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Hello to all!
This is my first thread, and I would like to ask a question. Here goes:
Watching old Rallies, I noticed that drivers of 4WD cars like the Peugeot 205T16, Audi Quattro S2 and the Lancia S4 never used the handbrake to throw the cars sideways before hairpins, like drivers do nowadays. Nevertheless RWD cars of those days (Opel Manta, Renault 5 Turbo 2...) were driven using this technique. Does anybody have an answer as to why this is?
Thanks for answering.
Probably because modern cars disconnect the front diff when the handbrake is engaged. Older cars didn't do this
It's not the front diff it's the centre diff that's the problem. The original Quattro's didn't even have a diff between the front & rear so if you tried to handbrake & locked the rear wheels then you'd lock the fronts as well. There was no electronic or hydraulic control over the diffs in those days so de-stabilising the car with left-foot braking was the only option. It always appeared to me that the early four wheel drive cars were driven 'point & squirt' as their cornering was poor but they were bloody good dragsters. This probably explained why one (still) well known Escort driver's team had "Quattro's are boring" on their team clothing.
Well, I know for a fact that the Audi Quattro Sport didn't even have a handbreak as the developers claimed it was so short it didn't need one. And I can imagine then that other cars, such as Pug 205, Delta S4, and Metro 6r4 didn't have one either, not sure though. But I am sure of the Audi.