youngTL

This is true. I'm certainly not disputing that there are tangible and measurable advantages to AWD. The whole point was that is it worth it for a COMMUTER car, not a PERFORMANCE car. That's a totally separate question. I also never asked if FWD was better than RWD or vise versa. Basically, it comes down to would you rather have 2WD (in either form, choose which one) or would you rather have AWD.

Rock2534

Yeah i know, i guess i was addressing his statement and ignoring your question. so to answer your question, i would have to say it depends on your climate. Most people have only one car, so even if it is their performance car, its also their commuter car, that would be the case for me anyway. If you do get a good amount of snow, and happen to find an AWD car that you really like, go with that. But i would not make it a requirement, as i have not had any problems with FWD and snow tires. good luck on your car purchase (if you are looking), regardless of what it is.

youngTL

Thanks. I'm not looking though right now. I drive a '96 2.5TL and am on a poor student budget. I kinda meant it theoretically.

fdl

Depends where you live I guess. But even here where it snows in the winter its going to be a waste 99% of the time (the roads get cleared fairly quickly).

If I lived in a rural area where roads were snow covered alot, it would be worth it to prevernt getting stuck. Other than that the AWD will actually hurt you in the snow because of its extra weight in turns and braking.

youngTL

Really? It hurts you in the snow? That's something I didn't know. The extra weight braking I can understand, but turns?

Here roads get cleared too, so I think it's a waste for me.

Rock2534

oh well then get back to work and shut up , I just found the question applicable because that is what I am asking myself now. I want to get a new car next summer and would like the benefits of AWD. Not just for snow, but in dry too, my CL is not shy about spinning the tire, especially on angles and turns which i have a lot of. Not too many options as far as i am concerned though, either used S4 or new LGT. I drove a co-workers 6sp 01 S4 last week, and i liked it alot.

fdl

It hurts you in any situation that you are not on the throttle. So for powering out of a turn it will help you, but going into the turn the extra weight can only hurt you.

Crazy Bimmer

Meh. Cars today with AWD hardly weigh anymore with the similar FWD models. Hell all cars today are porkers anyways.


Tires make the difference in snow. My RWD 330ci handled better with snow tires than my AWD A4 with all seasons but still had no issues. I know for a fact if i had snow tires on my A4 then it would handle MUCH better than any FWD with snows. Also lets not forget traction control these days help with most of the work.

And none of you FWD owners turn the wheel in snow and kept going straight? I used to in my TLS and my moms Altima. (all seasons on both)

Oh and my modded A4 gets 34mpg on the highway.

hemants

I look at it this way.

For snow/rain FWD will "get you by" but AWD is fun.

For dry performance in a sports sedan, AWD and RWD are more fun than FWD

Rock2534

was that with the michelins? man i hated them, they almost got me in a wreck several times, just tap the gas in the snow and you spin and the car slides to the side.

youngTL

I hardly call 300lbs nothing. THat's like having two extra friends (or one fat friend) in the car with you. My car feels like a dog when it's loaded up with 2 or 3 extra heavy people.

CLpower

300lbs isn't much, hell a full tank of gas and a friend can almost make that up.

Esp. when as CQ said, cars are PORKERS these days, a 300C almost weighs 4000 lbs!!!

youngTL

4000 is wayyyyy too heavy! If a car comes in over 3600lbs or so I scratch it off my list.

Rock2534

I refer to mine as "big boned", but it still has plenty of juice with people in it.

Python2121

i think its unbelivable that my 3.0 cl is over 3000 lb's, a lot of that weight is unnecessary and could be cut down to 2900 easily.

extra weight means more momentum to stop/move/turn

CLpower

get use to it, in a few years 4K will be avg weight. I think it's already damn close.

There are few new cars under 3500 these days

hell the 3.2 98 TL weighed 3500+

CLpower

should of bought a civic

youngTL

No, I don't think it's going to increase too much more. The reason for most of that weight was airbags and safety structures, and power equipment, and thicker windows and door panels for sound deadening. I can't imagine they will get that much thicker, or that we'll have 20 airbags in cars...

Crazy Bimmer

New safety features and new electronics will never stop being made. Cars will get heavier.. but good news is that engines are getting bigger.

GreenMonster

I've always thought that AWD isn't really that big of a deal. While people like to talk about the advantages of AWD and FWD in the snow, I've noticed that most times I'm out after the snowplows have done their jobs anyways. There might be 2 or 3 times where AWD might have been useful to me this past winter.

I'll even go further to say that that RWD is fine (if you know how to drive it). None of my past RWD cars had winter tires (just all seasons). My CLS is my first longterm daily driver with FWD, and it's probably my last FWD for awhile (see my snowplow comment above).

Is AWD worth it ?? That really depends on you particular situation.

My co-worker bought a soobie Outback, 'cause he's got a 600 foot driveway. He's also got young kids, so if an emergency came up, he's comfortable knowing that he can drive out on the unplowed driveway. To him, it's worth it.

Crazy Bimmer

^ werd.

I actually plan to go back to RWD after this car. Never again will i own a FWD though.

SC TL

I'm not into launching. But, I am occasionally into accelerating hard off of a red light, onto an onramp, etc., and my TL-P had torque steer. My LGT doesn't have that problem.
I only get one car, so my commuter car is my performance car. I like the way AWD (at least in Subarus) handles better than FWD. So, I prefer it over FWD. Whether its worth it depends upon what kind of cars you are looking at.
The weight penalty is theoretical in the sense that my AWD Legacy GT would weigh more than a 2WD Legacy GT, but a 2WD Legacy GT is not an option (at least not MY2005). But, a LGT Ltd. with 5MT weighs 100 lb. less than an Acura TL w/6MT, and almost 150 lb. less than an Infiniti G35 Coupe w/6MT. So, no weight penalty for me going into a turn compared to those cars, but the AWD advantage coming out of one.

BTW, I will probably never drive my Legacy GT in the snow. But I still prefer my LGT's AWD over FWD.

CLpower

exactly

Ken1997TL

My 1997 3.2 with MODS weighs just over 3400 pounds..

CLpower

I was just going by what this said

http://www.hondanews.com/CatID3016?m...&archives=1998

I assumed the heavier weight was for the 3.2 and the lighter was the 2.5

youngTL

Those figures seem a little off whack. That seems like a low highway fuel economy. I get 21 or 22 city and 34 highway. They claim 20/25 which is abysmal.

CLpower

That's just how that goes. Very few cars get what's actually listed.


but you must drive like a pansy to get 34 hgwy miles