Quattro Braking, was Re: idiots 'n lights

[Todd Young <tyoung@wamnet.com>]

CLIFFORD ILKAY wrote:

> If Quattros stop faster than BMWs or anything else, it has nothing to do
> with being all wheel drive. In other words, all things being equal, an all
> wheel drive car will not stop any faster than a two wheel drive car. There
> may be some negligible amount of engine braking on the other two extra
> driven wheels in a quattro but I would think that would be negated by the
> extra weight of the quattro pieces. Force = mass x acceleration squared,
> even for quattros.

My brother-in-law mentioned to me once that his truck would stop quicker in
the snow if he had the 4WD engaged [no ABS] and I thought he was nuts, it
just didn't add up. But then I bought and drove a 4WD truck in the snow, and
I now know it to be true. Don't ask me to explain it, and other people may
think I'm nuts [spider bite anyone?], but if I needed to stop fast in snow, I
would throw it into 4WD and pump the brakes, and the truck would seem to grab
better. So maybe Quattro does help to reduce braking distances in the wet
stuff [rain or snow]. Don't knock it til you try it. I can't wait to get my
hands on a Quattro equipped Audi and give it a try, for now my fwd with ABS
will have to do.

--
Todd Young              WAM!NET Inc.
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