Auto Racing: back wheel drive, wheel drive cars, wheel drive car

Question
Hi Steve

 I would like to know cars like BMW M3, MAZDA RX8 and Hond S2000. All this cars are back wheel drive. If this kind of car compare to front wheel drive such as Honda CIVIC Type-R. Which one is better for cornering and on a stright road. I only can guess front wheel drive's car is better or more control at cornering, since back wheel drive car will skid or drift to the side at high speed.

My second questions is if 2 cars have the same house power. Let said 200hp, one is 2 litres turbo engine and the other one is just 3 litres engine. I know 3 litre ebgine is more heavy, but what are the different when a driver drive it.

Cab you please tell me what are the different between BHP and HP? About diesel car, car such as Volkswagan Golf TDI. Is that true diesel engine life can go up to 300,000 miles.

thank you very much

stephen  

Answer
Stephen-

  Ok...well, you've asked a few questions so I'll try and answer them in order.

First of all generally a rear wheel drive car will handle better in corners since front wheel drive cars are quite prone to understeering.  When the turning wheels are also the wheel that power is applied to, it tends to push the car more outside it's turning radius.  Both styles work relatively the same on a straight road, though.  But rear wheels drive platform can usually handle more power with better traction.  As for say an S2000 vs. a Civic Type-R...that's not really an assessment I can make.  See...in the U.S. we don't get Civic Type-Rs and the Type-Rs we do get vary quite a bit from their Asian/European counterparts.

As for a turbocharged 2 liter vs. a naturally aspirated 3 liter, it all depends on the engine build.  Generally the turbocharged motor will weaker low in the rpm range until the turbo kicks in boost and then it will have a strong mid-rpm power range.  The normal 3 liter would generally be stronger dow low, a little less powerful in the mid-range, and probably a little stronger again on top.  But it's hard to beat the torque put out by a turbocharged engine.

BHP and HP vary greatly.  BHP stands for "brake horsepower" which is the horsepower as measured at the drive wheels.  "HP" is what is called "net horsepower".  This is the engine's horsepower rating measured at the flywheel.  It will always be higher than the BHP since it takes power to move drivetrain parts.  Generally you loose 10%-15% of the engine's power by the time it reaches the wheels.  

Diesel engines are generally extremely reliable, but I don't know if one would see 300,000 miles without at least a rebuild.  They are very strong motors, but they are still motors and they encounter friction and stresses just like petrol engines.  So no, I wouldn't trust 300,000 from a diesel but 200,000 certainly isn't out of the question.

Hope this helps.

Steve