Head-to-Head: Same Tires, Different Wheels
It’s a classic conundrum that has been around for ages: When all other elements are comparable, which is superior for snow driving, front-wheel or rear-wheel driven? Thanks to Tyre Reviews on YouTube, now we can work out the reply.
Just recently, two vehicles, sporting similar specs, hailing from Germany, were forcibly united in order to conclusively ascertain which of the two- FWD or RWD- trumps the other for snowy terrains. The cars in question- an Audi A4 and a BMW 3 Series- each employed commensurately hefty diesel engines and were both equipped with identical Goodyear UltraGrip Performance 3 winter tires.
In spite of the discrepancies in weight arrangement and contrary driven wheels, both cars presented practically identical results during the straight-line speed test with traction control switched on. However, when the traction was reset, the BMW seemed to attain a minor advantage, most likely due to its constitution allowing rearward weight transcendence while accelerating, thus providing more grip for the powered wheels.
Comparing the two cars, they are put to the test on a 15% grade to assess which is less efficient at starting from a standstill. Both demonstrated par performance, albeit with the BMW manifesting slightly higher results. If one focuses on tries out side or lateral acceleration on a freezing skid plate, the results for both autos are hardly different, primarily due to their similar tires.
Things become intriguing when two cars go head-to-head in a snow drifting track. With the Off option of Traction Control, it is the BMW that records a speedier time; however, the Audi proves to be the faster one with ESC activated.
Add up all the results and BMW with its rear-wheel drive claims the top spot – though it’s not by a large margin. That being said, if we grabbed hold of one result from this video is that regardless of whether its front-wheel or rear-wheel drive if your car has correctly fitted snow tires you’ll be sure-footed in the snow.
