liftback weight distribution

[reznunt]

Originally Posted by Pavel Olavich

for rear wheel drive cars, 50-50 is more important....but a front wheel drive "pulls" you along, and as far as handling goes, curves and such, you don't want 50-50 with a front wheel drive car....rear wheel, perhaps.

"If your car has a 60% front 40% rear weight distribution, then when you corner, your outside front tire will be the most heavily loaded. A 50/50 split is desirable for many reasons, one of them being that when cornering, BOTH outside tires - not just one - will have the bulk of the load."

this quote i agree with. it tells me why i will see less understeer at the limits with a 50/50 rather than a 60/40.

maybe you can better explain your reasoning behind favoring a front weight bias in a ff car. anyone feel free to chime in to set me straight. i still believe that 50/50 is best for any drivetrain when it comes to cornering.

[Pars]

Originally Posted by reznunt

"If your car has a 60% front 40% rear weight distribution, then when you corner, your outside front tire will be the most heavily loaded. A 50/50 split is desirable for many reasons, one of them being that when cornering, BOTH outside tires - not just one - will have the bulk of the load."

this quote i agree with. it tells me why i will see less understeer at the limits with a 50/50 rather than a 60/40.

maybe you can better explain your reasoning behind favoring a front weight bias in a ff car. anyone feel free to chime in to set me straight. i still believe that 50/50 is best for any drivetrain when it comes to cornering.

I agree with Pavel, having some extra weight up front on a front-drive is useful. However, there's always a trade-off. For instance, a very tiny car, like the Yaris, might need a more balanced weight distribution, since stability is a priority over traction at the lights (or on the snow).

In the heavy weight category, the rear drive will probably have an easy advantage. But, a longer wheelbase, lightweight front-drive could be tweaked to make maximum use of the available rubber, while still returning great dynamics and not put undo pressure on the front tires. I wonder how a Celica GTS, that's tweaked for the track, would fair against the Mazda Miata. I'd bet on the Celica.