why?, just weight distribution?

what kind of racing?

is it worth the effort, just put a ca in its easier

Setting the engine back reduces the polar moment of inertia (turning a wide dumbell vs narrow dumbell) about the centre of the car.
It also helps weight distribution.
Must be treat to drive Brent

but i thought 50/50 was perfect ratio and 1200s have like 49/51, so wouldnt this over weight it to the back and have her handeling like an MR2

Interesting point rallycar...anyone have the answer????

With the weight back, there are two advantages:

1. More traction on back wheels
2. Polar moment of inertia. Car turns faster, like a skater with their arms next to the body. With their arms out, they spin slower. Probably not good with a locked diff on a wet road!

please correct me if i am wrong i always thought if you had all your weight inside your wheelbase the car would have less tendancey to understeer

Yep, keep all the heavy things inside the wheelbase. Polar inertia is the key...
I have also run with the engine in the front, (A12) and then with a 13 inch setback (this was the days before they limited the setback to 300mm) and it made NO DIFFERENCE to lap times, it was no quicker off the line... geeez I was pissed off...
I think the A motors are just so light, and the chassis is pretty much bangon that makes it a less rewarding modification than say shifting the pinto rearwards in yer Escort!..
The only difference I could detect (and I couldnt prove it) was an increase in top speed at Pukekohe. I think this was due to better airflow thru the front end and out again..
I ended up putting the radiator back up the front after the engine setback, I ran for a while with it as in the piccy above, but it was an aerodynamic disaster area.
The combo that worked beautifully was with the radiator up the front, ducted out thru the inner guards and a flat undertray from the crossmember as far forward as they will let you get away with
- the undertray has to be strong enough to stand on, I'm not joking!!

Anything heavier than an A series motor would make a setback mandatory I reckon...
The 240RS is an utter dog with 180kg of FJ20 up the front....

1200rallycar – yes weight distribution, tarmac track racing here in NZ. Also what you can’t see is that weight in the back has been moved forward also, retaining the 50/50 split (or close to it) just about all the time.

Feral – yes it s real good fun to drive, very predictable and the beauty of being able to change lines mid corner, excellent for dicing!


All – I brought this chassis with this already done. As per “tsillay’s post” I’m not convinced there is any gain, but hey it’s different and attracts a lot of attention, photographers e.t.c. at race meetings – any publicity is good publicity for sponsors!