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The mkiv Supra Owners Club

Making it back to front...


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Just been sitting here thinking, could you put a Supra engine in the rear ? Is it mechanically possible ? Would it cost a fortune ? Would it drive ok, weight dristribution wise ?

 

Just thought how cool would it look to have a "Bling" engine, and to have it showing through the rear hatch like a Ferrari or something.........

 

:baa:

 

:stupid:

 

:music:

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I reckon the 2JZ is a bit long for a mid engined installation, but if you could do it I reckon the weight distribution wouldn't be too bad. maybe 60/40 rear/front.

 

And even if the car ended up being a bit more tail happy, it would probably be more controllable on the limit because the polar moment of inertia would be much lower than with a front engined rear drive layout.

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Ashley, I have to admit it's a cool idea, but couldn't you get pretty-much the same bling effect much cheaper by leaving the engine where it is and just fitting a semi-transparent bonnet on the front?

 

Far, a mid-engined car is generally the best layout for handling because you can usually get an excellent weight distribution without having to put too much ballast into the design. However, because the Supra was designed to be front-engined, the body was deliberately made heavier at the back to counteract it, so if you moved the engine rearwards you would just make it that much heavier at the back. I hope I'm not teaching egg-sucking to my granny here!

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The mid engine mr2, they do grip like a ......... but then the back can go very quickly once at the limit. No good for sideways fun, but still great fun and very chuckable.

 

 

I reckon the clear bonnet is a winner ! The 2JZ-GTE is a very nice looking engine, especially when tarted up a bit :D

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As I said above, the advantages of handling for mid engined car come from the fac that it is easier to get an even weight distribution but also beause the polar moment of inertia will be much lower.

 

A front engined rear drive car is like a dumbell with al the mass concentrated towards each end (engine, gearbox at the front and diff and fuel tank at the rear). Once you start this kind of mass distribution spinning it is very difficult to get it to stop, which is partly why some front / rear drive cars are so hard to catch once they start to slide.

 

If you can concentrate the mass at the center of the car, the inertia is much less, so even if the car does break away (which probably has more to do with suspension geometry than weight distribution) it should be easier to catch.

 

Mass distribution, inertia, grip. They are all linked at some level anyway, but many desgners favour the mid engined layout for handling.

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But surely there's an element of actually designing the car with a particular layout in mind? So for example, the Supra was designed as a front engined car, so whacking the engine into the middle wouldn't transform the handling... would it?

 

:conf:

 

I've read somewhere very recently that the weight distribution on the Supra is 49/51, but can't for the life of me remember where now. This would seem to indicate that bunging the engine in the back would make the handling worse (as the weight dist would then be all wrong)

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Originally posted by CJ

Ash, do you know your problem? You think too much! :p

 

Originally posted by Roy

Ash, do you know your problem? You drink too much ! :p

 

Originally posted by Matt Harwood

Ash, do you know your problem? You smoke too much ! :p

 

PMSL at you guys, you know me to well...... :D

 

 

@ rest of you, some good replies. Its not just about showing of your engine bling, just an engine sat there would look better.

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