Observations on being AWD N/a.

[Bloodlust182]

I just wanted to get my thoughts out about running a car AWD N/a (getrag 5 speed 25 spline) as there is not much info out there on the topic. The car does not feel too much slower than when it was FWD, but it does feel heavier (duh). Swapping between stock, 2 piece hybrid, and a 1 piece Carbon driveshafts also was very interesting. With the stock Drive shaft acceleration was meh, but the car would just love to cruise at 75 on the highway no problem. With the 2 piece hybrid shaft the car accelerated better, but liked to cruise at 70-65mph. With the 1 piece CFDS the car accelerated much faster than with the 2 piece. The car felt much lighter and more agile, but the cruising speed on the highway liked to sit at 65. This being said I get about 19 city and 29 highway but combined I get around 23mpg which, honestly isn’t bad at all.

As far as handling the car feels great, the Megan springs up front are perfect, but the stock springs in the rear have to go. I need either a stiffer rear sway bar or stiffer rear springs. Due to the FWD rear shock mounts being higher up in the body I could not run the megan rear springs; the spring rate is way too high to be comfortable DDing.

Last winter we got loads of snow which was great as one of the reasons I switched to AWD was for snow. In 8 Inches of snow the car was unstoppable (in a good way). I tried launching the car a few times and it would just GO. It spins the tires for maybe 3 seconds then hooks (keep in mind this is still 8 inches of snow). This year I have a second set of “festive wheels” with snow tires so the car will truly be unstoppable in the snow (got a great deal on some blizzaks).

Concluding thoughts:
Was it worth it? In my mind hell yes. The car is slow in a straight line, but It will eat up corners on back roads around here easily. It is a very fun car to drive despite the lack of power. The exhaust tone sounds very good, I think the added “stress” of the AWD has changed it to sound fantastic (stock Na DP, TT cat+ cat back). It gets decent gas mileage, and always turns heads because it is a Frankenstein.

If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask.

[familyMAN]

Love that our cars are like Legos. Just break off a few pieces and build what you want!