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Originally Posted by rebound
Yes, and when you "overpower" your driving wheels in a FWD car, bingo! You've just lost steering as well. Again, learned to drive in Michigan in the winter, in both FWD and RWD cars. I'll take a RWD car every time, with or without DSC. Auto or manual.
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I don't think the issue is overpowering the front tires, it is in fact more likely to be that they are being underpowered when the car is sliding out of control.
In a RWD car, the usually correct action is to lift on the throttle when starting to slide or understeer in snow. In a FWD car it is more important to keep the power on so as to not upset the balance of the car when approaching traction limits. FWD got a bad rap because drivers used to RWD almost always lifted at the onset of a skid, thus reducing the traction on the front wheels, and hastening their trip into the ditch.
Watch old videos of Erik Carlsson with a Saab on a rally circuit. He had some amazing tricks.
I spent some years driving a Saab 99 and later a 900, (fwd), and also a Volvo (rwd). They had similar power and weight, and similar (narrow) 15" tires. It made for interesting comparisons of driving techniques in snow. Both did well, but each required a very different technique.
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