FWD

Eddie208

Torque Junkie
Points
237
Location
Hertfordshire, England
Car
Peugeot 208 GTI - P
So, got a FWD Peugeot 208

Been hearing that FWD is not good for tuning and bad for BHP/ joyrides n that. Apparently you can only get 225bhp out of fwd drive cars or slightly more, is this true? is it a rule that simply hasn't been broken yet?


Worried since my cars got a weak engine so knowing it needs an engine swap first thing then a RWD conversion done before touching anything else is worrying :/

Mate says I'm simply better off buying a whole different car.
 
Sorry buddy, but you have been told a load of complete and utter nonsense! I suspect that information you read must be about 30 years old. Saab produced models with 250bhp from the factory. Mine is more than double this, good luck with future research, you are in for a very pleasant surprise ;)
 
It's those urban myths again. Here are the truths IMO ....

Traction becomes an issue around the 250bhp mark, but with a trick torsion differential fitted you can make up for quite a bit of this. RWD cars can tolerate pretty much any power you throw through them, FWD do have some limits but the art of tuning is knowing what you have to work with and choosing the best parts.

Putting weight over the front end and having grippy tyres will also help.

When people slap on power upgrades to a FWD without addressing the underlying issues they say things like "FWD is limited to XXXbhp" which is really a wild generalisation.
 
Ah right I see, That's actually so relieving to hear I was well upset on the train home after hearing that myth ^^

Guess I won't need to buy a whole new car afterall :)
 
Aye - the latest Civic Type-R has something like 340bhp out of its 2.0 turboed engine going through the front.

I've been a passanger in one and although it stuck to the road really well you could feel how hard its differential and electronics were working to keep that power down and stop axle tramp.

For your car you can uprate the shocks and springs, but also replace the rubber bushes with polyeurethane(?) ones on suspension arms, and this will help keep the wheels on the ground. Then put a limited-slip diff on the front which stops too much power going to a skidding wheel.
 
thanks a bunch MythBusters,

and ah right thats nice to know for specifics, findign the suspension arms n bits and pieces for a 208 is a bit of a hassle but will do, cheers TK :)
 

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