Performance Report
The car was tested and it really ran better than anyone expected. The other drivers today generally rated the track as "inconsistent" but towards the "loose" end of the spectrum.
Car on the track and off we go!
This buggy doesn't drive anything like a mid or rear motor car (expected of course...). It can be driven with the throttle on throughout the entire track - in fact, it performs best when driven that way. Going into the turn the rear end comes round nice and crisp and once the car is past the apex, throttle up again and it's off we go without a fuss.
While the other rear driven buggies had to contend with the rear ends losing traction and spinning out if the throttle was applied too quickly, this never happened with the FF. On the other hand, what the FF had to contend with was wheel spin. Punch the throttle too hard and the front wheels would spin and hunt for forward traction - but without losing it's heading or composure. This meant that on the straight and out of turns it takes a tad more time to get up to speed.
However, any time lost there is gained back by the speed it carries into the turn. With the throttle on throughout the turn and no fear of the rear end kicking loose, the car handles the technical sections of the track with ease. In fact, one "stick" only racer took my wheel radio and drove the car round amazingly well. His comment "I only need to think in the steering channel".
Now I was worried about the jump handling of the buggy given it's front weight bias, but it appears my fears were unfounded. The car was driven by at least 4 different drivers at today's run and within a lap or two everyone was tackling the jumps with relative ease. The suspension soaks up the landings well and with a tad more throttle the car flies level without the much feared nose-down attitude. On the downside, our track has a triple jump coming of a 180 turn that some 2WD buggies clear at a go. The FF didn't do this comfortably today not because of jumping attitudes, but more because the earlier wheelspin characteristic meant the buggy couldn't pick up enough speed to clear it. It *almost* did, but didn't actually do so. perhaps on a better day with better traction or perhaps with some setup to increase the front traction a tad this buggy will do the triples.
Everyone who drove the buggy had a big smile on their face... it was just unlike driving any rear-driven buggy and the experience was truly unique.