I was talking to one of my Tire Expert guy I always go to for answers, and I posed an interesting question during one of our long convo.

Which would win around a course (snow / ice)

Which would win, OEM equipped EVO, OEM equipped RalliArt, or a Conti DWS equipped front wheel drive lancer. lol

I am making an SPonsorship appeal to a few vendors as well as Mitsubishi to see if they are willing to support this test. In the mean time
Bets please. lol

 

in b4 spelling police

 

can those tires really be that good? i vote evo x with the oem's

 

doesn't the Ralliart have the Dunlops?

 

What tires do the Evo and RalliArt come with, because if it's the dunlops for the RalliArt I already know who's at the bottom of my list.

 

yea dunlops on the ralliart....

 

with the last tests conducted by tirerack, I am incline to think they will beat out, even with just FWD. In moderate amounts of snow, I think the EVO X will be rendered a little unstable and slow using OEM tires.

DWS should deliver at least a fighting chance, I got to try these longer on my own car for 2 weeks of testing. They are nice and comfy And still deliver enough grip to accelerate and stop.

I am confident they would win. If this gets proved as high as Mitsubishi then I will tap Frank from Four Star to drive the car. Mitsubishi will feel comfy if its him driving vs. just some guy. Plus, I think it would be fair to have a driver that has more skill involved in this.

 

AWD doesnt help you corner, or brake. It just gets you off the line better.

 

are you serious.

 

I think it comes down to what the weakest link is. Your only as good as your weakest link, and in this case its the tires vs. the conditions presented.

But every Technology enhances the driving experience. AWD has help assist the handling / cornering of the car. Many different cars have similar technologies when it comes to diverting power to the wheels that have grip. In ideal and hazard conditions. An advanced AWD system can save your life, or make up for lack skill / common sense. lol

 

what advantage do you have? it comes down the the rubber and its gripping

 

ceteris paribus, the advantage is that you have much higher traction at all times since power is sent to all four wheels. i need not point out how this stability can drastically improve cornering capabilities.

if your ralliart is your first car, i can imagine how you might not realize the advantages of AWD. try cornering hard in your ralliart, and if you get the chance, try cornering in another chassis tackling the same corner. perhaps try a FWD car. given you enter , power through and exit the corner at relatively similar speeds and attempt to follow the same driving line, i assure you you will feel a difference in terms of how 'confident' you can maneuver around the corner.

 

Ralliart, because the Evo comes equipped with WIDER (never good in snow) Yokohama ADVAN summer-only tires. So while the RA has crappy equipped Dunlop all-seasons, they are still all-season, which will have a slight advantage over the Evo's tires.

Bear in mind as well, that the greater horsepower and torque of the Evo might also cause it to break traction sooner. As well, the Ralliart is an Evo IX AWD system, so it's not like it is crap. Only lacks AYC, which does have its advantages in snow, but then again, crappy tires (for the conditions) are still crappy tires.

 

suspense is killing me. next problem is if we get the cars and tires, we gotta wait for snow fall. I am already asking the a few ministries for help when it comes to track / open space for a safe test

 

lol.

Don't let AWD give you a false sense of security. They only provide extra traction while accelerating, not while you're braking or cornering. AWD cars tend to plow hard into corners if the balance of the car was not neutralized before entering the turn.

I'd take a RWD in the snow before taking my AWD in the snow anyday.

Oversteer is much more controllable then understeer.