Rear wheel drive yikes

[Zeke45]

Me harping again. I'm addicted to this game but the RWD cars are an insult to RWD cars in general. I hate playing them. In the first DiRT Rally most of them were great fun (except the Lancia Evo deal which was even worse than this game's).

With the differential wide open they're manageable but I just don't feel it. Even on tarmac, the oversteer has a mind of its own.

There are reasons why most performance or muscle cars -- if they're not AWD -- go with RWD rather than FWD. To go by this game's RWD physics, though, car manufacturers would have dumped RWD decades ago. By contrast, the kit-car class is a treat, an absolute treat.

[karik_FIN_134]

What kind of settings u drive with, like degrees of rotation, paddles / h-pattern / sequential stick? How much do u use hb in rwd (and have u tried driving rwd totally without use of hb except at the start line)?. Also what equipment do u use if I may ask?

Give a try with this setup in Germany

H2 rwd: Opel Kadett C (Germany, June 15th 2022)
- Alignment: Front: toe 0.80, camber -0.54 / no rear adjustments available
- Brakes: 2,030.00Nm, bias 66%
- Differential: driving 40%, braking 8%, preload 50.00
- Gears: 0.397 (71kph) / 0.544 / 0.715 / 0.915 / 1.139 / FD 0.180 (top speed 205km/h or 127.4mph)
- Damping: Front: 2.00, 1.00 / Rear: 2.00, 1.00
- Springs: Front: rh -60.00mm, spr 116.65, arb 20.45 / Rear: rh -60.00mm, spr 85.16, arb 10.42

If there's something in setup that causes issues like diff driving lock at 40% is too strong -> too much wheelspin, sideways moments on the throttle then lower it by 1click and even more if it's needed. More open driving lock can cause some time loss, but if more open lock reduces risk for mistakes then it's maybe better overall and gives u fastest times.

Drive Oberstein long stage. I've done that 6:12.3 in time trial (and 6:07.9 with Ford) with 900 degree rotation, H-pattern+clutch, no hb on the stage except at the start line to begin countdown. I have currently 1456hours in this game and had 950hours in DR1.0,
I'm using all Fanatec gear: DD1 base with 32/33cm round rim, V3 pedals, fanatec H-pattern shifter, fanatec hb).

If u compare this H2 rwd Opel Kadett to one that was in DR1.0 I think setup options are slightly different here, like Dr1.0 kadett maybe had rear alignment stuff and now u do not have it which makes Dr2.0 Opel just more tailhappy overall(which can be reduced by setup changes but u maybe need better throttle control too).
Of course grip levels are lowered in this game on gravel+snow, should be lower on asphalt too because I believe stage times in this game in Germany are slower than in dr1.0. Changes like these this affect all the people, driving style has to be more cautious in this game (need better throttle control, maybe less sideways driving when it's not really needed, need better setups that work with your style etc.).
Then older cars have higher center of gravity than more modern cars which is realistic (I think in Dr1.0 cars had same very planted center of gravity which allowed more unrealistic or easier handling in older cars). Now the differences are much clearer between older and newer cars which result in much different stage times.

In DR1.0 remember checking Finland WR times on long stages for 2010s vs 1970s and seeing that difference was only 1.0s/km (1.6s/mile) when in reality it should be minimum of 4.0s/km (6.4s/mile) with both on modern tire grip and it would be even bigger if those 1970s cars would've had vintage grip (like 1970s rally tire grip is about 40% lower than modern tire grip which adds about 2.0s/km, 3.2smile extra).

In DR2.0 difference between 2000cc: Citroen C4 and H2 rwd Ford WR times on long stages in Finland is now like minimum of 3.0s/km (4.8s/mile) which is closer to my estimated 4.0s/km (6.4s/mile) difference when both have modern tire grip.

[SwampDragon]

I've never owned a rear wheel drive car, but I always wondered how my mate managed to roll his car on a roundabout. Now I know.

Mind you, these are very powerful cars, and your rear end is always desperate to overtake you. YouTube is full of low speed crashes from amateur drivers being too enthusiastic with the throttle on their 'muscle car'. People drive RWD because they are fast and badass, not because they are practical, and they do require more skill.

To be fair the transition in this game from FWD to RWD (or even AWD) is insane. It takes a while to get your head around it. Once you dial it in you'll wonder why you ever had a problem with them. Start with the Escort.

[John Webfishing]

i prefer rwd just get gooder at controlling them

[Josephus]

FWD, swing that A$$ around those corners. The engines are by and large power matched to the car size and weight.

AWD drive is the actual "best," being used in actual WRC after all, and one MAJOR reason is the time you gain in the corners and other "dynamic terrain" because the immense torque is being distributed automatically to each of the wheels in real time relieving the driver of the gearbox management described below.

With RWD, if the nose is not pointing the way you want to go, then STAY OFF THROTTLE. Even in a straight, RWD still has so much torque in the back that ANY weight shift in a straight is like a nose repoint, and it gets worse the faster you are going. Since you cannot lower the power of the engine, the skill is in the gears. For example. A noob is going to be fighting the engine in a turn trying to manage the gearbox while in the turn. They want to stay on power as long as possible. With RWD you need to be in the exit gear as you enter the turn, and only using LIGHT throttle help along with the handbrake until the nose is pointed the right then SMOOTH power increase or torque will make you pay. Every time you hit the throttle, most of the weight is instantly on the rear wheels, and the fronts LIGHTEN and grip is less than half. You negotiate with RWD cars more than drive them using the gearbox to argue.

[rob_every05]

The rwd in this version of the game was nowhere near as good as in the first version, they got it spot on there, a lot of the other stuff in 2.0 was improved but rwd was largely ruined for me