back in control if you accidentally lose it. Loss of control can happen at any time and in anywhere, and especially if you are travelling to different places frequently. Unknown road and strange curves and hurdles may hinder a smooth drive as well as put tour life in danger if you are not aware of your car’s engine and wheel connection.
Let’s start with the Forward Wheel Drive cars.
Forward Wheel Drive (FWD)
FWD cars are heavy at the front, hence front wheels have to bear more weight than the rear wheels. And talking about the pros and cons of FWD, we can list a few points.
Pros:
- FWD cars are cheap, as it is cheap to make.
- FWD cars give really good mileage as it is lightest in the category.
- Really good traction as maximum weight is on front wheels.
Cons:
- Is not good for performance and handling.
- Torque steering.
- As front wheels are doing both steering and pulling, front wheel tend to wear out quickly.
- Half-shafts and constant velocity joints have more chance of getting damaged.
FWD cars are really good for the people who are just starting to learn how to drive and for people who are only looking for mileage. FWD cars can also be good for the places with a low traction but can’t do as good as 4wd or AWD
Now let’s see if you get in some situation and how to handle it.
If you’re at a dry or wet surface, first of all, if the car tends to understeer you should identify it and never lose your cool. After identifying never apply brakes really hard, because you’re turning and there will be another car on the road and there’s a good chance of you hitting them or them hitting you from behind.
So what you should do is get off the accelerator and apply light break, (not to stop the car but just to lose some weight) and what it will do is the weight is transferred to front wheel; giving you the grip back and then you can steer your car where you want.
If you are at lose surface like snow, don’t even think of applying brakes. Just get off the accelerator press your clutch (if manual) align you wheel straight for once then give steering input gently without accelerator or brakes.
IN FWD cars, in any condition, if you happen to get an oversteer, you can either get off the accelerator or apply brakes, but best is to hit the accelerator as it is front wheel drive and the front wheel will pull you out straight just give proper direction before you give some power.
Now let’s talk about RWD cars.
Rear Wheel Drive (RWD)
Mostly, all RWD cars behave the same but the position of the engine changes the nature of the car slightly. Most of the RWD cars are having their engine in the front called as Front engine Rear wheel drive(FR), and most of the super-cars and hyper-cars which are RWD has positioned the engine in middle behind driver but ahead of the rear wheels, and these are called as MR, but there are only a few cars which have engine in rear and powers rear wheel (like Porsche) these are called Rear engine Rear wheel drive (RR).
Pros:
- RWD cars are simple and rugged.
- Easy to maintain.
- Well balanced.
- Once mastered, it is really fun to drive.
Cons:
- Fully mastering RWD cars are difficult especially with modern day’s traction control system.
- Because of transmission tunnel and driveshaft, RWD cars have less space inside, and also less storage place in trunk/boot.
- Because of extra parts like drive shaft and transmission tunnel RWD cars are a bit heavier then FWD cars.
- Bit costlier then FWD cars because of extra parts.
- Difficult to handle on a slippery surface, but with good tyres and modern traction control system, it gets a bit better.
RWD cars are much suited for people who are looking for performance and fun because RWD cars are well balanced. As putting down power is done by rear wheels and directions are given by front wheels, the wear and tear of tyres are less.
Now let’s see what to do when you lose control!
Handling the understeer is same as that of FWD cars, but for an RWD car, chances of the car going into understeer are very less. Now let’s talk about oversteer. RWD cars have a bit of high tendency of going into oversteer if you’re not careful with the throttle or even while downshifting while turning.
What you have to do is as soon as oversteer starts, just get off from the accelerator and change the direction of steering in which you want to go.
Once the car’s backside stops sliding, give gentle throttle to keep moving.
And yes, you are safe!
Finally, we are left with the all wheel drive or the four-wheel drive cars.
All Wheel Drive (AWD)/ Four Wheel Drive (4WD)
In AWD the power is transferred to all the wheels, but the system(embedded e-chip) keeps in check of the transfer of power on each wheel, less the transaction less power is given to that wheel. These types of cars are mostly used in the for performance on road and for rally stages. The position of an engine can be front mid and rear.
Pros:
- Increased traction
- Well balanced
- Can also be used in light vehicles.
Cons:
- Heavier then FWD or RWD cars.
- Less mileage.
- Costlier.
- Cannot do proper off-roading.
4WD just like AWD all wheels get power, but unlike AWD in 4WD power is equally distributed to all wheels all the time. The position of the engine is fixed in front. And mostly used for serious off-roading.
Pros:
- Increased traction.
- Best for serious off-roaders.
- We can switch between 2WD and 4WD depending on requirement.
Cons:
- Cost of maintenance and making.
- Less mileage.
- Long braking distance.
- 4WD system is not good for the road as equal power is given to all 4 wheels on-road cornering is not well suited as it tends to understeer.
Let's see now what to do when you get in a situation with AWD and 4WD?
During understeer you can correct it in the same way as of FWD cars are managed. To correct an oversteer you can correct it in the same way we explained for RWDs.
That’s it guys, you know how to handle a car now, irrespective of which of its wheels move, or don’t move as you wish (Lol).
Understeering and oversteering will happen and you can control it without panicking. Wish you a great ride!
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