Rear engine cars

[GoldenMerc]

Hi,

Whats the difference with driving a rear engine'd car, e.g is it more traction?
Ross

[tdi]

More weight over the back wheels but overall a better centre of gravity and an even weight distribution.

[N!ck]

More weight over the back wheels but overall a better centre of gravity and an even weight distribution.

Surely you're describing a mid-engine car?

MY interpretation would be great rear end traction but less front end grip and a worse weight distribution.

[GoldenMerc]

Surely from a RWD point of view as afaik only porshe's + mr2's have back slotted engines (unsure of this) it would make it more stable in terms of the back end flicking out?

[tdi]

Surely you're describing a mid-engine car?

MY interpretation would be great rear end traction but less front end grip and a worse weight distribution.

Typically most 'rear engine' cars are mid engined cars, where the engine is in front of the rear axle. I can only assume he isn't referring to an ACTUAL rear engine car as they are much less common, such as the original Beetlees, Fiat 500's and some early air-cooled Porsches to name a few.



Surely from a RWD point of view as afaik only porshe's + mr2's have back slotted engines (unsure of this) it would make it more stable in terms of the back end flicking out?

Slightly. More weight over the rear wheels will lead to more traction but you'll always have that risk. RWD cars are so much nicer to drive than FWD cars but you have to really learn the limits of the car before you become massively overconfident and drive like a bell end everywhere.

Put it this way, if you're considering where the engine sits in terms of if you're going to lose control or not, then buy a FWD car.

[GommeInc]

tdi - Aren't RWD cars also notorious at gripping on slippery services? Someone I know owns a RWD Mazda and when icy it simply can't steer or grip, it just slides around (can't for the life of me find the name though, Top Gear loved it for it's humourly named engine).

[tdi]

@GommeInc RWD's aren't very good in the winter! Having said that I owned my E30 BMW in the winter last year and it wasn't too bad but it had a LSD. Essentially the car is being pushed, with the drive wheels being at the rear rather than 'pulled' in the case of a FWD.

In the dry however, it's a whole different ball game! And the engine you're thinking of is the Wankel engine found in RX7's and RX8's. :)

[GommeInc]

In the dry however, it's a whole different ball game! And the engine you're thinking of is the Wankel engine found in RX7's and RX8's. :)
I didn't want to name the engine in case someone, somewhere, had a meltdown over the name :P I would like to try out a RWD car just to feel the difference, as you said - in the dry they're amazing. Are they still a problem in cars with powerful engines and FWD, where the power essentially pulls the steering? I remember Ford Focus' having problems with handling, essentially giving RWDs the upper hand as the steering isn't being choked.

[Shockwave.2CC]

A rear wheel drive, rear engine car tends to be prone to oversteer which allows for tighter turner radius than that of a neutral or understeer condition of a vehicle, however this causes vehicle instability. For this reason rear engine has been abandoned as a design option regular passenger car, but still maintains viability for race applications.

[tdi]

I didn't want to name the engine in case someone, somewhere, had a meltdown over the name :P I would like to try out a RWD car just to feel the difference, as you said - in the dry they're amazing. Are they still a problem in cars with powerful engines and FWD, where the power essentially pulls the steering? I remember Ford Focus' having problems with handling, essentially giving RWDs the upper hand as the steering isn't being choked.

Haha. :P They have a great driving response in the dry, I loved my BMW and regret selling it! Great blasting around country roads in the nice weather and then when it rained you used to be able to go sideways everywhere! FWD cars direct the steering and power to the front wheels and RWD leaves the front wheels to steer while the rear does the drive and it's just a better set up. FWD cars still can have awesome handling though. Depends on what you're going for.


A rear wheel drive, rear engine car tends to be prone to oversteer which allows for tighter turner radius than that of a neutral or understeer condition of a vehicle, however this causes vehicle instability. For this reason rear engine has been abandoned as a design option regular passenger car, but still maintains viability for race applications.

Great copy and paste.

[GommeInc]

Haha. :P They have a great driving response in the dry, I loved my BMW and regret selling it! Great blasting around country roads in the nice weather and then when it rained you used to be able to go sideways everywhere! FWD cars direct the steering and power to the front wheels and RWD leaves the front wheels to steer while the rear does the drive and it's just a better set up. FWD cars still can have awesome handling though. Depends on what you're going for.
I was sort of asking if FWD cars still have a problem with torque-steering or whatever it's called, where the power is too much and the car drags to the side as a result :P So if you put your foot down from a stationary position and are on a straight road, it pulls to the side. It probably doesn't help that I don't know what it's actually called :P