Automobile layouts Automobile layouts A drive wheel is a wheel in an automotive vehicle that receives power from the powertrain, and provides the final driving force for a vehicle. A two wheel drive vehicle has two driven wheels, and a four wheel drive has four. ...more on Wikipedia about "Drive wheel"
In automobile design, an FF, or Front-engine, Front wheel drive, layout places both the engine and driven wheels at the front of the vehicle. This layout is typically chosen for its compact packaging - that is, it takes up very little space, allowing the rest of the vehicle to be designed more flexibly. In contrast with the FR layout, the FF layout eliminates the central tunnel needed to accommodate a driveshaft taking power to the rear wheels. Like the RR and MR layouts, it places the heavy engine over the drive wheels which aids traction. As the steered wheels are also the driven wheels, FF cars are generally considered superior to FR cars in conditions such as snow. However, powerful cars rarely use the FF layout because weight transference under acceleration unloads the front wheels and reduces grip. As a rule of thumb, 150 hp is the limit for a FF car of average weight; electronic traction control can avoid wheelspin but largely negates the benefit of extra power. ...more on Wikipedia about "FF layout"
The FM layout, standing for front-midships, is a layout of an automobile that has appeared recently. An FM car places the engine in the front like an FR car, but pushed back enough that the engine's center of gravity is to the rear of the front axle. This aids in weight distribution and handling. Technically FM is a smaller sub-catgeory of FR, since the engine is still in the front third of the car, and FM cars still have rear wheel drivetrains. FM cars are often recognizeable by an extensively long hood and front wheels unusually close to the bumper of the car. Typical FM cars are high performance models such as the Aston Martin Vanquish and V8 Vantage 2005, Chevrolet Corvette, Dodge Viper, Honda S2000, Ferrari 612 Scaglietti, Maserati Quattroporte, Mazda RX-7 and RX-8, Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, BMW Z4, Nissan 350Z, Porsche 928, 944, and 968. ...more on Wikipedia about "FM layout"
Four wheel drive, 4WD, 4x4 ("four by four"), all wheel drive, and AWD are terms used to describe a four-wheeled vehicle with a drivetrain that allows all four wheels to receive power from the engine simultaneously. While many people think exclusively of off-road vehicles, powering all four wheels provides better control on slick ice and is an important part of rally racing on mostly-paved roads. ...more on Wikipedia about "Four wheel drive"
In Automobile design, an FR, or Front-engine, Rear wheel drive means a layout where the engine is in the front of the vehicle and drive wheels at the rear. This was the traditional automobile layout for most of the 20th century. ...more on Wikipedia about "FR layout"
Front wheel drive is the most common form of engine/ transmission layout used in modern passenger cars, where the engine drives the front wheels. Most front wheel drive vehicles today feature transverse engine mounting, though many in prior decades were positioned longitudinally instead. Rear wheel drive was the traditional standard while four wheel drive is also sometimes used. See also FF layout. ...more on Wikipedia about "Front wheel drive"
A mid-mounted engine describes the placement of an automobile engine between the centerline of the rear and front axles. Traditionally, the term mid-engine layout has been reserved for cars that place the engine and transaxle behind the driver and in front of the rear axles, as in the Lamborghini Countach or Ferrari Testarossa. However, an engine placed in front of the driver's compartment but fullly behind the front axle line also qualifies as mid-engine, although this layout is rarely seen. An example of this "front mid-engine" layout is the Panoz GTR. Mid-engine designs are usually used in sports or racng cars, as the engine placement provides a low polar moment of inertia. This aids in quickly changing the direction of the automobile's travel, albeit at the price of straight line stability. ...more on Wikipedia about "Mid-engine design" Things Go Better with shortopedia.
In Automobile design, an MR or Mid-engine, Rear wheel drive layout is one in which the rear wheels are driven by an engine placed just in front of them, behind the passenger compartment. In contrast to the rear-engined RR layout the center of gravity of the engine is in front of the rear axle. This layout is typically chosen for its near-ideal weight distribution (the heaviest component is near the center of the car, making rotational intertia relatively low). The mid-engined layout does, however, use up a lot of space, making it impractical for any but two-seater sports cars. Though it is sometimes advantageous to have more weight in the rear, during cornering it makes entry a lot more difficult as the front tires have less traction, resulting in a slight understeer, and at the exit of the turn, the heavy rear tends to cause oversteer. ...more on Wikipedia about "MR layout"
Rear wheel drive was a common form of engine/ transmission layout used in automobiles throughout the 20th century. RWD typically places the engine in the front of the vehicle, but the mid engine and rear engine layouts are also used. ...more on Wikipedia about "Rear wheel drive"
In Automobile design, an RR, or Rear-engine, Rear wheel drive, layout places both the engine and drive wheels at the rear of the vehicle. In contrast to the MR layout, however, the center of gravity of the engine is actually past the rear axle. ...more on Wikipedia about "RR layout"
(Six-wheel-drive) Six wheel drive, 6WD, and 6x6 are terms used to describe a six-wheeled vehicle with a drivetrain that allows all six wheels to receive power from the engine simultaneously. Unlike four-wheel-drive the system is still largely confined to off-road vehicles, particularly heavy duty ones, and is yet to reach the high performance circuit, in part because three or more axles are found almost exclusively on heavy vehicles. Most 6WD/6x6 vehicles have two wheels at the front and four at the rear and require the driver to manually switch between drive to the four rear wheels for on road and all-six for off-road. ...more on Wikipedia about "Six-wheel-drive"
Two wheel drive or 2WD are terms used to describe vehicles with a drivetrain that allows two wheels to receive power from the engine simultaneously. ...more on Wikipedia about "Two wheel drive"
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