Drivetrain Strengths and Weaknesses

[JBF77]

What are the strengths and weaknesses for each drivetrain in GT6? What PP ranges do you recommend for each? It would be interesting to find out what type of cars you use each drivetrain for!

 

[Nico_Ble99]

Well, most 4WD cars are heavier than FR / MR / RR cars. That's because they (in real life) have two seperate differentials (one for each axle). Obviously the other cars only have one diff. Another minus point for 4WD cars is that the brake distance can be longer on some 4WD cars. And also, when braking with a 4WD car, the rear can get very twitchy and loose because all wheels have roughly the same grip (which can be changed by putting a fully customizable LSD in and transferring more power to the rear wheels). Also, the front wheels in a 4WD cars have the almost (or roughly) the same grip as the rear wheels, which makes the car understeer. In a rear wheel drive car you don't have that problem, because the front wheels aren't "powered", they have maximum grip. So the car gets better out of the corner. Front wheel drive cars are quite understeery, because obviously the front wheels get all the power and they if you go on the throttle in a corner, the front wheels kind of "push" or "drag" the car to the outside. This problem can be solved by putting on better tires or tweaking the suspension or the diff. So, overall, I'd rather pick rear wheel drive cars over 4WD's or FWD's. For off road racing then sure 4WD's and also for drag racing. If you want to pick a FWD though, then the one of the Integra's. Those are the best FWD's in the game. They are often used in lower PP races because they are light and fast.

 

[NixxxoN]

FWD = for economy/family cars, i dont think its any good for racing even though some people will disagree. All the stress on the front wheels, usually a lot more weight in the front of the car too. Understeer is very common. They drive different than all the other layouts. This drivetrain is used in lower PP's than the rest.
RWD = I think its the most fun to drive, and most typical for sports cars, also historically we could say the most used layout ever. It covers almost all the PP ranges, except for the very highest.
MR = fastest, most typical for the fastest racing cars and the most powerful supercars for the road. Can be a bit tricky to drive as they usually are oversteering cars, with more weight in the back of the car. The highest PP cars have this.
4WD = easier to drive, more mechanical grip, but heavier. I think boring aswell. You cant "play" with the car as much as you want in lots of cases. Not so many cars have this, but the PP ranges can vary a lot. Most useful for offroad vehicles.
RR = tricky to drive, a lot of weight in the back of the car. The most strange and less common of them all. Less than 10 cars in the game have it I think.

 

[JBF77]

Well, most 4WD cars are heavier than FR / MR / RR cars. That's because they (in real life) have two seperate differentials (one for each axle). Obviously the other cars only have one diff. Another minus point for 4WD cars is that the brake distance can be longer on some 4WD cars. And also, when braking with a 4WD car, the rear can get very twitchy and loose because all wheels have roughly the same grip (which can be changed by putting a fully customizable LSD in and transferring more power to the rear wheels). Also, the front wheels in a 4WD cars have the almost (or roughly) the same grip as the rear wheels, which makes the car understeer. In a rear wheel drive car you don't have that problem, because the front wheels aren't "powered", they have maximum grip. So the car gets better out of the corner. Front wheel drive cars are quite understeery, because obviously the front wheels get all the power and they if you go on the throttle in a corner, the front wheels kind of "push" or "drag" the car to the outside. This problem can be solved by putting on better tires or tweaking the suspension or the diff. So, overall, I'd rather pick rear wheel drive cars over 4WD's or FWD's. For off road racing then sure 4WD's and also for drag racing. If you want to pick a FWD though, then the one of the Integra's. Those are the best FWD's in the game. They are often used in lower PP races because they are light and fast.

You seem to have a lot of knowledge! I too find FR cars the best to drive, mostly because I prefer oversteer to understeer.

 

[JBF77]

Well, most 4WD cars are heavier than FR / MR / RR cars. That's because they (in real life) have two seperate differentials (one for each axle). Obviously the other cars only have one diff. Another minus point for 4WD cars is that the brake distance can be longer on some 4WD cars. And also, when braking with a 4WD car, the rear can get very twitchy and loose because all wheels have roughly the same grip (which can be changed by putting a fully customizable LSD in and transferring more power to the rear wheels). Also, the front wheels in a 4WD cars have the almost (or roughly) the same grip as the rear wheels, which makes the car understeer. In a rear wheel drive car you don't have that problem, because the front wheels aren't "powered", they have maximum grip. So the car gets better out of the corner. Front wheel drive cars are quite understeery, because obviously the front wheels get all the power and they if you go on the throttle in a corner, the front wheels kind of "push" or "drag" the car to the outside. This problem can be solved by putting on better tires or tweaking the suspension or the diff. So, overall, I'd rather pick rear wheel drive cars over 4WD's or FWD's. For off road racing then sure 4WD's and also for drag racing. If you want to pick a FWD though, then the one of the Integra's. Those are the best FWD's in the game. They are often used in lower PP races because they are light and fast.

