Quote:
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Originally Posted by Boss330
Quote:
Originally Posted by swamp2
I suppose 50-50 weight balance still delivers ultimate handling to (it's well known that closer to 60-40 is significantly better...).
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While 60/40 might be significantly better, do we have some independent confirmation of that?
This article explains some of the physics involved:
http://www.autospies.com/news/The-Ef...Moments-50856/" rel="" target="_blank">http://<a href="http://www.autospies...nts-50856/</a>
A car like the Ferrari F12 (front engine RWD) has a weight distribution of 46/54, and is regarded as a good handling car... 
Ferrari F12 is 46/54
Ferrari FF is 47/53
Ferrari California is 47/53
Merc SLS AMG is 53/47
Aston Martin DBS is 51,3/48,7
BMW F10 M5 is 52,5/47,5
All of the above are front engined cars with RWD and are considered good handling cars. None is at 50/50, but Ferrari are rear biased and the others are front biased.
And as far as I know, a race car like the Audi R18 TDI Le Mans Prototype runs a even weight distribution front and rear. The R8 etron has a 48/52 distribution ( http://www.worldcarfans.com/11006142...urs-of-le-mans" rel="" target="_blank">http://<a href="http://www.worldcarf...of-le-mans</a> ) |
I was going to tackle his post myself, as I was led to believe that a slight rear-bias was the optimal weight ratio (around 47/53 like some of the cars you listed...although I was nearly positive that the SLS was
definitely rear biased around 47/53, not 53/47, due to its front-mid setup). This creates a lighter nose with sharper turn-in, aids rear wheel traction during acceleration, and creates a more even load distribution under braking. I'm pretty sure this is why MR/FMR setups are the supposed ideal.
50/50 distributions and slight nose-heavy distributions are supposed to be a contributing factor towards more accessible handling in RWD applications, if I recall correctly.