front wheel drive power?

[BenWall]

Is it true that you cant have more than 200bhp in a front wheel drive as the wheels cant take it?

If so is that clio TT with 278bhp unstable?

Just curious

 

[Nyphur]

VXR Astra has 232 or something. You can do it easily, just depends how good your throttle control is, and how much restraint you have, but the "fact" of "the wheels can't take it", is b****cks

 

[MrMark]

just go through more tyres i guess

 

[cat171]

Mines got 220 as standard, I know of people running well over 300 thru the front wheels.
One thing that really annoys me is torque steer, which you get a lot of if you nail it a bit from standing.

 

[V1NNY]

Matts TT was a bit dangerous, think its no more now

 

[cat171]

^
oh yeah he had over 400

 

[GordonD]

The more power you have the better it is to give the front wheels the job of steering and let the back wheels do the job of getting the power to the ground. When the same set of wheels has to do both jobs it puts a double strain on their ability to do it well. So there isn't any specific horsepower limit for front-wheel-drive cars. Its just that the more powerful they are the more trouble they have when they are expected to do both jobs at the same time, corner and get power to the ground.

I can't remember which touring car racing class it was, but to get equal lap times rear wheel drive cars had to be over a higher minimum weight than front-wheel drive cars. That is, if you've got the same bhp and the same weight a rear-wheel-drive car will get around corners and therefore lap quicker that a front-wheel-drive car. Because the front-wheel-drive car's front wheels can't generate as much cornering power because they're also trying to put the power to the ground. Also the front-wheel drive car will be dragged off at the start because of weight transfer to the back wheels during acceration.

As suspension, and especially tyre technology, have gotten better more and more powerful front-wheel drive cars have appeared. There's quite a few now with over 200 bhp. But the practicable limit is still not that much more than that.

 

[Peperami]

Focus st... 225 bhp. Megane... 225 bhp...

Since when have the wheels not been able to take it on either of those?!

 

[steve740]

True ^^^
As Car said, you just have to have your wits about you with the old torque steer

 

[edde]

225hp used to eb the figure a SAAb enginnr said was the practice limit but then technology moved on. There are 1000hp ondas still on FWD and sure they will spin the wheels but they'd spil rear wheels as well if it were RWD.

Torque stear car be fixed by making the setup right Matts now sorted his TT engine out and its fine with 425hp.