I'm thinking about this distribution for a very short and light mid engine.

The engine could rotate 90º and use a diff.




What do you think about this ?

Modesto

wouldn't it be a touch on the wide side?

What have you worked out will it measure?

Steve

I suspect it would be rather unstable if built that short and wide. It would turn corners very quickly if you could control it though.

I'm thinking in aprox:

Width 1,70m (depends on the Seat-engine-seat requirements) and Length 2,5m.

Modesto.

just to give you a comparison, my car (I am guessing as I can't bo bothered to measure it right now!) is 1500mm wide and 3000mm in length...

it actually kind of exists:

smartuki

But they put the engine on the passengers seat.

I seriously doubt that you will find any transverse engine & transaxle that will fit between two seats and still be within realistic limits. Have a look in my archive for engine bay pics - my car is 1700mm wide and the engine (albeit a V6) takes up a fair proportion of that and the driveshafts are fairly short.
Try a scale drawing with a known engine and real sized passengers (with elbows ) and I suspect you will have to think again, maybe with a narrow V engine and 'north south' transaxle but then the exhaust system would be a problem (and rather warm for the driver too )

How about a Ducati twin and a chain drive diff? About as narrow as you can get


[Edited on 6-6-07 by RazMan]

surely this would be a layout where you could use a narrower engine like a Vtwin say from suzuki or aprilla?

Yamaha V-Max V4, coupled directly to a Freelander diff.

Could you put a narrow bike engine where the gearbox of a normal seven is (ie beside your legs) with a propshaft going to a normal seven rear end?

a few points- driving a car is going to be extremely uncomfortable with the engine that close to you. you will have a great big bulge right next to you so you wont be able to move your arm so gear change will be an issue. being sat right out at the sides like that with the front wheels where they are means your feet will restrict the steering of the wheels unless you are sat at an angle. there are other things im sure.
why bother though? there are plenty of tranverse front engine/front wheel drive engines that will fit behind those seats.

Check out the Fisher Menace - mid mounted 'blade engine that sits on the passenger side quite far forward (the passenger seat is shifted further forward by a foot or so). Achieves a similar result while keeping the width of the car reasonable.

Follow the link and go to the photo archive for the Menace

Linky

[Edited on 6/6/07 by StevieB]

That kind of wheelbase ratio would be not nice to drive IMO... anyone else here driven a smart car, ok on the twisties (but not quick) and horrific at 70mph on the motorway.

you'd also have heat as well a packaging issues to deal with.

The first idea was with a V bike engine and not so wide.

What could be a good ratio Length/Wide for a "Short car" ?

Modesto

quote:

---

Originally posted by slopecombat
The first idea was with a V bike engine and not so wide.

What could be a good ratio Length/Wide for a "Short car" ?

Modesto

---

I'm tinking in somethig greater than ...



... and close to a street versión of this kind of car (DP1):




... so I have to put the engine between the seats.

Modesto

examples for wheelbase to track ratio's.

lotus exige 1.53
Ferrari Enzo 1.58
Mclaren F1 1.85
Bugatti Veyron 1.92
Pegani Zonda 1.60
Carrera GT 1.83

My GTT 1.58

If you want to see how a haya engined smart sounds and drives like, have a look:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I96S9vygn1o

A smart is almost as wide as it is long.

[Edited on 9/6/07 by geoffreyh]

I think I that I have reached the limit:

Well at least it will have a good power to weight ratio - steering might be wanting though

My mini, when finished should have a ratio of roughly 1.61, being a bit wider than a standard mini, which is 1.68. That's with a 2.5 V6 (the same as Razman) in the boot, and the track being 2.25" wider than the original, as I think I'm going to need a bit extra.
A car wide enough to put an engine between will be relaitvely wide, so "should' be a bit longer too. As said though, if you can keep it under control it should corner well, but may be a bit questionable to higher straight line speeds, just as a kart is. 1.5-1.7 should be a good area to aim for.