2WD and 4WD - different driving styles?

[Chris Doughty]

let me hear your thoughts on if you think you have to drive 2WD and 4WD different? does your driving style work for 2WD and not 4WD? the other way round?

do you drive both cars the same? does the way you try and pass cars differ in 2WD and 4WD?

which is easier to 'learn' a track with?

go for it....

[Southwell]

I think you have to drive them different. With 4wd you can throw the car into corners knowing you will have the grip and traction to get round it quickly, although brakes round the corner is safer, with 2wd you have to slow down or pivot with brakes to get round it quickly i find. My driving style works well on wet tracks where i will have good pace in both 2 and 4wd, iam working on consistancy and speed in high grip situations where i have a tendancy to overdrive the car.

With 4wd i tend to use a lot of brakes (was running full time 4wd) now i run a one way i find myself being very cautious on them like in 2wd, which i have only just started using them a lot.

I would say 2wd is easier to learn a track with, you don't go quite as fast so it is easier to get your lines right and learnt the track, then apply your knowledge to going fast with 4wd.

[markwilliamson2001]

My personal opinion is that 4wd is easier to pick up, but harder to go very quick with. This is because the limit is harder to get to, because of the higher grip levels, and better balance.

2wd requires a smooth throttle finger/thumb and the limit is easier to find, but that makes it easier to do well, by not making mistakes and keeping the car smooth and on the right line.

You can make up a small amount of time in 4wd by pushing very hard, but it is the last 5% in 4wd that is hard to find.

I drive both similiary, (lots of steering) and drive smoothly, letting the car do the work, without lots of brakes, and steering the perfect racing line where-ever possible. This seems to do me okay, since I was 12th overall at the last 4wd mid-west regional!

Mark

[ashleyb4]

Converting from 2wd to 4wd is so hard i ran 2wd for one heat at oswestry one club night then switched to 4wd just before i got to start i ran back to get my 2wd as i couldnt drive the 4wd. If there on diffrent days not a problem but on the same day

A

[Yardeeee]

My styles of driving in each class are quite different, but I am now beginning to think that using the same style may be more effective.

In 2WD I always use a smooth style, blending the throttle out of turns, light dabs on the brakes and I tend to go for more precision on the corners rather than attacking them- powersliding, fast rotation etc.

4WD, I think I am driving too aggressive as of late. I tend to 'punch' the throttle hard out of corners, throw it at the track, I often find I spend more time opposite locking away from corners than actually going around them smoothly. Obviously you can drive a 4WD car harder but I think a smooth style will still reward extra tenths- a car moving forward is always going faster than a sideways one.

2WD has always felt more natural to me, and 5 minutes clean with a 2WD car always seems much less hard work than in 4WD. At the 4WD nat series, particularly this season, you have to be super fast and clean to get anywhere near the sharp end, controlled aggression... you require a car that is fast but also forgiving and consistent.

One other point I will make is that I've found that in 2WD, regardless of chassis used, your style can be carried over with successful results (although I'm basing this on experience of B2, B3, Losi XX and B4, never actually driven a XXX or X6 so I'm willing to be corrected on this) whilst in 4WD the chassis you drive often dictates which style is needed, some are naturally fast and easy to drive fast so a smooth style is ok, some are fast but difficult to drive- to get the most you may have to really overwork your right thumb, some aren't so good and you have to really refine your skills to get the laptimes- really late braking/really early braking , smooth turns/hard sharp turns. 4WD's vary a lot.

I think which car you find it easier to learn a track just depends on which class you are more effective at driving or which one of your cars (your 2wd or 4wd) is easier to set up well, or more versatile on a range of surfaces, you can't effectively learn a track with a poorly set up and difficult to drive vehicle, in that instance you are taking your time learning your car which is often not allowing you to be consistent- and without doing consistent clean laps you are learning very little.

Yardy

[DCM]

I have found, the way the B4 drives (for me) that my driving style with a 4wd and a one-way fitted and driving the b4 is very similar, not a lot of brakes and sharp turn in. only major difference is in the jumping.

[markwilliamson2001]

I agree with the last two posts, I think the B4 has really improved 2wd performance, and that it has bridged the gap between 2 and 4wd. I really agree with Tom's comments regarding trying to drive a 4wd harder, which feels like its faster, but actually, a smooth drive is sometimes best, like when trying to drive 2wd.

M.

[Welshy40]

Originally Posted by DoughtyUK.net

let me hear your thoughts on if you think you have to drive 2WD and 4WD different? does your driving style work for 2WD and not 4WD? the other way round?

do you drive both cars the same? does the way you try and pass cars differ in 2WD and 4WD?

which is easier to 'learn' a track with?

go for it....

All depends on you. If you like a twitchy car feel then I guess 4wd, but then again what do you want out of it. 2wd or 4wd can be just as fun.

My 2wd was megga front end grip (i only did the indoors events with it) and went flat out in and out of corners. 4wd was more smoother as I tended to over gear and use the top speed down the straight and go half speed (which was as quick as the oppostion) on the infield, so being smoother and making far less mistakes so I wouldnt dump.