The General Car Thread.

[Costa Fierro]

Do you guys think it would be possible to middle or rear mount a front mounting engine designed for FWD, in order to create a MR or RR layout?

Like say a Honda K20A?

Why :vtech:?

[May Mays]

Do you guys think it would be possible to middle or rear mount a front mounting engine designed for FWD, in order to create a MR or RR layout?

Like say a Honda K20A?

Why :vtech:?

Well it wasn't intended to be the only possible candidate.

But the idea behind the car in my head is moderately priced, with more money being focused on a lightweight, small chassis and body, and using a cheap (but reliable/high quality) lightweight (2.0L or less) engine that could be rear or mid mounted and then turbocharged for good P/W.

EDIT: That last sentence is very crudely written; I realize that the location of the engine has very little to do with its actual power, except if the drive shaft is really crappy.

Early 2000s/90s Honda and Toyota engines spring to mind, and they are all VVT.

[Ethel mermania]

Sure, you would just have to design the car around the engine. Probably rear mount as the engine and drivetrain is already set up to drive wheels to its side.

Alright that's pretty much what I thought.

I was just musing on how I would go about making a mid or rear engine car, basically like a Porsche GT3 or Lotus Exige, without the ridiculous brand-name price tag.

Sadly I lack both the money for such a project and the skills to weld an aluminum tube chassis.

kit cars are you answer, they are not cheap, but for 25 grand you can bolt together something, as a toy, really cool.

[Auzkhia]

Do you guys think it would be possible to middle or rear mount a front mounting engine designed for FWD, in order to create a MR or RR layout?

Like say a Honda K20A?

Lotus uses engines from Toyota. The Elise has a reworked 2ZZ Corolla engine, for example. Yes it is possible, and has been done too.

[Patridam]

Do you guys think it would be possible to middle or rear mount a front mounting engine designed for FWD, in order to create a MR or RR layout?

Like say a Honda K20A?

Its totally possible yeah, the only change would be to perhaps move mounting points. Most of the difference is with the transmission (or transaxle) when it comes to mounting, rather than the engine itself.

[Ethel mermania]

Do you guys think it would be possible to middle or rear mount a front mounting engine designed for FWD, in order to create a MR or RR layout?

Like say a Honda K20A?

Lotus uses engines from Toyota. The Elise has a reworked 2ZZ Corolla engine, for example. Yes it is possible, and has been done too.

one of the lotus car's used the 3.5 liter V6 out of the Toyota Sienna minivan

[Auzkhia]

Lotus uses engines from Toyota. The Elise has a reworked 2ZZ Corolla engine, for example. Yes it is possible, and has been done too.

one of the lotus car's used the 3.5 liter V6 out of the Toyota Sienna minivan

Ah, yes the Lotus Evora.

[Arkinesia]

Alright that's pretty much what I thought.

I was just musing on how I would go about making a mid or rear engine car, basically like a Porsche GT3 or Lotus Exige, without the ridiculous brand-name price tag.

Sadly I lack both the money for such a project and the skills to weld an aluminum tube chassis.

kit cars are you answer, they are not cheap, but for 25 grand you can bolt together something, as a toy, really cool.

This, kit cars are a magical world.

[May Mays]

Do you guys think it would be possible to middle or rear mount a front mounting engine designed for FWD, in order to create a MR or RR layout?

Like say a Honda K20A?

Lotus uses engines from Toyota. The Elise has a reworked 2ZZ Corolla engine, for example. Yes it is possible, and has been done too.

Yeah I was actually looking at the 2ZZ also, and found out the Elise uses one. The Exige is the one with the minivan engine.

The main issue with the 2ZZ (but I suppose all of the Hondas have it as well) is the high compression ratio. You'd need to replace the pistons, and give it shorter rods to be able to give it good boost for any sort of horsepower.

This is just a wet dream of mine I guess

And a kit car most certainly would not do. No. When I make things I like to start from scratch and do it all myself. I could learn how to weld I suppose. After that it's a small matter of winning the lottery

[Patridam]

Sure, you would just have to design the car around the engine. Probably rear mount as the engine and drivetrain is already set up to drive wheels to its side.

Alright that's pretty much what I thought.

I was just musing on how I would go about making a mid or rear engine car, basically like a Porsche GT3 or Lotus Exige, without the ridiculous brand-name price tag.

