trying to settle a debate with my friend. what makes a car a mid engine car? I read that the Z was a mid engine cause the engine is behind the front wheels. Is this true?

So is mid engine car, a car that has its engine between the front and rear wheels?

 

Not sure about other cars, but in the Z the engine is basically mounted further back so that the majority of the engine weight is behind the front axel.

 

A "true" mid-engine car is a car whose engine is firmly planted between the front and rear axles, this does not stipulate how close to the front or rear it is however. "Front" engine cars are anywhere over to in front of the front axle, and rear engine cars are the same for the rear axle.

The Z's engine isalmost entirely behind the front axle, though a small portion of it is over the front. Nissan claims 90 percent or so of the weight is behind the front axle, hence the Z itself behaves more like a mid-engine car (they in fact claim the weight distribution in the car is 53/47 front to rear). Technically though it's a hybrid front/mid type deal.

 

As it was explained to me;
The Z is a "mid front" layout.

Mid = engine is totally positioned behind the front axle/wheel centers.
Front = because it is located in front of the cabin space.

The Mazda RX-7 was one of the first mid-front layouts.

I'm sure one of the site boys can elaborate..after all, whatsa girl know? (LOL ! )

 

Before Nissan came out with the front mid-engine label, I and others considered mid-engined cars to be rear wheel drive with the engine behind the driver such as NSX, Boxster, MR2, Ferrari Modena, etc. Nissan has changed the definition by calling the products based on the FM chassis Front Mid engine because the centerline of the engine is behind the front axle to provide a better balanced car with less weight on the front. The Z has 53%-47% front to rear weight bias on its FM Chassis, the G35 Coupe and sedan have 52%-48% front to rear.

The rear mid-engined cars I mentioned earlier have more of a rear weight bias than the Zs or G35s. My MR2T had a 43% to 57% rear to front bias and the others are close to the same rear to front weight bias.

Other cars like a Porsche 911 which is a true rear engine mounted behind the rear axle with 39% front and 61%(approx), or the majority of front-engined cars which have most or almost all of their weight ahead of the front axle, like the Volvo S60 with their inline Turbo 5 transversely mounted ahead of the front axle for a true front engine car.

The answer to your question is not yes or no, but is a modified definition according to how much of the engine is beyond the axle's centerline. Go to NissanDriven.com or Infiniti.com for illustrations of the reasons they call the cars built on the FM Chassis front mid-engined.

Most of the engine's weight on the Z and G35s have most, but not all, behind the front axle. Therefore, Nissan considers it to be a front mid-engined car. The answer to your question would be most of the engine's weight (centerline) is behind either axle, front or rear, IMO.

 

Very well said.
But 350Z is still in the category of FR cars in Japan... even if Nissan call it FMR

 

I say anything in front of the driver is front, anything behind but in front of the rear axle is mid, and behind rear axle rear.

 

This is the the most universally accepted definition. Even though the Z's engine may technically be a "mid" engine, 99% of the driving public views it as a front engine car.

BTW...what other true "rear" engine cars are sold in the U.S. other than the Porsche 911 and it's variants?

 

The "front-mid engine" thing is just marketing BS. The 350z is a front-engine car plain and simple. The fact that some engineering went into minimizing the front heaviness does not make it any less of a front-engined car. And, to be pefectly honest 53/47 is not very impressive weight dist for a RWD sports car.

BMW (and many others) have for years been cranking out front-engine cars with weight distributions much, much closer to 50/50 than Nissan's 53/47 without trying to call them front mid engine. ALL BMWs have ALWAYS had the engine mounted behind the centerline of the front axle - they've never tried calling it anything other than front-engine, rear drive. I love my 350z as much as the next guy, but this sort of marketing hype irritates me when people actually think it means something.

Jason

 

Ferraris, Lambos, original beetle, fiat cinqecento....

There are a bunch.

 

I mean truly rear engine as opposed to mid engine and cars that are currently available new...

 

Of course, its a marketing term by Nissan, but a hotly contested one by people on this site some months ago. BTW, the original 240Z has 50% front and 50% rear.

 

I can't think of one. The ones that were sold in the U.S. before, besides the Beetle, were French, ala Renault Dauphine.

 

Me too...I can't think of any non-Porsche rear engine cars currently for sale here. I would love to own a rear or mid engine car someday though. Isn't BMW coming out with a modern day M1 sometime?

 

Thats what they say. If the new style sells, we will probably see one. Bangles designs are very controversial, but Europeans seem to buy anything avant garde. I am really not a fan yet, but it is pushing the envelope, if someone cares. I think the M1 will be a rear mid-engine berween the driver and the rear axle, so no true rear engine.

 

Nissan made 350Z 53%/47% on purpose, they said if the car's 50/50, it'll be 47/53 when you exit a turn and thus you get oversteering, with 53/47, you have 50/50 while exiting the corner and thus gives you a very neutral steering...

 

When people ask, I always say mid-engined, sounds better. and it's true being behind the fornt axle.

 

Uhhh... Yeah right. This is just marketing rationalization BS. Having a front weight bias has no advantage over a neutral or slightly rear bias.

Jason

 

I think it sounds ok for me... cuase that's from Best Motoring... they interviewed Nissan, and that's what they said...
weight distribution does make some difference... say 60/40 and a 50/50 will perform differently in corners....
well, I have to admit the 3% may not make that much difference, but...oh well~

 

Chevy Corvair I believe was a rear engine.