Quattro, Lockers, et al (long)

[Bill Elliott]

I have to disagree with some of what you wrote...

<<I have no idea what is wrong with some people's cars, but there is no
possible way that *any* quattro is going to corner worse than a FWD car.

That is beyond belief. The same mass car, same center of gravity, same
spring rate, same tire will corner at the same max g. What I think we
have
is a difference in perception.>>

I maintain that a simple skidpad measurement (regardless of the surface)
is going to be lower for an AWD car vice a 2WD car. You have more forces
working on 2 more tires to cause them to slip.  Same (basic) reason a
GEN 1 can pull more G's with the center diff open vice locked. You might
make it through a given corner faster, but I'm talking about smooth,
steady state turns.

<<Since you *can* accelerate through the corner in a quattro, you can
easily
exceed the maximum traction available to the tires.>>

I fully agree with this. In a 2wd, you're only able to exceed the max
traction of 2 tires... the other 2 remain (more) stable. You can almost
drive a FWD by ignoring the rear end and just concentrating on the
front.

<<I would NEVER approach a
corner at the speeds I do in my quattro on ice and snow in a FWD. It
does
*feel* looser because I'm driving much faster!>>

I'm not sure I agree with this. But being able to accelerate through the
turn is a quattro advantage.   I've driven all combinations and the
Quattro overall is BY FAR the fastest overall... but seems a bit slower
on the wide sweepers.

<<Most people don't understand that on ice the max coof. friction is
less than
20 vs. 3-4x that in the dry. You get to feel how the car handles at 140
mph
(minus lift) at 40 mph. Magically, most mericans think massive oversteer

then is a solid feeling in bad conditions.>>

I've driven a Corvair on ice as well. Traction is no problem... but the
massive oversteer sure is.  An good driver can use the traction to their
advantage much like a Quattro and accelerate out of turns. I'm not that
good...

Bill Elliott
Lake Barrington, IL