[gs1403]

Originally Posted by UN-Blank

They don't. That is weight at best. With a pro driver.

I left a 600 hp RWD 911 that didn't hookup til 3rd.

Lots of power left in a cloud of Cup skoke. I'd bet that under 0 circumstances would an identical equipped RWD car beat an awd

Nobody said a RWD car would beat an AWD variant, like for like. "Working" does not necessitate "beating".

[G MONEY]

Originally Posted by gs1403

Except they just do. The time difference between a RWD and xDrive M4 on the Nordschleife was what, like only 2 seconds? Not that any of us would ever push our cars to those limits. I'll happily take the $4k price savings and drive my X7 in the snow.

I think people are talking about the street. 8-900 on the street and RWD blows. Not talking about the cars being stock around some track that 95 % of people will never do🤷🏽*♂️

[gs1403]

Originally Posted by G MONEY

I think people are talking about the street. 8-900 on the street and RWD blows. Not talking about the cars being stock around some track that 95 % of people will never do🤷🏽*♂️

Pretty sure he was talking about a stock 500hp G80. 800+hp on a street car on street tires, sure, probably doesn't really work.

[G MONEY]

Originally Posted by gs1403

Pretty sure he was talking about a stock 500hp G80. 800+hp on a street car on street tires, sure, probably doesn't really work.

Def was. 500 HP =Meh. Lol. I posted before. If you want to be around stock power, stick with RWD. If you are going to tune and actually make the car fast, AWD period.

[OF Hero]

I'm just a humble enthusiast dragging my kids around year long in bad winters in this car, so AWD it is.

That being said, I did the same in my RWD F80 and was fine on a good set of winter rubber.

[F1zbo]

Having owned my m3 xDrive for a little over a month and now explored the limits of grip and drift angles allowed in MDM mode and 4wd sport I would say it feels and behaves RWD to such an extent I am probably not going to use 2WD mode at all.

It is so easy to powerslide out of corners in 2nd and 3rd while still feeling very much like a RWD car but with added pulling power.
Very impressive.

Reminds me me of my old m2 but more manageable and less snappy due to longer wheel base and the added grip from the front axle.

[Stan Dee]

I think there is some tainted F8X legacy that lingers over G8X RWD where people assume it can't handle it's power and will throw you into the nearest hedge with a heavy foot. Not sure how many people have driven one but the way it manages it's power is night and day compared to the F8X.

There are plenty of reviews and track comparisons that pay testament to this. No doubt AWD will have the edge in most performing scenarios but the differences are marginal from the track comparisons I've seen.

0.3 sec quarter mile (car wow)
0.5 sec Bedford Autodrome (Evo)
2 sec Nurburgring (over a 13 mile track, or whatever the distance is)

These times say alot about how well sorted RWD is and how marginal the differences are.

Only significant performance benefit I can see in having AWD is pushing on it wet conditions or looking to tune. AWD is clearly more versatile and is going to give you consistent performance rain or shine. But in the real world, chasing tenths isn't something I need especially for the extra cost.

[Gfit]

I get both sides. I really do. But when I see hundreds of posts saying carbon buckets are a must, carbon fiber is a must, parking assist is a must, laser lights are a must… but let's save money on an option that clearly improves performance vs all those cosmetic improvements just confuses me. :

[kyoung05]

Originally Posted by Gfit

I get both sides. I really do. But when I see hundreds of posts saying carbon buckets are a must, carbon fiber is a must, parking assist is a must, laser lights are a must… but let's save money on an option that clearly improves performance vs all those cosmetic improvements just confuses me. :

Haha, I was thinking the same thing! Lots of "must have" options according to the forums that add zero performance value and instead take what is meant to be an engaging, enthusiast/driver's car and turn it more into a do-everything quasi-luxury car.

If AWD was available with a manual transmission, that'd be the one I'd want. I live in NJ, so having something that is more all weather capable is a plus. Also, I've owned my M340i xDrive long enough to know that it is indeed very RWD-biased - so much so that most folks wouldn't know it was AWD unless really pushing it close to its limits. Unfortunately, the MT is only available in RWD, so that's the one I'll get. As someone else said, these cars are never going to be the fastest things on the road, regardless of configuration, so I'll optimize for the experience rather than bragging rights based on magazine specs.

[mlover789]

Originally Posted by Gfit

I get both sides. I really do. But when I see hundreds of posts saying carbon buckets are a must, carbon fiber is a must, parking assist is a must, laser lights are a must… but let's save money on an option that clearly improves performance vs all those cosmetic improvements just confuses me. :

Cosmetics over performance for me. Rwd got enough performance.. Just want it to be a tad louder and I'm good. Ladies don't know diff between awd and rwd but they do like more Cf parts and mid tone.

[KillerExcessive]

Can anyone who has driven both comment on the steering and frontend feel? It's pretty wet up here in PNW so I like the idea of the AWD capabilities, but this is a weekend car so I don't need all-weather assurance and I would not be willing to sacrifice driving feel in favor of traction.

