Sport Compact

Sport Compact Drag Racing has swept the nation in recent years. Most of these cars are imports and front wheel drive, some are rear wheel drive such as the RX-7. American built compacts are right in the mix too, for example the Ford Focus. These hot little cars are fast and very competitive in their respective classes. Many tracks have special events dedicated to these type of drag cars. Many of these small displacement engines depend on nitrous oxide or turbochargers for the huge horsepower numbers. These cars truly have a place in today’s drag racing world. Stay tuned.

Advantages of front wheel drive

* The powertrain can be packaged entirely in the engine compartment of the vehicle, negating the need for a transmission tunnel in the floorpan, thus freeing up interior space - important in small cars.

* Because the weight of the engine/transmission assembly is directly over the driven wheels, front wheel drive cars offer better traction capabilities in snow and ice. This is of particular advantage in small, low-powered vehicles. (In larger, more powerful rear wheel drive cars, weight can be added to the rear of the vehicle to get the same effect.)

* The lack of a drive shaft (propshaft) and a lighter rear axle assembly means that there is less mechanical inertia in the powertrain, meaning that greater fuel economy is achievable.

Disadvantages of front wheel drive

* The center of gravity of the vehicle is typically further forward than a comparable rear-wheel drive layout. In front wheel drive cars, the front axle typically supports around 2/3 the weight of the car (quite far off the "ideal" 50/50 weight distribution). This is a contributing factor towards the tendency of front wheel drive cars to understeer.

* Torque steer can be a problem on high-performance front wheel drive cars. This is the name given to the tendency for some front wheel drive cars to pull to the left or right under hard acceleration. It is a result of the offset between the point about which the wheel steers (which falls at a point which is aligned with the points at which the wheel is connected to the steering mechanisms) and the centered of its contact patch. The tractive force acts through the centered of the contact patch, and the offset of the steering point means that a turning moment about the axis of steering is generated. In an ideal situation, the left and right wheels would generate equal and opposite moments, canceling each other out, however in reality this is less likely to happen. Torque Steer is often incorrectly attributed to differing rates of twist along the lengths of unequal front drive shafts.

* In some towing situations front wheel drive cars can be at a traction disadvantage since there will be less weight on the driving wheels. Because of this, the weight that the vehicle is rated to safely tow is likely to be less than that of a rear wheel drive or four-wheel drive vehicle of the same size and power..