question about the inherent (sp) durability of FWD

[Ferrer]

'Popularised' might be a moot definition, but I recently saw this gearbox layout in a small Lloyd or Hansa (or was it Goliath?) dating well back into the 1950s

Conversely I've yet to be popularised by a Primula

I mentioned the Primula because I remember it as one of the first cars with such a layout (I didn't remember the others, and I know we hada thread about that a long time ago), but really the Fiat was the one that made it popular.

And then came the Golf and there was no going back...

[nota]

I mentioned the Primula because I remember it as one of the first cars with such a layout (I didn't remember the others, and I know we hada thread about that a long time ago), but really the Fiat was the one that made it popular.

And then came the Golf and there was no going back...

Speaking of going back didn't the '73 Civic predate the '74 Golf?

Btw as a pure guess I imagine the popular '67-intro Honda N360 might also share this layout...

[Ferrer]

Speaking of going back didn't the '73 Civic predate the '74 Golf?

Btw as a pure guess I imagine the popular '67-intro Honda N360 might also share this layout...

Mmmm... you may be onto something here.

But nobody is interested in appliances...

[clutch-monkey]

thats funny... the only car i had any CV trouble with (or really heard of any CV trouble with) was my 93 accord. had to replace both half shafts twice, and they needed replacing when i got rid of the car.

so i would say that fwd is fine for the CVs with the exception of early 90s Hondas.

it's the vtec!

[cmcpokey]

it's the vtec!

umm, my shitty LX only had about 38 hp and no vtec. so i doubt that's the cause. its more likely honda's poor build quality that they're known for.

[culver]

Assuming both are competently designed I would give just the slightest nod to RWD. RWD cars with IRS do have CV joints similar to a FWD car but they don't have to articulate as much. Limiting articulation does help boot life. When the boot fails a CV joint failure or CV boot replacement will follow. Aside from that small difference I see no inherent advantage to one over the other.

[apple HEAD]

The Mini had the gearbox in the sump, actually sharing the same oil.

just like the peugeot/citroen/renault Douvrin engine then.

. on the matter of early ninetys hondas. my old 92 civic sir had around 160 bhp and was driven hard and it never ever had any drivetrain problems after 5 years of me owning it from 2000.

i was impressed with its traction off the line but this may have been helped by its meagre torque at low revs.

[Matra et Alpine]

Valid point on the boot split being a common cause leading to ultimate CV joint failures !
The articulation isn't the big issue on the boot but on the forces applied within the joint itself that leasds to ecessive wear and failure.
RWD has a typical +-10% movement, a joint at the wheel end of a FWD will have +-45%.
The larger offset puts large amounts of torque into pulling the joint out of place at full lock where most of torque is transmistted through the joint at lower articulation.

We used to replace the driveshafts on the rally Mini every 2 events. The imp could manage a season on the one set ( of competition ones -- not the original Hillman bits, they were good for a bout a miles )

[IBrake4Rainbows]

I have to Say CMC sounds like he got a Bad honda - My family owned a similar vintage Accord sedan in NZ and the only thing that went wrong with that car was a blown light bulb.

Not trying to be a Honda fanboy, but it just seemed perverse to me that Hondas have a reputation for unreliability.

[Matra et Alpine]

yeah weird, Honda are one of the BEST from an engineering and quality of build standpoint !

[cmcpokey]

i was being a bt sarcastic with that remark. that car was unbreakable in every other way. it had 170k when i traded it in for the Mini, and i did not take care of it. the battery was dead and had to jump it to drive it to the shop, and the AC needed new freon (new orleans in the summer with no AC is awesome) but those are the only things. it used to drive me the 800 miles from home to school numerous times a year. a friend of the family also had a 93 accord LX, and she also had to fairly regularly replace her halfshafts. it may just be that year/generation that has the trouble, because as i said, thats the only car i have heard that has a problem with it.