curious question 50/50 weight distro bad in snow??

Average Jae · Dec 18, 2003

i remember reading this while i was doing research on my next car, and always thought it a bit weird. here's the car and driver's long term m3 article

here's the line in question: a car with the M3's winter disadvantages—lots of power, a 50/50 weight distribution, wide tires

yes taken out of context, as they are talking about how great the winter tires help the car overcome their disadvantages, but..

i understand 2 of the 3: lots of power going to rears and wide tires are horrible for winter driving, but this is the only place that i read a 50/50 weight distro is bad. can anyone explain this to me? thanks.

MrElussive · Dec 19, 2003

50/50 weight distribution is awesome for an RWD car, especially for the snow. Look at Mercedes...they are very front-heavy and so the rear wheels spin pretty easily even in rain. The 50/50 weight-distribution on BMW's is great for the snow (and for the dry). I can't understand why it would be bad. Perhaps they were thinking of a typical FWD car where most of the weight is up front. But what they don't mention is that cars are FWD BECAUSE they are front-heavy. The average economy car is expected to be driven in snow and a lot of people would be very unhappy if their car with all-season tires does a poor job in the snow. So, manufacturers make their front-heavy cars FWD so that there is better traction in the snow (front-heavy RWD cars are a disaster in the snow), and I have a feeling that FWD saves costs, as well. Why else would companies employ "wrong-wheel drive" (as frolf calls it)?
Oh and personally, I don't believe in the whole "thinnest tire possible" when searching for snow tires. They suggest thinner tires so that the tires "cut through the snow", but 2WD vehicles shouldn't be driven in thick snow (i.e. unplowed snow) anyways. 2WD with snow tires is great, but it still has its limits, and I would rather get wider snow tires for better dry-road handling...it doesn't snow EVERY day in the winter. [:D]

Average Jae · Dec 19, 2003

nice to see others chiming in on it.. [:(]

i already knew your point on it mrelussive [:p]

MrElussive · Dec 20, 2003

Yeah, I was just super shocked to read 50:50 weight distribution as something holding the RWD car back when it comes to snow driving. But then again, I find myself trusting C&D less and less as the months go by. See, even in the review they talked about the radar detectors and they kept trying to put V1 on top, stating how its low mounting point is a disadvantage. C&D is on Valentine's payrole (sp?).

codex57 · Dec 20, 2003

MrElussive said:

They've got their favorites, you've got yours (*coughpassportcough*). [:D]

People claim Honda and BMW have C&D on their payroll all the time too. They just make really good products that certain people just can't accept as good. It's all opinion anyways.

MrElussive · Dec 21, 2003

I certainly do prefer the Passport 8500 over the V1, but I do not disregard the fact that the V1 is one of the "elite" radar detectors. Whenever somebody asks me radar detection advice, I usually tell them "Passport 8500 or V1" just to be fair but my vote definitely goes for the 8500. I used to have a Passport 8500 and my good friend has a V1 (which he had before I invested in my Passport 8500) and I didn't regret my choice of the 8500 at all...I loved that radar detector. I respect everybody's choice on radar detection, but I find that many V1 owners claim they have "the best radar detector" just because they paid $399 for it and it says "Valentine One".
But in all fairness, C&D truly is on V1's payroll (I believe it was radartest.com that stated this). The whole "C&D has their hand in BMW's back-pocket" is a roomer, and I have no problem if C&D declares the V1 to be a better detector than the Passport 8500, but if you look at the points that C&D awarded for all the detectors, you can easily tell that the review was a bit biased.

MrElussive · Dec 21, 2003

Whoops, post error.

Average Jae · Dec 22, 2003

i suppose when you make really good stuff, ie bmw, valentine, etc. you may not even have to pay anyone to whore out for you. i mean look at the bandwagon hopping fools for the yankees, lakers, etc. they think their team/product is the best thing since sliced bread.

everyone loves a winner right? cept for those haters.. (yea, nothing like sounding dumb for a 300th post [:D]

i hate band-waggoners