The picture and description of the Saab Viggen in the newest Autoweek caught my eye, but got me thinking, how do you think this car will perform with 235 hp and 250 ftlbs of torque unloading on the front tires only? Perhaps some chipped fwd only 1.8 owners can comment. The fastest cars I've owned have been rear wheel drive or else awd Audis. I've driven the old Saab 900 Turbo and found that one could severely "rattle" the wheels around corners and "bounce" the front end upon fast starts when the boost came on (a sensation called torque steer, I believe.). Has anyone ever driven a Pontiac GTP? It has 240 blown horses at the front wheels, and I imagine this might be a similar experience. Just looking for opinions on a thus far quiet Friday morning.<p>Thanks,<p>-Todd <p>98.5 1.8tq<br>83 Urq

todd,, the new volvo s80 has upped the horsepower and low end torque similar to the saab, the reports and test drives seem to show that with some advances in suspention,weight distribution, steering ratios that torque steer is minumized... it certainly exists but only in extreme power up conditions. remember these are still "road" cars and are made to drive in regular driving conditions, we can get caught up in thinking our new designs mimick the real race cars we see on the track. the power bands designed into todays world class autos are made for autoban speeds, not sebring corners. enjoy your ride...!<p><br>

todd,, the new volvo s80 has upped the horsepower and low end torque similar to the saab, the reports and test drives seem to show that with some advances in suspention,weight distribution, steering ratios that torque steer is minumized... it certainly exists but only in extreme power up conditions. remember these are still "road" cars and are made to drive in regular driving conditions, we can get caught up in thinking our new designs mimick the real race cars we see on the track. the power bands designed into todays world class autos are made for autoban speeds, not sebring corners. enjoy your ride...!<p><br>

MichaelB has the PES supercharger on his FWD A4. That puts out 280hp and 260 lb/ft. The Audi "front-trak" suspension setup does a great job of keeping torque steer in check. I'm sure the 225 Toyo Proxies help keep in glued too.<p>Dave<br><ul><li><a href="http://www.mck.com/a4/a4northe.nsf/372ea83d2e4df598852565f1005fab52/eb52d70b7ed4dd278525661e00683c6b?OpenDocument">FWD A4 with PES</a></li></ul>

This criticism seems to come up in most reviews of Cadillacs with the infamous Northstar system. A V-8 sitting over and driving the front wheels ... sounds like trouble to me. There is obviously an upper HP limit for this sort of thing.