[Gfit]

Originally Posted by mlover789

Cosmetics over performance for me. Rwd got enough performance.. Just want it to be a tad louder and I'm good. Ladies don't know diff between awd and rwd but they do like more Cf parts and mid tone.

: Thank goodness I am happily married.

[PLF69]

They are discontinuing the Comp RWD in Canada for 2023.

It will be Base RWD or Comp AWD.

Can't really disagree since our climate pushes for AWD and the system is just so good for a very minimal weight gain.

On top of that often 6MT buyers often store the car for the winter. (Around here)

[mlover789]

For me, awd gets me 0 to 100 time increase. Living with no snow, awd is same as rwd for the most part.. So just went with rwd and the 4k will be used for cosmetics... Cuz at the end of the day, a lady is gonna say nice.

[kjx]

Originally Posted by KillerExcessive

Can anyone who has driven both comment on the steering and frontend feel? It's pretty wet up here in PNW so I like the idea of the AWD capabilities, but this is a weekend car so I don't need all-weather assurance and I would not be willing to sacrifice driving feel in favor of traction.

There is no sacrifice in driving feel. There were only RWD cars being produced and available for test drives when I ordered one of the first 'sight unseen' AWD, and there is no difference. Just yesterday in the rain, without intending it I could feel the rear slip in a 90 degree right turn. It's a RWD car until the car detects it is losing traction and then it sends it to the front. It is insane how it accelerates - you can feel all four tires grabbing. Even AWD in the wet with heavy throttle can have not enough traction with traction control kicking in. RWD would be a bad choice for a car this powerful even in the dry.

The only reason to get RWD is if you want a manual. Or if $4k breaks the bank (but I'd argue an M car is not a great financial decision then).

[_E90S65_]

I was super impressed with the level of grip in the RWD G80/G82 at the recent M Track Day in Sonoma. Super planted. Some had Contis, some had Michelins.

As the lead-follow instructors cranked up the speed throughout the day, I found myself doing shenanigans that would have resulted in a "code brown" or two had I been in my F80.

[zambarossa]

Originally Posted by PLF69

T

On top of that often 6MT buyers often store the car for the winter.

That is crazy talk

[twistedspoon]

quick question -- is an m3 with xdrive in rwd drive mode with m driver professional option (allows full traction control in rwd mode), essentially the same as a rwd? I know there are some weight differences. Can you configure the car to start in rwd mode?

[kmualim]

I used to have the 2021 M3C Rear-wheel Drive. But now, I'm driving the 2022 M3C xDrive.

I feel that xDrive is easier to drive since it will not "spin"...

[bmwdrive]

Originally Posted by kjx

There is no sacrifice in driving feel. There were only RWD cars being produced and available for test drives when I ordered one of the first 'sight unseen' AWD, and there is no difference. Just yesterday in the rain, without intending it I could feel the rear slip in a 90 degree right turn. It's a RWD car until the car detects it is losing traction and then it sends it to the front. It is insane how it accelerates - you can feel all four tires grabbing. Even AWD in the wet with heavy throttle can have not enough traction with traction control kicking in. RWD would be a bad choice for a car this powerful even in the dry.

The only reason to get RWD is if you want a manual. Or if $4k breaks the bank (but I'd argue an M car is not a great financial decision then).

This is really interesting. The AWD will clearly have more grip, especially when it's wet. But with heavy throttle in the wet with DSC and traction control on a RWD, you will just be slower. You still won't spin or get spit out into a wall because the RWD car's traction control/DSC will slow the rear to bring the tail back in. Correct? What I'm trying to confirm is that AWD is really a performance feature at the edge of grip rather than a safety feature. (Snow and ice is a different story.)

[G MONEY]

Originally Posted by danf72

This is really interesting. The AWD will clearly have more grip, especially when it's wet. But with heavy throttle in the wet with DSC and traction control on a RWD, you will just be slower. You still won't spin or get spit out into a wall because the RWD car's traction control/DSC will slow the rear to bring the tail back in. Correct? What I'm trying to confirm is that AWD is really a performance feature at the edge of grip rather than a safety feature. (Snow and ice is a different story.)

Zero zero zero to do with safety.

[PLF69]

Originally Posted by danf72

This is really interesting. The AWD will clearly have more grip, especially when it's wet. But with heavy throttle in the wet with DSC and traction control on a RWD, you will just be slower. You still won't spin or get spit out into a wall because the RWD car's traction control/DSC will slow the rear to bring the tail back in. Correct? What I'm trying to confirm is that AWD is really a performance feature at the edge of grip rather than a safety feature. (Snow and ice is a different story.)

It is and it's not, it depends on specific situation, accelerating coming out of a corner, from lower speed or a standstill it can be a considerable advantage, at high speeds not so much. Also rotating an AWD car at low speeds can be a bit trickier, the front axles can try to bind and cause some understeer, in a RWD the front wheels are only used to steer and provide braking/lateral traction while the AWD car as to do all this on top of providing acceleration traction.

There's the added weight etc. I'd say for the average driver the new AWD systems provide more + than - but when driving on track at the limit of grip there are some situations where RWD can provide a more "natural" feeling that some can prefer.