How to determine Rear wheel or Front Wheel drive?

[yytellmey]

How to determine wherever ur car is front wheel drive, rear wheel drive or 4WD??

please dont tell me jack up my car and look at the bottom...i dont have the tools to do so...

is that any ways to determine?

TQ in advice

 

[ehaab]

i think the easiest way to tell a Front wheel drive is that the engine block is set horizontally..
and for a Rear wheel drive the engine block is in vertical position.

Most front wheel drive vehicles today feature transverse engine mounting.
In automotive engineering, the term transverse refers to an engine in which the crankshaft is oriented side-to-side relative to the wheels of the vehicle. Most front wheel drive vehicles use this engine orientation, while most rear wheel drive vehicles use a front-to-back longitudinal arrangement.
(from wikipedia)..

 

[jimmylim85]

It might silly... The most easy way is to do 1st Gear will spin... where you rev about 4krpm and release clucth quickly.... you will notice either front or back tyre start slipping on the road.... adviseable... do it on wet road.... wont hurt much on your tyre... Or else bent down and see whether is there a long shaft going thru the rear, if yes then is Rear Drive.... if none most probably is Front Drive.

 

[huakenny]

How to determine wherever ur car is front wheel drive, rear wheel drive or 4WD??

please dont tell me jack up my car and look at the bottom...i dont have the tools to do so...

is that any ways to determine?

TQ in advice

tel us ur car model n we tel u ur car is FF,FR,MR o 4WD

most cars r FF - kenari,kelisa,proton.....

 

[AccordRacing]

if got long shaft then its will be FR or 4WD
if engine at the rear seat will be MR
others wise mostly FF

 

[jimmylim85]

most sedan car are FF for sure... cheap production... for VAN and pickup lorry... usually is FR because loading is at the rear side...need power to push the vehicle....

 

[acbc]

No need to jack the car up... just peek underneath will do. If there is a longshaft + differential at the rear... it is FR.

Another method is what ehaab mentioned. But some cars, particularly older Saab and all Audi have the engine mounted longitudinaly and yet, it is FF.

 

[cyclonite]

i think the easiest way to tell a Front wheel drive is that the engine block is set horizontally..
and for a Rear wheel drive the engine block is in vertical position.

Most front wheel drive vehicles today feature transverse engine mounting.
In automotive engineering, the term transverse refers to an engine in which the crankshaft is oriented side-to-side relative to the wheels of the vehicle. Most front wheel drive vehicles use this engine orientation, while most rear wheel drive vehicles use a front-to-back longitudinal arrangement.
(from wikipedia)..

Hey ehaab.... CORRECTION!

horizontal = transverse
vertical = longtitudal

There are FF cars in the market with longitudally(vertical) mounted engines also such as the new Audi A4. Reason being the engine mountings will last much longer if the engine moves in an axis perpendicular to that of the driven wheels.

Anyway for me the easiest way to tell a front wheel car from rear wheel is by looking at the rims. Rear wheel drive cars normally have negative offset rims, front wheel have positive offset rims.

 

[kRiminaLz]

a short one!...

FR- the engine facing front to back.. engine is at ur front bonnet.wif a longshaft n differential underneath.
MR- the engine is at the back of the car.. no longshaft needed (depends)
4WD- engine is at the front, its either facing front to back or side by side of ur left n right front tyres, with a longshaft underneath, n a differential at the back end.
FF- no longshaft, engine at the front.. prone to oversteer..

the easiest way is to launch ur car at 1st gear at a high rpm... c which of the tyres spins 1st.. hehehe..

 

[lozo]

the tunnel is way higher in FR cars, engine is mounted longitudinally, differential is separated with the gearbox with a propeller shaft/long shaft

 

[xrickx]

There is a way that i once tried. Move ur car to place where has grass.Make sure that the rear wheels of your car is on the grass and the front is on tar.Turn your steering wheel either to the left or right and hold it there. Than do a wheel spin...

 

[ehaab]

Hey ehaab.... CORRECTION!

horizontal = transverse
vertical = longtitudal

There are FF cars in the market with longitudally(vertical) mounted engines also such as the new Audi A4. Reason being the engine mountings will last much longer if the engine moves in an axis perpendicular to that of the driven wheels.

Anyway for me the easiest way to tell a front wheel car from rear wheel is by looking at the rims. Rear wheel drive cars normally have negative offset rims, front wheel have positive offset rims.

yes..thnx..was at first tryin to put it in my own words...the second paragraph was tken from another page..to clarify it..

 

[sarcastics]

sit in front of pc and google. no need physically inspect the car.

 

[SkYwAlKeR]

wahahah... but not all cars are listed in google lar... usually we cannot find proton specs in internet one...

if check ur how ur engine is mounted, FF and 4wd has the same direction wo.... how to check??.... if look under the car and got long long drive shaft, mayb its FR or 4wd also wo... if do wheel spin on wet road, no tyre marking done on the road wo... how leh??...

solution is also do wheel spin, but ask ur friend see from outside... wahhaha... see how many wheels are spinning...

 

[sarcastics]

So have you googled ?

AA

Parker's Review

Carfolio

Star Motoring

 

[cyclonite]

Like I said the best way is just to look at the rims. See the offset as what i've posted above. that's quick and easy.

Another way is to drive it arounds corners and feel whether the car oversteers or understeers la.

 

[boggysv]

I know I know!!!!

buy 20 gallons of cooking oil...pour it on the ground, and then drive your car on the oil!!!
ask your friend to see which wheel spins, and those will be the drive wheels

 

[BlackSamurai]

1 more question from newbie , how to differentiate 4WD and AWD without looking at the spec of the car?

Thanks in advance. :D

 

[sarcastics]

Like I said the best way is just to look at the rims. See the offset as what i've posted above. that's quick and easy.

Another way is to drive it arounds corners and feel whether the car oversteers or understeers la.

bmw 530i rims are 7Jx16 +20mm offset on all four. how do you tell it's FWD/RWD/AWD by looking just the wheels ?

oversteer = ??
understeer = ??

 

[Kelis]

bmw 530i rims are 7Jx16 +20mm offset on all four. how do you tell it's FWD/RWD/AWD by looking just the wheels ?

oversteer = ??
understeer = ??

Understeer = Mostly for FF cars, where upon entering a corner, the front of the car tends to go in a straight line even when the driver is turning the steering wheel.

Oversteer = Mostly for FR cars, where upon entering a corner, the rear of the car tends to slide out to the opposite direction of where the steering wheel is pointing.

Just my 2 cents... :rolleyes: Sifus, please correct me if I am wrong.