You seem to have a lot of knowledge! I too find FR cars the best to drive, mostly because I prefer oversteer to understeer.

 

[Nico_Ble99]

You seem to have a lot of knowledge! I too find FR cars the best to drive, mostly because I prefer oversteer to understeer.

Hehe thanks.
Well, the more you get into cars and how they actually work, the more you'll learn!

 

[GBalao888]

My definition:

FF: Most of the engine power goes to both the front wheels and the front axle. The characteristic is that it usually has understeer, due to it being nose-happy. Typical cars that have this are compact cars, and most notably a known FF car which could be a Honda Civic.

FR: Despite it having a front engine, engine power is channeled to the rear wheels and rear axle. The characteristic is that it may have good grip, balanced handling, oversteer or drift-like handling on some FR cars that are more tail-happy than others. A majority of sports cars (e.g. grand tourers) usually have this.

MR: This time the engine is located on the rear-mid section of the car. The handling is similar to FR but is likely to lose grip easier than FR cars, since the engine is located in the rear-mid section, it makes the back a little bit heavier than FR cars. Which usually gives them slightly more oversteer than FR cars as well. Supercars and hypercars are common to have this drivetrain layout.

RR: The engine is located at the very rear section of the car and therefore means very tough oversteer and is very tail heavy as all the power is channeled to the rear axle and rear wheels. Cars like a RUF RGT or other cars based off of Porsche 911's usually have this.

4WD: All power is channeled to all wheels and axles, regardless of the position of the engine. However, this results in 4WD cars being heavier than most other cars, and also gives them understeer. However, the handling can be altered using torque-split technology which can alter the behavior of a 4WD car into making it like an FF or any other drivetrain type by adjusting the torque transmitted through the wheels. Cars like a Nissan Skyline or a Bugatti Veyron usually have this.

 

[azidahaka]

FWD = for economy/family cars, i dont think its any good for racing even though some people will disagree. All the stress on the front wheels, usually a lot more weight in the front of the car too. Understeer is very common. They drive different than all the other layouts. This drivetrain is used in lower PP's than the rest.
RWD = I think its the most fun to drive, and most typical for sports cars, also historically we could say the most used layout ever. It covers almost all the PP ranges, except for the very highest.
MR = fastest, most typical for the fastest racing cars and the most powerful supercars for the road. Can be a bit tricky to drive as they usually are oversteering cars, with more weight in the back of the car. The highest PP cars have this.
4WD = easier to drive, more mechanical grip, but heavier. I think boring aswell. You cant "play" with the car as much as you want in lots of cases. Not so many cars have this, but the PP ranges can vary a lot. Most useful for offroad vehicles.
RR = tricky to drive, a lot of weight in the back of the car. The most strange and less common of them all. Less than 10 cars in the game have it I think.

All quite true, but the analysis is more right for very high hps...

Up to 270-290hps a good FF chassis can fight and top a FR car. Most Touring car championship have FF topping FR cars due to great handling and "easy to run back around corners" back thanks to the very front biased weight ratio. Also brilliant in rallies (expecially on tarmac) where FF cars often top even AWD cars.

Also i wouldn't be so fast in stating that a MR car is always the fastest. Usually the problem navigating them around a complex track make them slower than most FR cars.

 

[NixxxoN]

Also i wouldn't be so fast in stating that a MR car is always the fastest. Usually the problem navigating them around a complex track make them slower than most FR cars.

Formula 1 cars switched from FR to MR since the late 50's and never changed since then. They are the fastest cars out there. I said the fastest in absolute terms.
In low PP/power I suppose that's not necessarily the case.

 

[MidFieldMaven]

In order of easiest to drive to hardest: 4WD, FF, FR, MR.

4WD won't overload the front or rear tires at stock power, unlike FF or FR.

FF typically stops being effective at over 300 hp in anything but a straight line.

FR is the all-rounder. Doesn't do anything exceptionally bad or good.

MR has the best handling but takes much focus and skill.

 

[azidahaka]

Formula 1 cars switched from FR to MR since the late 50's and never changed since then. They are the fastest cars out there. I said the fastest in absolute terms.
In low PP/power I suppose that's not necessarily the case.

