you don't have to be rude about it. 1992 ford ranger super cab sport is the vehicle under consideration.

 

Thats rear wheel drive, I've driven front and rear wheel drive vehicles, I greatly perfer rear wheel drive, or better yet, 4wd. rear wheel steering would scare the crap outtta me, I mean yu cant make turns at anything more than about 15mph, if even that, or you'd likely lost control of the vehicle.

 

It sounds like you need to go drive the vehicle in question, I believe that will give you much more info than we can with the questions you've asked. Are you worried about snow traction? rain, off road ? Maybe just regular driving?

"My Mama says that alligators are ornery because they got all them teeth and no toothbrush."
Random quote of the day.

 

As for RWD. It certainly doesn't steer with the rear wheels, and RWD is much prefered in a larger or load carrying vehicle.

I mean you cant make turns at anything more than about 15mph
This is the great thing about 4 wheel steering. At low speeds the rear wheels turn in the oposing direction the the fronts to greatly reduce the turning circle, or they can be made to turn in the same direction to "walk" a vehicle into a car park sideways.
At higher speeds the rear wheels turn in the same direction as the fronts to HUGELY improve lateral stability.

I have driven a few vehicles briefly with it, and it has impressed me. It is very natural - more so than just front wheel steering IMO.
Prehaps the best incarnation of it was the Super HICAS system fitted to "Godzilla" (Nissan Skyline GTR) and it was also optional on Japan sold Silvias.

 

WOW! His first post and no one welcomed him to FTE?
Shame on us, and I think he was right to say "you don't have to be rude about it", that was his second post and immediately beneath it was "I hope this isn't a joke" !?
Nice welcoming attitude...

First impressions are never forgotten.

With that out of the way:

Welcome to FTE demonfang! Please, when you have some time, explore the "Please read first" forum threads at the top of any forum listing page, they have tons of great information on Ford Trucks and posting messages and the like and etc...

Doesn't anyone know how to talk plain anymore?

FWD= The vehicle is powered by the front wheels, the engine power is sent thru the transmission thru two short driveshafts to the front wheels to move the vehicle. The front wheels are also the ones that steer the vehicle. All the rear wheels do is freewheel or "coast". The front of the vehicle is pulling the vehicle along.

RWD= The vehicle is powered by the rear wheels, the engine power is sent thru the transmission by a single long driveshaft to the rear axle and thru that to the wheels. The front wheels are the ones that steer the vehicle, they are not providing any force to propelling the car. The rear of the vehicle is pushing the vehicle along

I always thought it was harder to pull open a door than to push it open, less effort required to push than to pull in my opinion...

IMHO:
RWD=a more balanced vehicle in my opinion. There is better weight distribution for better handling, less tire wear, and less complicated than FWD(easier, cheaper maintennance), as well as more legroom for the front seat.

FWD=a front heavy car that chews thru front tires, handles weird and feels cramped in front(unless you happen to own an old 70s El Dorado or Toranado, then there is lots of legroom!) I'm told that Police hate driving FWD cars because they don't handle as good as RWD-why do you think there are so many old Crown Vics still around and not many new Malibus wearing Police badging?(I've noticed more SUV and truck police vehicles as well, and they are RWD too)

I hope this helped demonfang...

 

OK sorry for not welcoming you demonfang, Welcome to the site, but it wasn't till your second post that anyone even knew what you were really talking about. Any time you post a question you should provide as much information about the item in question as you can. If you had mentioned the type vehicle you were inquiring about, your question probably would have been answered in 1 or 2 posts.

 

Okay, here's a dumb question. You are considering a 92 Ranger. What else are you considering in the way of a front wheel drive car?

With that out of the way, you will find a lot of people on this site prefer rear wheel drive to front wheel drive. I'm one of those guys. But that aside, my wife drives a front wheel drive SUV. Anyway, with all the vehicles I've driven in the past, the best and easiest handling ones were rear wheel drive. Something to consider: BMW and Mercedes don't make front wheel drive cars. Mazda Miata and Honda S2000 are rear wheel drive. GM and Dodge are making a comeback to rear wheel drive. Heck, Toyota made rear wheel drive cars before they were "encouraged" to make front wheel drive.

It's all in what you want, really. You want a fun to drive vehicle, get rear wheel drive. You need an appliance to get you from A to B, pretty much anything will do. You should really drive as much as you can though. A truck is going to handle different than a car, and not all cars are the same either. You might not even like the truck.

But you're off to a good start. You need info, this is the place to get it.

 

thank you very much, four-sixty-power. your information was what i was looking for. i'm going up to test drive the vehicle today. i may actually get it.

 

Ok, its a RWD truck that steers with the front wheels. It sounds like a good truck I guess, I mean it's a Ford.

 

A_G, maybe he's not a car guy, yet.
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Anyway demonfang, let us know what you got.

We're curious.

If you need help, you've come to the right place.

Also check out some automotive books. They'll also be usefull.

Good luck.

 

The fronts on my F-150 wear more than the rears (the edges of the tires get a little bit cupped).
I cant really see why the rears on a FWD would wear quicker. Most of the stress is put on the front tires (acceleration, steering and the weight of the engine).
Octane

 

Answer me this, batman.(batmen?) The guy lists a 1992 F-150 in his profile and now is looking at a '92 Ranger but momma says that.................oh never mind.

Probably some pysche class experiment to see how easily an internet site can get riled.

 

Exactly what I was wondering.

But anyway, welcome to the forum and I hope you enjoy posting.

 

Your welcome demonfang, I try my best(most of the time)

 

To be technically correct, all of the wheels, front and rear, do steer.
The front, (rear drive) steer due to input from the driver, the rear wheels steer around an arc that is created by the action of the front wheels. this may not be clear but I don't want to get into the long version at this time.
Personally, I prefer RWD, I grew up with it.
For almost 100 years the auto industry was RWD because it was the best application, in the last 20 years or so the industry has pretty much gone to FWD but I think, in time, RWD will reestablish itself as the prefered drive.
In the BIG picture, RWD is superior to FWD, if it wasn't NASCAR and F1 would adopt it.
To keep the flames down, FWD does have a few advantages at certain times.