I don't know too much about this topic...but is it possible to convert a camaro from RWD to AWD? If so, how much, which parts are needed, etc...curious and kinda interested

Thanks guys.

 

Why would you want to?

Whether road or drag is your game, RWD is where it's at.

 

i thought AWD > RWD > FWD?

 

If you're on pavement, I dont think so. Tire selection and suspension/chassis tuning all but eliminate the already small advantages of AWD IMO, and capitalize on the biggest AWD weakness, drivetrain losses and complexity.

That's my opinion on the matter anyhow, I suppose it depends on what you want to do.

 

Not worth it IMO unless you race in the snow/rain, or plan to 4x4 the car. Drivetrain loss, complexity, ick.

I dont want any kind of front wheel drive unless its an econo box or an offroad truck, give me RWD.

 

Lingenfelter did an interesting AWD S-10 recently. About 700 hp from a turbo 427 LS1. How's 10.6 @ 135 in the quarter sound? Biggest problem was starving the auto trans of oil due to the excessive g's at launch.

http://www.caranddriver.com/xp/Caran...lenge_15th.xml

Sure, you could do AWD in a Camaro, but it would be a horrendous challenge. Probably not worth the effort.

If you've ever driven a Syclone or Typhoon in the rain, and hammered on it, you'll know why AWD can be so nice for acceleration.

 

and it woulda been faster without AWD

go drive a 4x4 truck

4x4 is UNGODLY slow, but suprisingly surefooted on the golfcourse... i mean snow

 

With 1.6 60' times on 4 all weather tires....

Come drive my slow 4x4

An AWD F-body would be neat, but would require ingenuity and $$$

If it's track times your after, stay RWD... just go ask some fast SyTy folks what they think about the HP loss and extra weight. You could take a stock Syclone that runs 13.30s and get it into 11's with RWD, lift bars and drag radials. All the reciprocating weight is rediculous, and so is the diff, axles, propshaft, and transfer case.

What the hell do I know, we're trying to put a 4000 pound Typhoon into the tens with AWD and stock block.

 

from a 1/4 drag standpoint is RWD better then AWD? if we completely ignored cost, and just wanted a camaro to run as fast as possible on pump gas, assuming equal HP output from identical engines in both cars, would AWD benefit or would the "complexity" or "hp loss" of AWD make RWD a better choice?

 

rwd would be faster usually

depends-
if you have street tires
if you have 700ft/lbs at 2000rpms and thats whre you max...
AWD might be better

on a typical car
RWD
you just lose too freaking much through the drivetrain

 

The reason lingenfelter built the Sonoma AWD was because the contest called for street tires no et streets or anything and the trucks drag times beat every other car by atleast 1.5 secs.

 

If I was going to make a Camaro AWD I would build it on a Chevy Astrovan or GMC Safari chassis. That way you get a T-case that is a single speed unit and a lot less weight than full size truck parts. I think that's what they built the Syclone/Ty on. I wonder what the differences in wheelbase length are?
Then you would have to make room for all the running gear to fit up under the car so it wouldn't look like a truck. It's definitly possible though, if you have deep enough pockets.

 

The Syclone/Typhoon are built on a 4x4 T truck chassis.

The transfer case was designed for them first, then used in the Bravada/Safari later.

Check out www.SyTy.net and www.SyTy.org for more info.

AWD is neat, but with the good wheelbase and rear suspension on the F-body, I would stay RWD for the weight/HP issues.

I sold my Syclone, but my next one will be bone stock with a powerglide and rear wheel drive. With a 600 pound weight loss and 50 hp gain, it might go high 11's

 

Why then, is the Porsche 911 Turbo a 4 wheel driver and not rear only? I know that car isn't "designed" to be a 1/4 mile monster, but them German's know a thing or two about handling. Their variable viscous front drive system does not rob as much power as you might think.

Quote from Porsche's site:
"Power is distributed between the front and rear wheels by a multi-plate viscous coupling. As well as transferring drive torque, the device compensates for any difference in speed between the two axles. The outer plates of the coupling are attached to the housing, the inner plates to the hub, and the space between is filled with high-viscosity silicone fluid. As soon as the front and rear axles begin to rotate at different speeds, the frictional properties of the silicone fluid cause the drive torque to be directed from the faster rotating plates to the slower ones. At least 5% of engine power is always applied to the front wheels, with this ratio increasing to around 35% in normal driving conditions, and as much as 40% in extreme situations."

I'd take this type of 4-wheel drive system any day over rear alone (especially a "live" axel), but that's because you'll find me in the canyons nearly every day, but I've yet to hit the 1/4 mile race track.

As for converting the Camaro to 4-wheel drive - waste of time in my opinion. These cars are made to be rear drivers, and are a lot more fun that way too.

What would be faster in the 1/4? I donno. I don't care either... as long as I'm ahead of it at the other side of the intersection, that's all that counts in the stop-light grand prix.

 

http://www.exvitermini.com/mr33.htm