YACT: Difference between longitudinal and transverse mounted engines?

[fyleow]

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[Zenmervolt]

Weight distribution is the factor in how the car drives. The way the engine is mounted can affect weight distribution (longitudinal mounting typically places the transmission farther rearward, lessening front weight bias) but it doesn't have to.

ZV

 

[NogginBoink]

The main difference in how it drives is WHY the engine is mounted differently.

Front wheel drive cars have transverse (driveshaft runs side-to-side) engines.

Rear wheel drive cars have longitudinal (driveshaft runs front-to-rear) engines.

 

[fyleow]

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[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: fyleow

Originally posted by: NogginBoink
The main difference in how it drives is WHY the engine is mounted differently.

Front wheel drive cars have transverse engines.

Rear wheel drive cars have longitudinal engines.

The car is front wheel drive though. I'm pretty sure it's longitudinal mounted unless I'm smoking something really good.

You can mount a FWD drivetrain longitudinally. Just takes up more room.

The very first FWD car (Citroen Traction Avant, 1930's) had a longitudinally mounted engine, as did some Audis. Porsche's rear-engine cars had longitudinally mounted engines. So did Porsche's mid-engine cars. You can mount the engine either way regardless of the drivetrain as long as space is not a constraint.

ZV

 

[NogginBoink]

I'm no car expert, so I may well be wrong.

But it'd be awfully hard to take a driveshaft coming out the rear of the engine, put a transmission on it, then deliver that power to the front wheels. There's only so much space up there under the hood.

Yep... looks like I'm wrong: http://www.vw.com/passat/tech.htm.

My comment above was true for all cars that I knew about until this thread.

It'll be interesting to hear what more knowledgable folk have to say on this.

 

[boyRacer]

The NSX is transverse... just like their first F1 car in the 60s... Ferraris are longitudinal... mainly because they use the engine as a stress member... like their current F1 cars. The Lancer and 3000GT are transverse despite being 4WD... but i think your passat is cool for having it mounted that way.

 

[Vic]

Actually, unless the car is front-engine/rear-wheel-drive, the reason is usually due to space concerns.

For example, Subarus always have longitudinal engines with their boxer-4's, even when they still had FWD models. OTOH, a Mitsu EVO is tranverse with it's I-4 even though it is AWD. Those are just examples.

Front-engine/rear-wheel-drive vehicles will never have transverse engine because it simply wouldn't make sense. The power from the engine would have to turn a right angle to travel down the driveline, only to do the same again at the rear wheels.

As ZV mentioned, weight is another concern. A longitudinal FWD can balance the weight of the engine in front of the front wheels with the weight of the transmission behind the front wheels. A transverse engine can't do that.
There is also a belief that longitudinal provides a smooth transmission of power because there are fewer right angles in the drivetrain.

But usually, space is the real reason. For example, a transverse engine allows for a short low hood with no transmission poking into the passenger compartment.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: Vic
Actually, unless the car is front-engine/rear-wheel-drive, the reason is usually due to space concerns.

For example, Subarus always have longitudinal engines with their boxer-4's, even when they still had FWD models. OTOH, a Mitsu EVO is tranverse with it's I-4 even though it is AWD. Those are just examples.

Front-engine/rear-wheel-drive vehicles will never have transverse engine because it simply wouldn't make sense. The power from the engine would have to turn a right angle to travel down the driveline, only to do the same again at the rear wheels.

As ZV mentioned, weight is another concern. A longitudinal FWD can balance the weight of the engine in front of the front wheels with the weight of the transmission behind the front wheels. A transverse engine can't do that.
There is also a belief that longitudinal provides a smooth transmission of power because there are fewer right angles in the drivetrain.

But usually, space is the real reason. For example, a transverse engine allows for a short low hood with no transmission poking into the passenger compartment.

Yup. My personal favourite layout is front engine, rear transaxle. Nicely balanced. A little less instant in response than a mid/mid layout but less prone to snap oversteer and a trifle more predictable.

ZV

 

[Ornery]

• Check this one out...

 

[fyleow]

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