Is this mid-engine or rear-engine??

"Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever" (superchan7)
09/09/2020 at 22:59 • Filed to: Lego, Legolopnik, lego technic

Engine sitting exactly over the rear diff and axles.

Gave my old Super Car (No. 8880 from the mid-1990s) to my kid. Aside from finding parts, he didn’t need much help building it.

This thing is literally the Japanese bubble era sports car stereotype that fell for an Italian supercar. AWD, 4WS, fully functional 4-speed gearset and even pop-up headlights.

DISCUSSION (21)

Jim Spanfeller > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever
09/09/2020 at 23:10

I believe in that case it’s counted as rear- engined. The last Tatra cars were the same way and are referred to as rear-engined. Also, set 8880 is, like, one the coolest sets ever. I still sometimes fantasize about finding one at a garage sale somewhere for cheap...

HammerheadFistpunch > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever
09/09/2020 at 23:22

yes. its also [very] open deck.

Urambo Tauro > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever
09/09/2020 at 23:26

Is the engine centerline directly over the a xle c enterline? Cuz that’s where I like to draw the line in defining the two layouts. But if it’s perfectly centered over the axle, then... I guess I’d have to say that it feels m ore accurate to say rear-engined than mid-engined.

sn4cktimes > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever
09/09/2020 at 23:35

I’ve got that one down in my basement. My niece has modified it somewhat... I think it has some shrubbery and possibly a shark mounted to it.

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever
09/09/2020 at 23:37

Rear-Mid-Mounted?

Extra points for longitudinal, though...

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > Jim Spanfeller
09/09/2020 at 23:38

Corvette’s were always called “Front Mid-Mounted” when up front in that configuration

PyroHoltz f@h Oppo 261120 > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever
09/09/2020 at 23:39

Semi-mid-engine

Kinja'd!!!

Jim Spanfeller > SBA Thanks You For All The Fish
09/09/2020 at 23:49

Yeah, not unless the engine is behind the front axle. Otherwise that’s just regular front-engined. But they say newer Porsche 911s and Tatras are rear-engined, and those basically have the engine on top of the rear axle, which is why I’m gonna say this Lego car is rear-engined.

Danimalk - Drives a Slow Car Fast > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever
09/09/2020 at 23:56

Google tells me that set also made an F1 car

Kinja'd!!!

You guys should make this and then install the pop up headlights on it.

facw > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever
09/10/2020 at 00:01

Mid-engine, it’s below the rear hatch and above the chassis.

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > Urambo Tauro
09/10/2020 at 00:02

Correct, the latter!

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > Danimalk - Drives a Slow Car Fast
09/10/2020 at 00:04

Correct. I had it in the F1 version , but that variant has less functionality (no opening bonnet, 2- speed shifter, no 4-wheel drive or steer ).

So I took it apart and let the kid build the original version.

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > HammerheadFistpunch
09/10/2020 at 00:05

“Headless” sounds so much cooler.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > SBA Thanks You For All The Fish
09/10/2020 at 09:39

https://jalopnik.com/how-jalopnik-is-your-car-346367

BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. > Urambo Tauro
09/10/2020 at 13:23

Even if the engine is centered over the differential, if the transmission is pointed forward, the center of mass of the drivetrain is forward of the axle line...

If the engine CG is behind the axle, rear engined. (as in DMC12, Renault Alpine, Porsche 911.

If the engine CG is forward of the axle, mid-engined. (as in Lamborghini V12s, and Ferrari Berlinetta Boxer)

If the engine CG is directly, dead-on above the rear axle line, tie goes to where the gearbox moves the CG for the ass embled drivetrain.

In any of the three, the weight distribution will be rearward, just a matter of degree based on other component locations, so I wouldn’t use that criteria.

At least that is how I would figure it.

Urambo Tauro > BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast.
09/10/2020 at 18:18

Yeah I find myself going back and forth trying to decide whether it’s worth factoring in the rest of the drivetrain or not. It sure i s a substantial amount of weight, contributing to the whole point of why we even care about engine placement in t he first place. But the calculations can get complicated really fast, and I kind of admire the simplicity of just focusing on the engine to define the layout, which is, after all, named directly after the engine and not necessarily the entire powertrain .

But y ou still have to draw the line somewhere , with so many varieties of placement out there. Obviously it’s better to pinpoint the axle/wheel centerline than to hem and haw over the engine b eing behin d the “ wheels”.. . A nd in the same way, I think it i s just as important to locate a precise, absolute center of the engine/powertrain/whatever.

Some cars make it so easy, placing all the heavy stuff with a strong bias either inboard or outboard . But some don’t, and you gotta draw that line somewhere... I admire anyone who’s willing to calculate where that true center lies for those tricky ones . But as for me, I’m rather content with the simple method of just locating the center of the engine block (ignoring items like water pu mps , alternators, distributors, etc.) , even if that’s not where the exact center of mass lies.

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > sn4cktimes
09/10/2020 at 21:01

In other words, it’s gone hipster.

sn4cktimes > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever
09/11/2020 at 01:12

Or at least “green”

sn4cktimes > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever
09/11/2020 at 14:25

Yeah, I built the F1 version as a kid first because it looked less cool. I was right and immediately disassembled it.

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > sn4cktimes
09/11/2020 at 16:14

Nice. A kid who understands delayed gratification.

sn4cktimes > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever
09/11/2020 at 16:16

Yeah, I did that with any LEGO set that had more than one output. Always built the “best” one last.