True but concerning F1 it's a matter of rules and safety concerns (a frontal crash with a FR car at F1 weight and speed might send the engine block torward the driver, to say so...). I'm sure that id rules allowed it we would see AWD F1 cars

 

[NixxxoN]

True but concerning F1 it's a matter of rules and safety concerns (a frontal crash with a FR car at F1 weight and speed might send the engine block torward the driver, to say so...). I'm sure that id rules allowed it we would see AWD F1 cars

I have to disagree here, they switched to MR simply because Cooper did it first and was much faster than the rest, so the rest copied them and went faster aswell. Its simply the best/fastest layout out there.
And with 4WD cars an F1 would weigh far more, and the front of the car would need to be completely redesigned, and the front would need to carry more stuff (front wheels drivetrain) therefore it would be far less aero efficient from the front, and not to mention that the driveshaft behind, taking a lot of driver cockpit space, or having to make the car much higher in profile.

 

[Ridox2JZGTE]

Don't forget hybrid AWD - electric motor at the front and rear with combustion engine, or an all electric driven wheel, might be a future in F1

 

[deviln3]

In order of easiest to drive to hardest: 4WD, FF, FR, MR.

4WD won't overload the front or rear tires at stock power, unlike FF or FR.

FF typically stops being effective at over 300 hp in anything but a straight line.

FR is the all-rounder. Doesn't do anything exceptionally bad or good.

MR has the best handling but takes much focus and skill.

Haha this funny and so true.. I used to love driving 4WD when I started playing GT. I found them super easy to drive, but now I'm tired of the understeering issue.

Overtime I've grown to love the challenge that comes with driving FR/MR cars.

 

[Malcolm Tucker]

I have to disagree here, they switched to MR simply because Cooper did it first and was much faster than the rest, so the rest copied them and went faster aswell. Its simply the best/fastest layout out there.

True but it's in the regulations now that they have to be MR, along with a load of other regulations that are in place to slow them down rather than making them better/faster. It's not in the LMP regulations though and Nissan are rumoured to be building an FR LMP1 (technically a front-mid, FMR?!) for 2016 which is very exciting, the status quo may be challenged again nearly 60 years later

 

[NixxxoN]

True but it's in the regulations now that they have to be MR, along with a load of other regulations that are in place to slow them down rather than making them better/faster. It's not in the LMP regulations though and Nissan are rumoured to be building an FR LMP1 (technically a front-mid, FMR?!) for 2016 which is very exciting, the status quo may be challenged again nearly 60 years later

Cool. But isn't what Panoz did already about 15 years ago? The esperante (which is in GT6) and also a roofless variant (not in GT6)

I suppose this car in real life was better than the one in the game (I dont like how it drives)

 

[Malcolm Tucker]

I haven't tried it since GT4! I think they had a respectable showing once it was upgraded to the spyder iirc, 5th or 6th maybe? Pretty sure the money ran out though, and they were never gonna be a serious challenge to Audi.

Here's a great in-depth analysis of the potential new Nissan, ignore the fact that it looks like a website from the '90s lol, it's actually rather good;

http://www.mulsannescorner.com/newsnov14.html

And of course we can't forget the Deltawing, or the fact that it could all be nonsense and we'll just get a run-of-the-mill LMP MR

 

[NixxxoN]

Interesting.... Yeah, the website design is awful but the content is good. Let's see what this car will do.

BTW i also forgot the Gillett Vertigo, which is another hard to drive beast (in the game)

 

[TonyJZX]

in all games i stay away from fwd cars... whats the point? you get to drive them in real life and they suck there and they suck in games too

i drive in games because you want a taste of what exotic cars are like so its all rwd or 4wd cars for me

in most instances and especially in GT6, i cant think of many situations where 4wd cars are all that useful

and I like 4wd cars like the Skylines and EVOs and stuff but since its all tarmac (mostly)

are the 4wd cars better on the limited dirt tracks we have in gt6?

 

[Johnnypenso]

in all games i stay away from fwd cars... whats the point? you get to drive them in real life and they suck there and they suck in games too

i drive in games because you want a taste of what exotic cars are like so its all rwd or 4wd cars for me

in most instances and especially in GT6, i cant think of many situations where 4wd cars are all that useful

and I like 4wd cars like the Skylines and EVOs and stuff but since its all tarmac (mostly)

are the 4wd cars better on the limited dirt tracks we have in gt6?

FWD's that actually drive like FWD's on the track are fun to hoon around in for me. Lift off oversteer is an accurate behaviour in many FF's and tricky to master on the track. The problem in many games is that the lift off oversteer is not modeled correctly and the cars tend to understeer everywhere and that's not much fun for most of us.

 

[TonyJZX]

to me, lift off oversteer is not a fun or desirable trait

the actual only time i enjoy fwd is high powered ones in the rain where their dogged stabilty is comforting... and this is modelled in games to some degree as well

i have honestly driven faster in the rain, in real life and in games, with fwd cars

but since i live in a climate that rarely rains its a bit here nor there

and there is a certain charm in rain rwd power slides as well