Putney

I know the Engine is in the front but its really far back. I heard somewhere that the S2000 has near perfect weight distribution?

I was just watching something on discover real time extra about race cars. Some guy said that having the engine in the middle of the car gives the car better handling but when the back goes they are trickier to control as the weight being in the middle makes them spin faster. His analogy was kind of like a figure skater pulling their arms in makes them spin faster, therefore when the back goes it goes very quickly! I think this is probably why so many end up in hedges!

Dembo

Pretty much. 50/50 weight distribution is to do with the way it uses the tyres, and having roughly the same weight on all 4 tyres is the optimum arrangement.

How fast it spins is to do with the distribution of the mass from the centre of rotation (ice skater brings her arms in, spins faster). You can have 50/50 weight distribution by having all the mass in the middle, or half the mass at each end, but the former will turn faster and so handle better but be harder to control. If the S was truly mid engined, you'd end up in a hedge far faster than you do now.

mikey k

the other way it was explained to me by an "expert" elise driver was if the back goes in a mid engine car you have more weight further back so it gathers momentum quicker!
Hence why 911's shouldn't work

NNervous_R

That's why early cars had lead weights in the front bumpers

Nick Graves

Technically known as the polar moment of inertia.

It works in the other plane too, which is why on a bumpy road, rear-engined cars make me nauseous.

Front-mid is better for straight-line stability, rear-mid improves traction & turn-in.

Audis & 911s are just being silly.

TBF, the rear-engined layout was the big thing in the '30s for weight-saving, efficient packaging and good aerodynamics. Handling as such was not a consideration.

MarkB

Best explained to me with the use of a broom.

Hold the broom right at the end furthest from the brush.
Hold it out in front of you and swing it to one side, then try and stop it. It's difficult to stop because of the inertia provided by the weight being a long way from the 'pole' (your hand).
Now turn the broom round and hold the brush end and do the same - less inertia, easier to control.

The 'pole' in a turning car is (roughly) the centre point between all 4 wheels, ie. somewhere in the centre of the car.

The closer the weight is to the 'pole' (the point about which it is turning), the easier it is to control it's effect and hence the sideways movement. However the downside is that with the weight right at the pole, only very small inputs are needed and the possibility for ham-fistedness increases (translating to over correction and the prevalence of tank-slappers in the S2000).