The FWD problem
FWD cars send drive and steering through the same axle. When you're on the throttle, the fronts are torn between two jobs and grip falls off a cliff. Then they understeer wide and you wonder why.
The fix is in the technique, not the tune
- Brake EARLIER than you would in an RWD. All the weight you need to rotate must be on the front before turn-in.
- Lift off the brake AS you wind on lock. The lift transfers weight onto the front, the wheel direction makes the car pivot. This is "lift-off rotation."
- Power EARLY when the wheel is unwinding. The instant the wheel is pointing more straight than turned, get on the throttle. Forward drive becomes possible again.
The tune backs it up
- Make the rear ARB significantly STIFFER than the front (e.g., 35 front / 60 rear on a 1-100 scale). Lifts the inside rear, pivots the car.
- Drop FWD accel diff to ~40-55%. Higher than that locks the fronts together and induces push.
- Add front negative camber (0.5-1.0 more than stock). Spreads the front tire under cornering load.
- Front toe to slight toe-out (0.1-0.2 deg). Helps initial turn-in bite at the cost of some straight-line stability.
A drill
Class A-700 hot hatch. Pick a 90-degree tight intersection on a closed road. Practice: brake, lift, point, power. Twenty laps. You'll be faster than half the AWDs on the same corner.