"Vandelay Industries" (jerrycostanza)
10/11/2013 at 00:58 • Filed to: None
1
12|
"Vandelay Industries" (jerrycostanza)
10/11/2013 at 00:58 • Filed to: None | 1
| 12 |
my first post...and really a question.
If the smart car was developed by ze Germans & the the little Ay-talian bought Chrysler.
Wasn't the smart car developed under Daimler Chrysler?
Couldn't Fiat get some of the intellectual property on the smart rear dif put in the Fiat?
Wouldn't 500 Abarth RWD (0r even AWD) be the best bang for your buck car?
MtrRider Just Wants Doritos
> Vandelay Industries
10/11/2013 at 01:00 |
|
The 500 is based on the Panda, and no.
Dsscats
> Vandelay Industries
10/11/2013 at 01:03 |
|
Because smartabusa. And welcome!
nobody
> Vandelay Industries
10/11/2013 at 01:04 |
|
I think smart was kept by Daimler when Daimler-Chrysler split, so when Fiat bought Chrysler, they didn't get smart.
Plus, the smart's got its engine back here. An RF car makes less than zero sense.
|
Vandelay Industries
> MtrRider Just Wants Doritos
10/11/2013 at 01:05 |
|
i know its based on the panda...the point is why not put the rear dif in?
Apologies I meant ideal car if you live in a city. its more practical than BRZ and more fun then just about everything else in the price range.
|
Vandelay Industries
> nobody
10/11/2013 at 01:07 |
|
So i think you're saying Fiat should of put the engine in the rear...
;)
FireAway3
> Vandelay Industries
10/11/2013 at 01:11 |
|
They should put the engine in the back of the car. That's exactly what I'm saying.
|
Vandelay Industries
> FireAway3
10/11/2013 at 01:19 |
|
YA!
GhostZ
> Vandelay Industries
10/11/2013 at 01:25 |
|
The Abarth's chassis doesn't (or at least, shouldn't) allow space for an additional driveshaft to the rear and a differential. You'd have to lift the entire interior up (impossible) or keep it FWD. That, and its rear suspension probably doesn't have enough room to accommodate drive axles.
That, and since the Abarth's transmission is designed for a transverse I4 FWD, to convert it so the output shaft goes down to the rear wheels.
Or, in other words, making a Fiat 500 RWD (or a Smart FWD) would add 400lbs, raise the entire car up by 6-8 inches, remove some back seat area, and add at least $10,000 in cost to sell alongside the FWD one. It's just not possible for the market to take.
That's the reason why so few FWD cars have RWD versions, in fact, I can't even think of any that shared the same Chassis (80s Corolla excepted, since the RWD Chassis was kept on longer when the FWD chassis came in, so it was technically a different car).
Plus, I doubt any of the Smart's drivetrain could handle the output of the Abarth without shattering.
Converting to RWD is not a matter of a new diff, it's clutch, flywheel, driveshaft, transmission, transmission tunnel, rear differential, axles, u-joints, and rear suspension that all have to be modified as well... and that's assuming that there's room and space to do it.
pdthedeuce
> Vandelay Industries
10/11/2013 at 02:20 |
|
welcome.
Pabuuu, JDM car enthusiast & Italian parts hoarder
> Vandelay Industries
10/11/2013 at 06:14 |
|
So the Smart can do this:
minardi
> Vandelay Industries
10/11/2013 at 07:28 |
|
What are you talking about?
Sean Bartlett
> minardi
10/11/2013 at 11:42 |
|
I watch videos of this little guy all the time. Maybe I'll be able to do this to mine one day when/if I have a bunch of money to burn through.
I'm amazed at how stable it looks. I always felt like the wheelbase was so short that the ass would constantly trying to overtake the front. There are times now where the rear gets twitchy.