something i was thinking about in the shower this morning:

why don't twin engined cars go round corners as well as single engine cars with 4wd?

and no, i'm not on about these cars that have 2 engines in the front but those who have engines fore and aft of the driver?

is it a simple question of having more weight or is there something else in it?

discuss

 

think about it a twin engined car has a 50/50 split where as mst other 4x4 cars tend to be 40/60 or similar

 

plus the extra weight and all the other factors, you can hardly compare the 2 as like for like can you

 

so because a cars 50/50 split it wont go round corners

escort in my seig seems to well enough .. ooh and not to forget wrc cars, they also seem to go round corners .. ???????

 

its down to inertia and centra fugal force if the wait is central it is more stable

 

it's usually because the suspension is not optimised as the 2nd engine has been cobbled in using front suspension on the rear or whatever

 

What's wrong with that?

Surely the ultimate is to have the front and rear the same with even weight distribution..

 

its just better to have the weight between the wheels not over them or either end

 

that seems to make the most sense jacko

 

the aim with any car is the keep the weight in the middle, you can have 50:50 distribution with the weight right out in the ends,but it will resist any turning motionfrom the wheels. Most cars that handle really well have the engine behind the front axle for this very reason.

the ideal is engine and driver right in the middle!!

 

couldnt you haev the first engine mounted in the front same as a conventional car and the second mounted infront of the rear axle to move the weight towards the centre a little rather than on each end or over each axle ?

 

you'd still have more weight to deal with
unless you were talking about boxer engines with very short prop;s or the wrong way round as in they were fitted to porches and stuff

 

brick or upvc porches?

 

don't know mate, they make them from all sorts nowadays, but i think aluminium is the current material of choice