Most Realistic FWD car (mod)

[los123]

In AC the only FWD cars are the abarths. What is the most realistic ( closest to how the actual car behaves in real life) front wheel drive only car mod that is not a race car, meaning its just a regular car? Thanks

 

[Gevatter]

Aren't the little Alfas (Giulietta & Mito) FWD as well, or are they AWD?

 

[Lizard Of Bodom]

As above, both Alfas are FWD but thats pretty much it, there is also Audi TT FWD but its GT car.
As of mods, the best and most realistic I found were Civic type R (EK9 if remember correctly, older one) and new Megane RS, enjoyed driving them both and both provides good feedback and fwd feel.

 

[Michael Krone]

SRP has a couple good ones. EK9 as mentioned above is one of them.

 

[Gevatter]

So these are the FWD street cars I use, stock and mods, all are very good in my opinion:

The Abarth and the Alfas are Kunos stock vehicles.

The Mini Cooper is one of the first releases of @Pessio on RD:

https://www.racedepartment.com/downloads/austin-mini-cooper-s-1275-64.31996/

For the Prelude, only the tuned Mr. X version is currently available. One of @A3DR's creations. The stock and tuned cersions were a paymod, but I don't know if it's still available. You could ask the creator himself if you're interested:

Honda Prelude SN - Mr. X Edition

Based off Richard Voaden's project called Mr. X https://engineswapdepot.com/?p=38425 https://www.facebook.com/MRXPrelude/ I wanted to leave this out in the open since we've been working on it with Jason (@aphidgod ) for quite a while now, and I...

www.racedepartment.com

The last is the Toyota Sera, comes in a pack of three, as well by @A3DR:

Toyota Sera - Stock, TRD & GT

3D models created by Alberto Daniel Russo (@A3DR) Physics by Jason Coates (@aphidgod) Special thanks to Joseph, who shared pics of his real car as well as doing a lot of research on technical data and measurements Sound samples from official...

www.racedepartment.com

 

[Moorea]

The Peugeot 106 Rallye on RD is great too.

 

[Tennisbiki]

The Peugeot 106 Rallye on RD is great too.

I like the Peugeot 106 Rallye Quicksilver and S2 as well.
What is realistic is subjective, depending on one's experience and preference, basically one's expectation. I like cars close to what I owned or drove, such as 1st gen Honda Civic, Ford Focus/Fiesta, Toyota MR2 AW11. I have gone as far as putting bigger ARB and different shocks on them, so my preference is closer to a stock spec suspension with ride frequency closer to 1.5 Hz and no higher than 2.0 Hz. I have never driven a 106 but the ride frequency is about 1.4~1.6Hz and the handling is pretty close to what I expect it to. There was no alternate tire choice, unfortunately or fortunately. (Since tuning the handling typically depends on the grip of the tires.)
My general feeling about most mods or car in AC is that though they often looks good, or have good power/torque, the handling mostly feels pretty off. Many has no regard to suspension geometry/configuration, and almost all too stiff. Even ones that has good reviews do not automatically means "good". Typical ingredient to quick laps are good power/torque, grippy tire with stiff suspension. So finding a good feeling car is .. takes some time, or fix it yourself. I am currently working on a 1st gen Honda Civic.

 

[Tennisbiki]

There is a 2003 Ford Focus SVT mod by 101 Creative/VR driving that drives pretty smooth. I took the liberty to tweak it further to soften the ride with these car.ini and suspension.ini on Here. The 2 things changed are lowered wheelrate and slightly higher center of gravity height. I think the steering feel is a little more nuanced. Let me know.
I am working on a Honda CR-X currently. Stay tune when I release the files. Yeah, most mods out there are too stiff, too much power/torque, and we need something a bit more mellow and more believable.

 

[Tennisbiki]

Still Looking!

Still looking for a good FWD car to use as benchmark, to compare to, for tuning or modding for personal use.

I do not think Austin Mini is it. It is a very low car with little suspension travel. Quick steering rack and a bit bouncy. It is a special car with a lot of character but not something other fwd car should emulate.

Anything with ride frequency above 2.0 Hz is also not it, for a street car.

Interestingly, many Honda's, including some with supposedly Arch physics, all drive pretty much the same. Small caster angle with 0.3 cm trail, not much steering feel/force. They all have low front ride frequency and very high rear ride frequency and very high rear ARB. Odd going over crest, like going down Cork Screw. Or odd leaning into a turn, as steering goes light. They seems to like left-foot braking into the turn but not exactly behaving like the trail-braking rotation. Golf GTI and Focus from 101 Creative/VR driving feels better for me.

On a side note, I am at a stage where tuning isn't about using the max negetive camber but finding a good balance between the front and rear grip and decent transition. Once the car becomes more balanced, I was able to achieve better lap time without using a lot of negative camber or extreme front/rear differential. That is a surprise to me though.