Sadly I lack both the money for such a project and the skills to weld an aluminum tube chassis.

Get a used V6 Pontiac Fiero.

[Petrolheadia]

A car that is fast and handles well is a good car. A good car is not necessarily an interesting car.
Here is a sort of a list, according to my opinion:
- Good and interesting - Tesla Model S,
- Good, but not interesting - McLaren F1,
- Bad, but interesting - late MG MGB,
- Bad and uninteresting - Plymouth Acclaim.

Them's fightin words, sir. In what way are the late MG's a bad car? No, they were not as fast as the Ferraris or Lotuses (Lotui?) of their era, but they could give a good performance in their class and price range, and they handled very well. I am driving a late MG to this day (1978 Midget) and it still is peppy and tight around the curves. The only place I give credence to your comment is that they did have the atrocious Lucas electrics, but that was a very livable flaw.

Still, if it was 1978 and I was buying an MGB-style car, I would consider other models.

I would think about the Toyota Celica and Datsun 200SX's Japanese reliability.

Consider the FWD VW Scirocco and Honda Prelude.

Think about a base Camaro and the extra space.

Check going upmarket for a Porsche 924.

If I really wanted wind in my hair, I would get a Fiat 124 Spider, maybe the Turbo one.

But I would not buy the MG.

And calling the MG electrics "a livable flaw" is like calling being gangbanged "a minor inconvenience".

[Petrolheadia]

Lotus uses engines from Toyota. The Elise has a reworked 2ZZ Corolla engine, for example. Yes it is possible, and has been done too.

one of the lotus car's used the 3.5 liter V6 out of the Toyota Sienna minivan

By that logic, the Dacia Logan diesel has a Mercedes engine.

[Auzkhia]

one of the lotus car's used the 3.5 liter V6 out of the Toyota Sienna minivan

By that logic, the Dacia Logan diesel has a Mercedes engine.

No, the Lotus Evora really does have a Toyota sourced 3.5 Liter V6, which was in many Toyota models, including the Sienna people carrier.

[May Mays]

one of the lotus car's used the 3.5 liter V6 out of the Toyota Sienna minivan

By that logic, the Dacia Logan diesel has a Mercedes engine.

The current Lotus Exige has the same engine the old RX300 (1MZ-FE)

The mid 2000s Exige and Elise had a 2ZZ (Celica GT engine)

[Petrolheadia]

By that logic, the Dacia Logan diesel has a Mercedes engine.

No, the Lotus Evora really does have a Toyota sourced 3.5 Liter V6, which was in many Toyota models, including the Sienna people carrier.

OK, we can also say that Mercedes uses a Renault Twingo city car engine. That is more in line with what you said.

[May Mays]

No, the Lotus Evora really does have a Toyota sourced 3.5 Liter V6, which was in many Toyota models, including the Sienna people carrier.

OK, we can also say that Mercedes uses a Renault Twingo city car engine. That is more in line with what you said.

I'm not sure what your point is?

The current Lotus Exige uses the Toyota 1MZ-FE which was found in the Sienna, Camry, RX300 etc

The slightly older one and the Elise used the 2ZZ-GE engine.

Toyota and Honda are bulletproof and lightweight, why wouldn't you use them in a car you want to weight 1-ton or less?

[Petrolheadia]

OK, we can also say that Mercedes uses a Renault Twingo city car engine. That is more in line with what you said.

I'm not sure what your point is?

The current Lotus Exige uses the Toyota 1MZ-FE which was found in the Sienna, Camry, RX300 etc

The slightly older one and the Elise used the 2ZZ-GE engine.

Toyota and Honda are bulletproof and lightweight, why wouldn't you use them in a car you want to weight 1-ton or less?

My point is, it is not really good to shun about an engine of a car by handpicking the farthest application from the one we are talking about now.

And Toyota/Honda bulletproof reliability in a light body? That is my kind of sports car.

[May Mays]

I'm not sure what your point is?

The current Lotus Exige uses the Toyota 1MZ-FE which was found in the Sienna, Camry, RX300 etc

The slightly older one and the Elise used the 2ZZ-GE engine.

Toyota and Honda are bulletproof and lightweight, why wouldn't you use them in a car you want to weight 1-ton or less?

