Quote:
Originally Posted by CanAutM3
Quote:
Originally Posted by solstice
And the weight over the front axle is mainly a symptom of the FWD chassis where the engines are mounted more forward and only marginally a symptom of the AWD transfer case weight. I.e. adding AWD to a RWD car like a BMW or Porsche does not make it behave like an Audi. That is a misconception.
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I agree, the chosen chassis architecture for Audi makes them very nose heavy. IIRC, the B9 RS4 carries a whopping 56% of its porky weight on the front axle. It is the combination of AWD and nose heaviness that makes them plow.
My point though is that BMW is edging more and more in that direction, heavier AWD cars with more weight on the front axle. This moves them closer to "Audi" handling dynamics and away from traditional BMW ones. |
Case in point, excerpt from C&D M440i xDrive review:
It's now basically a two-ton car in the top M440i xDrive trim, with our test car placing a substantial 53.8 percent of that mass on its front wheels. Even with 19-inch Michelin Pilot Sport 4S summer tires (18s with all-seasons are standard), it managed only 0.91 g of skidpad grip, and understeer dominates.
The readout showed 53.8 percent of this car's nearly two-ton mass was positioned over the front axle. This certainly contributed to the M440i's poor 0.91-g skidpad result, the worst we've ever achieved in a Michelin Pilot Sport 4S–shod car.