Wheelbase..Long or Short..Whats Better??

By this i mean the distance from the front wheels to the back. My 95 tbird is very long, i don't know what the measurements are, but these cars have a long wheelbase-like crown vics. What i notice is the fact that when pushed remotely hard, i break the azz loose way to easily. I've never driven a shorter wheel base RWD, say like a s2000 or miata. Whats the characterisitics of a RWD w/short wheelbase vs. a RWD w/long wheelbase??

Does a longer base make it easier to gain control also?? I've done alot of "empty parking lot/wet ground manuevers" with this car. Everytime i take a sharp turn at a slow 25-30mph, in those conditions, i can easily loose the rear end-BUT easily correct it. How does a shorter base handle??

Thanks alot if you have any "hands on" experiance that you can share..

a short wheelbase will lose the end more easily(but they have much weaker motors then yours, torque wise). in general; short wheelbase=better steering, long wheelbase=more stable.

Thanks.. I wanna drive a smaller rwd to see how it feels. I went from driving front wheel drive for the past 4 years (3 different cars, lol) to my rwd tbird i got now. I love rwd much better, it is the biggest car i ever drove-with the longest wheelbase also.

All other things equal, a long wheel base has a smoother ride. Since its a longer lever, an inch of body travel at the wheels makes less pitch of the body and its motion is perceived less by passengers. The turning radius is lengthened. Often long wheelbase cars are designed with steering angle to counteract that, but you still have to take turns wider since the back tracks inside more.

Short wheel base is much easier to "lose" the backend, and also tougher to get it back if you've lost it. I used to love driving 45' motorcoaches in the snow. With a careful punch of the pedal you could make a contolled slide and keep it forever. It was really handy for making u-turns on four-lane streets. :) Geometrically speaking, you correct the slide by keeping the front wheels pointed in the direction of motion; AKA "turning into it." When the back slides out a foot on a long wheel base car, it doesn't take much steering input to correct. If the back slides a foot on a short wheel base car, the angle is much greater and the chances of getting the steering input matched fast enough is reduced.

Short wheel base has advantages offroad with crawl angles and approach/departure angles, but very little advantage on the street. A common misconception, however, is that long wheel base cars handle better, i.e. pull more Gs in a turn. This is not the case. A short wheelbase car handles better since there is more weight transfer to the weighted wheel. Careful fine tuning of the suspension (camber and toe specifically) can make the difference.

Solaris, my guess is that your wheelbase has very little to do with the back end kicking out, especially since long wheelbases tend to help that issue. I have a 66 Bonneville with a 124" wheelbase and it is exactly the opposite of your T-bird. The Camber curve on the front suspension is such that it will understeer almost always. If the roads are wet and you really punch the throttle, it will kick out. Contrast that with my little 87 325 convertible. Short wheelbase, and the suspension is low, stiff, and the camber is definitely angled in. I'm wearing the insides of my tires bald before the outsides even get touched. On dry autocross pavement, its hard to beat it. But once that back end breaks grip, the excess camber makes it darn near impossible to get back. There is still some fine tuning to be done to correct that, but with BMWs its not just shims and bolts to change the alignment, its some serious part purchasing.

There are several things you could do to shift the oversteer to neutral or understeer in your car. You can decrease camber in the front to 0 degrees if its not already there, put stiffer springs or a stiffer swaybar in the front, increase tire width in the back, (or decrease it in the front). You can also loosen rear springs or the sway bar. You could add weight to the trunk. This will help only if the tires aren't at their grip limits already, but my guess is you have a way to go before hitting that threshold.

Wow, thanks alot.. very informative man. BTW, i love that 96 impala. In fact, i was trying to find one like that-or even a 95 caprice retired cop car, but i got a good deal on this 95 tbird which was in great condition.

Also, my front wheels are angled in a very slight toe-out angle ever since i got them aligned a couple months ago. Is that a good thing?? It seams fine, i can travel at 90mph and take my hands off the wheel and it is perfectly staight-even when the brakes are applied.

Front should be toe-in every so slightly. On street driven cars I like to go 1/16" toe in. If you have steering issues, like if it has a weak on-center feel or if your front end parts are a little worn, go as high as 1/4", but no more. After that you'll notice tire wear accerlates.

Camber (how level the tire is parallel to the ground) should be between 0 and 1/2 degree tilted in at the top, but on a street vehicle that is never raced, the zero is the smarter choice. It will make even tire wear and minimize the oversteer you've been experiencing.