You are here: Forums Sedans Buick Lucerne Buick Lucerne: Winter Driving

Buick Lucerne: Winter Driving

23 messages,  Last post on Mar 29, 2007 at 7:25 AM

You are in the Buick Lucerne Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens

What is this discussion about? Buick Lucerne, Car Safety, Sedan

Messages Page 3 of 3 1 2 3 Prev Next Last

Go To Msg # Search This Discussion

#14 of 23 Re: FWD vs RWD [sls002] by 62vetteefp Mar 27, 2006 (12:26 pm)
Replying to: sls002 (Mar 27, 2006 8:12 am) I gotta take back some of what I said. Yes RWD allows less front overhang. It all depends on how you design it and the new RWD cars are really pushing the envelope on moving the wheels ahead where the typical FWD will find it hard to get theat little overhang. Replies to this message: sls002 (Mar 27, 2006 12:59 pm)
#15 of 23 Re: FWD vs RWD [62vetteefp] by sls002 Mar 27, 2006 (12:59 pm)
Replying to: 62vetteefp (Mar 27, 2006 12:26 pm) Well, I am not sure if the front wheels were left more or less in place when the transaxle FWD cars were designed, and the firewall and front doors were moved forward into the space that was left empty under the hood when the engine/transaxle were turned around crossways or what exactly happened. I suspect that the front wheels shifted back a bit from where they used to be relative to the front bumper and the firewall/front_doors moved forward. But the Buick Bengal shows that the transaxle could have been put in front of the engine instead of behind, moving the front wheels forward. Changing the current layout would be expensive.
#16 of 23 Re: FWD vs RWD [sls002] by rake2 Mar 27, 2006 (2:17 pm)
Replying to: sls002 (Mar 27, 2006 8:12 am) It didn't work that why with either my '89 Camaro or my '01 Camaro. lol Replies to this message: sls002 (Mar 28, 2006 7:29 am)
#17 of 23 Re: FWD vs RWD [rake2] by sls002 Mar 28, 2006 (7:29 am)
Replying to: rake2 (Mar 27, 2006 2:17 pm) The Camaro and Corvette both had a fair amount of front overhang, but both are very low slung cars which does not help. Small FWD cars have less overhang, but still have good ground clearance and a shorter wheelbase, which helps.
#18 of 23 Winter Driving by fin Mar 28, 2006 (7:45 pm)
Everybody has the right idea here.   FWD works better in snow as the most weight is on the drive wheels. It puts more energy on the ground. And a narrow tire is better here than a wide one. It puts more lbs per sq in on the ground.   Yes, RWD works in snow as long as you are careful. The problem is that if the car skids, it skids with the rear end first. This is much harder to correct than if the front tries to break loose. A "snow belt" driver learns to handle this problem.   On sheet ice, FWD/RWD makes no difference. So little traction nothing matters.   For me, Lucerne needs to remain FWD. Even in Georgia we have had only one RWD car in the family in 15 years (7 new cars). Just add that 5 speed transmission and produce a reliable car.... Replies to this message: 62vetteefp (Mar 29, 2006 4:10 am) sls002 (Mar 29, 2006 8:09 am) fin (Mar 29, 2006 1:07 pm) sls002 (Mar 30, 2006 7:33 am)
#19 of 23 Re: Winter Driving [fin] by 62vetteefp Mar 29, 2006 (4:10 am)
Replying to: fin (Mar 28, 2006 7:45 pm) GM has not 5 speed for the Lucerne, just a 6 speed that will hopefully get in it soon!!!
#20 of 23 Re: Winter Driving [fin] by sls002 Mar 29, 2006 (8:09 am)
Replying to: fin (Mar 28, 2006 7:45 pm) One of the points that I tried to make is that with traction control, RWD should no longer start spinning the drive wheels and send the car into a skid from the rear end. However, with RWD one probably should consider getting an extra set of wheels with winter tires to get the best traction in snow.   It is not clear to me where GM is going with the last of the large FWD sedans. There were plans for a large RWD Buick sedan when the Zeta platform was still under development, but that platform was put into a hold to speed up deployment of the large trucks/SUV's. Now there seems to be a change in the RWD Zeta platform in that they plan a Camaro on a RWD platform, but this may leave the large RWD sedan on hold for some time yet.   This was in the planning stages: http://www.thecarconnection.com/Enthusiasts/Spy_Shots/Spy_Shots_2008_Buick_Lausa- nne.S178.A8183.html Replies to this message: fin (Mar 29, 2006 1:07 pm) sls002 (Mar 30, 2006 7:33 am)
#21 of 23 Re: Winter Driving [sls002] by fin Mar 29, 2006 (1:07 pm)
Replying to: sls002 (Mar 29, 2006 8:09 am) Your comments bring up a point I missed. Never having driven a car with Traction Control or the big brother Skid Control, you are right. These electronic devices will make driving any car on snow different. Much more safe, I would assume.   Also, if you read enough comments on Edmunds.com about Traction Control and snow, it seems some complain that it makes driving up a snow covered hill (from a standing start) or getting "unstuck" more difficult as the wheels will not spin. My assumption is that they have FWD cars. Is this true, or... people just complaining? This is all new to me..... Replies to this message: sls002 (Mar 30, 2006 7:33 am)
#22 of 23 Re: Winter Driving [fin] by sls002 Mar 30, 2006 (7:33 am)
Replying to: fin (Mar 29, 2006 1:07 pm) In my cars at least (95 Riviera, 98 Aurora, 2002 Seville) the traction control has an on/off button so one can turn it off.
#23 of 23 Re: winter traction [sls002] by eecne Mar 29, 2007 (7:25 am)
Replying to: sls002 (Mar 27, 2006 7:42 am) Its physics. FWD will handle much better in the snow. Better control compared to RWD.

Messages Page 3 of 3 1 2 3 Prev Next Last

Go To Msg # Search This Discussion

You are here: Forums Sedans Buick Lucerne Buick Lucerne: Winter Driving