German Car Zone

warot · 03-06-2008, 06:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guibo

Indeed I have, at a car show. I have seen the standard WRX on the road, and I actually quite like it. Much better in person than in pictures. More my style, though, is the Legacy:

Definitely. I think the Legacy has been one of my favorite Japanese cars for years. The station wagon version is even cooler.

martinbo · 03-07-2008, 03:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sunny

How come these AWD cars don't have their engine hanging ahead of the front axle or suffer from chronic understeering the way a Audi does?

The answer is this Sunny...

Actually, any longitudinally oriented engine / transmission application will result in the engine sitting ahead of the near axle. Even in a Subaru, the full engine sits ahead of the front wheels, hence Subaru's persistence with the Boxer engine layout which is notably shorter over its longitudinal axis. It also has the benefit of a lower centre of gravity which goes some way to alleviating press-on understeer - especially when powering out of a corner - by virtue of less body roll resulting from the lower CofG. Same story for Porsche AWD - just put the engine in the back as you know...

Mitsu's EVO uses a FWD-based all-wheel drive system where the engine, gearbox and front differential are all transversly mounted over (and ever so slightly in front) the front axle. If you switched off all the electronic wizadry in the EVO then it too would inherently understeer just like the STI. Subarus are designed to inherently understeer. It sounds strange but for those familiar with the "power yourself out of trouble" technique this is all part of the alluring STI driving experience.

I hope to be driving the new car [you know where warot] tomorrow!

As for my trusty steed the Legacy, well, it's me and her around the Dynamic Handling track tomorrow too!

martinbo · 03-07-2008, 03:27 AM

Here's a nice picture that illustrates how little the boxer engine protrudes ahead of the front axle in the new Forester. Same would be for new STI.

Merc1 · 03-07-2008, 03:28 AM

Wow, very compact.

M

martinbo · 03-07-2008, 03:33 AM

And here's the Mitsu's layout:

Notice how much engine and transmission bulk is concentrated over the front axle.

Just_me · 03-07-2008, 03:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by martinbo

And here's the Mitsu's layout:

Notice how much engine and transmission bulk is concentrated over the front axle.

A Corvette

martinbo · 03-07-2008, 03:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Just_me

A Corvette

Daft BMW driver.

Just_me · 03-07-2008, 03:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by martinbo

Daft BMW driver.

Seriosly though, "hotlinking not allowed - please use an embed code" thats why I see a picture of a Corvette

martinbo · 03-07-2008, 03:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Just_me

Seriosly though, "hotlinking not allowed - please use an embed code" thats why I see a picture of a Corvette

OH! My bad!

I see a Mitsu tranny! Go figure... I'll try and fix.

~~~~

Is it better now?

CorpusCallosum · 03-07-2008, 04:26 AM

Yep all good. Thanks Martin. The pictures really illustrate how the Subbies engine layout is much more compact compared to the EVO.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Car and Driver - Comparison Test: Subaru WRX STI vs. Mitsubishi Evo GSR vs. VW R32	Merc1	Internal Combustion	14	02-14-2008 02:45 PM
Edmunds Inside Line - Comparison Test: Mitsu Evo GSR vs. Evo MR vs. Subaru WRX STI	Merc1	Japanese Cars	0	01-15-2008 02:53 AM
Edmunds Inside Line - Title Fight: Evo X vs. WRX STI	Merc1	Internal Combustion	0	12-11-2007 01:21 AM
Edmunds Inside Line - Full Test: 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STI	Merc1	Subaru	0	12-02-2007 09:00 PM
Audi S5 vs Infiniti G37 vs BMW E92 335i	chonkoa	Internal Combustion	22	08-27-2007 07:12 PM

German Car Zone

Automobile Mag (April 2008): Evo vs Sti vs 335xi