My point is, it is not really good to shun about an engine of a car by handpicking the farthest application from the one we are talking about now.

And Toyota/Honda bulletproof reliability in a light body? That is my kind of sports car.

Ah no I think the point was just what sort of engines work.

It would be a dream to own an Elise or comparable car. You can get one for less than 25 Gs right now though. Strap on a Katana stage 2 supercharger from s111 and for less than 30 you can keep up with any fancy 458 you see on the road.

Soon

[Ethel mermania]

one of the lotus car's used the 3.5 liter V6 out of the Toyota Sienna minivan

By that logic, the Dacia Logan diesel has a Mercedes engine.

If it is manufactured by mercedes, and is installed in a mercedes-benz, very possibility.

[The New Falkland Islands]

Quick poll:
What do you guys think of the new Renault Megane?

[Auzkhia]

Quick poll:
What do you guys think of the new Renault Megane?

It looks good, but it seems exotic since I'll never see one around my home.

[May Mays]

Quick poll:
What do you guys think of the new Renault Megane?

Meh. It's still only competing with the Golf GTI, and I think the extra torque on the GTI is going to give it an advantage over the Renault.

The new one also looks ugly. They dropped horsepower, and some weight I suppose.

And neither of them can still compete with the base WRX, not even bringing up the improvements from the STI and a turbo.

[Petrolheadia]

Quick poll:
What do you guys think of the new Renault Megane?

Meh. It's still only competing with the Golf GTI, and I think the extra torque on the GTI is going to give it an advantage over the Renault.

The new one also looks ugly. They dropped horsepower, and some weight I suppose.

And neither of them can still compete with the base WRX, not even bringing up the improvements from the STI and a turbo.

3 sentences, 3 mistakes:
1. The Megane is competing against other French hatches and the Nissan Pulsar, not the Golf GTI.
2. The HP went up.
3. I dunno why it would compete with the WRX, considering the WRX is essentially a sports car and the Megane is a normal hatch.

And I like the new Megane. Generally, its designer is my favourite car designer of all time, and he has not failed me this time.

[May Mays]

Meh. It's still only competing with the Golf GTI, and I think the extra torque on the GTI is going to give it an advantage over the Renault.

The new one also looks ugly. They dropped horsepower, and some weight I suppose.

And neither of them can still compete with the base WRX, not even bringing up the improvements from the STI and a turbo.

3 sentences, 3 mistakes:
1. The Megane is competing against other French hatches and the Nissan Pulsar, not the Golf GTI.
2. The HP went up.
3. I dunno why it would compete with the WRX, considering the WRX is essentially a sports car and the Megane is a normal hatch.

And I like the new Megane. Generally, its designer is my favourite car designer of all time, and he has not failed me this time.

The WRX used to be a hatch. And it is a terrible sports car.

The Megane RS and GTI are both performance cars, having a hatchback changes nothing. I'm not talking about the bland regular models.
And both absolutely are competing in the European market. France is not the only place where Renaults sell. Spain, Italy, the UK etc all exist.

But the HP did go up by 20. I was looking at the NA engine

It can definitely outrun the GTI on a less twisty track.

[Petrolheadia]

3 sentences, 3 mistakes:
1. The Megane is competing against other French hatches and the Nissan Pulsar, not the Golf GTI.
2. The HP went up.
3. I dunno why it would compete with the WRX, considering the WRX is essentially a sports car and the Megane is a normal hatch.

And I like the new Megane. Generally, its designer is my favourite car designer of all time, and he has not failed me this time.

The WRX used to be a hatch. And it is a terrible sports car.

The Megane RS and GTI are both performance cars, having a hatchback changes nothing. I'm not talking about the bland regular models.
And both absolutely are competing in the European market. France is not the only place where Renaults sell. Spain, Italy, the UK etc all exist.

But the HP did go up by 20. I was looking at the NA engine

It can definitely outrun the GTI on a less twisty track.

Well, the GTI and Megane are similar, but not similar enough.
The GTI has sporting pretentions.
The Megane GT (because that is the current range-topper) is more of a well-equipped version of the car, not a sporty one.
The new Megane RS is not out yet and will compere against the Golf R.

Megane vs Golf is like Impala vs Charger. Sure, they both are in the same segment, but they aren't that similar.