Drag Race car- FWD or AWD?

[GORBS88]

Hey guys, i have been runnin my AWD for a few years and been real happy with it. I swore i would never go FWD due to the traction issues. I have come across a real clean 90 Fwd laser for cheap, my question is if i am goin to a dedicated drag car what do you guys reccomend. ?
I realize i have to go through and the hoops of slicks and LSD. My question is if im goin to a true drag car which i will have completely gutted will the light FWD be and advantage or should i stick with the AWD? If so i would transfer all my stuff from the AWD and go.

 

[Luckybob2485]

It is definately possible to turn a front wheel drive car into a good drag car, but from my experiences, all wheel drive is a million times better and easier to get a good time.

 

[PokinatchaPunk]

Save the money you would spend on the extra car and just put it into the AWD...

 

[ghostcar]

i think it depends on how far you want to go with it 9s 8s?
at some point the awd system just adds more moving parts to fail (not like you wont have fwd failures as well) both setups have went into the 9's according to the 1/4 times list.
does the added weight offset the enormous grip? its a tossup for me i use 24.5x8.5 slicks on my fwd car and have outlaunched some awd. and on the flipside if have been destroyed off the line by fwd turbo hondas. pick your poison, i'd say if its already fwd leave it that way to keep things simple and gut it to nothing and get some big slicks and a lsd.
whatever you decide keep us updated with lots of videos and pics of broken parts

 

[JOEY A]

On a budget? FWD seems to be better for that

 

[daren_p]

Well being a 1g, swapping the parts from an awd to a fwd really isn't an option for most. The 1g's aren't like the 2g's where its mostly a bolt on swap. The fwd & awd 1g's are completely different & take extensive modifications to be able to swap components. I know there have been a few shops that have done so but it was very expensive to do & think the consensis is its not worth the cost.

What kind of times are you looking for on this drag on car?

 

[sticks88]

awd is the way to go if your looking for fast times and not a whole lot of wheel spin

 

[biglady112]

Bang for buck. FWD. It will never make you stop smiling. We are having major traction issues right now with an Evo III 16g 2G with new continental tires. We had problems in our 2G with kumhos. Both cars are AWD. At a point no matter what you have traction will become an issue if the car and tune are on.

Steven

 

[CB81490]

i am new to these forums and do not yet have a dsm i think i am buying a engine soon maybe in the next month so i can learn the ropes by putting it in a shell and all that, anyways im leaning towards fwd because i hear awd kills transmissions like its there job is this true?
thanks for the replies and im a nube fyi

 

[1993eclipseGS]

I am building a 1g FWD race car as we speak. Why? Well, Because I got the car for a killer deal, And fwd can still be fast. You can also make them very lightweight. You're going to have traction problems in any car if you really build it. I built my srt4, And I could spin the tires from a 120mph roll-on, On brand new tires. This was my street car, It was not safe or street friendly so I parted it, Twice .

 

[Tarascan79]

I say stick with the awd, i love it. Plus you allready own it, so you should do like was stated above, put the money to your awd indtead of buying a new car

 

[Defiant]

They make racing rules for FWD. Kind of like hardware Special Olympics. And pretty much for the same reasons.

 

[timloomis]

I comes down to what you want to replace. Trannies or tires?

 

[fabiosprint1]

They make racing rules for FWD. Kind of like hardware Special Olympics. And pretty much for the same reasons.

?

I belive it's easier and quicker to run good times on a AWD, so, even having more parts to get damaged, if you don't nothing exagerated it's cheaper to run low times on AWD.

But, when it comes to very low et's, probally you are gonna have to spend a lot on both setups, so, it's more like a choice of what kind of times you want to mark on your racecar, being realistic of course.

 

[inneedof]

14b record is on a front drive... that proves that light makes a huge difference

 

[xxraptor660xx]

They make racing rules for FWD. Kind of like hardware Special Olympics. And pretty much for the same reasons.

 

[NewSpool]

I just picked up a 93 gs shell for 75$. (The cost to tow & gas!) the kid I got it from said it didn't run. A battry and a new starter later, and its good to go. I'm pulling my HEAVILY modded 91 tsi engine and dropping it in there. Swapping my Awd tranny for a turbo fwd tranny and getting it done! There isn't much of a weight difference between the two. Only about 3-400lbs. So really its all preference. I'm doing it cause my awd chassis is shot to hell. That and it's going to be one hell of a sleeper!

 

[RC_slow_dsm]

I am running a FWD drag car and im pretty happy with it. My 2g GST gets no traction whatsoever, its rediculus. I literally dont start going until middle of 3rd gear on BFG radials.. and since my local track is 1/8 mile i spin all the way down.

A few things you might want to watch out for if your building a FWD is wheel hop. I just threw my diff pin through my bell housing because of wheel hop. Do yourself a favor and fill your motor mounts with urethane right off the bat even if you have an LSD. Besides wheel hop i enjoy my GST top end, i can always catch evo's and AWD DSM's top end on the street and in the 1/4, it just depends on how rediculus you want to get with modding.

I plan on running a ground control coilover system with KYB AGX shocks to improve traction, it seems to work for a lot of people.

 

[GORBS88]

Thanx for all the info, i have decided to keep the AWD. The FWD is sold now so i will keep goin on the AWD. Thanx again!!!