Probably my biggest annoyance as it stands is rarely being able to get a weight distribution within normal ranges (55:45 either way). I think we should have the option of dedicated FMR and RMR chassis.
The way I think it should work is the option shifting the chassis CoM backward or forward with the cabin volume reduced, being limited to one row of seats (maybe fake seat in the back) and the engine compartment size biased to suit the setup (restricting the other side).
There’s plenty of times when I’d like to make a simple roadster but because the chassis is light, one of the only ways to get good balance is back seats and big rear brakes.
1 Like
I don’t think there is a need for dedicated front-mid and rear-mid chassis, because it depends entirely on the shape of the car body alone. For example, two car bodies with really long hoods, the S2000 body and C7 Corvette body, both technically have front-mid layouts (as long as you dont use something as long as a I6/V12), but a car body with a much shorter hood simply couldn’t fit such a layout. Basically if you want front-mid engine, just dont put a long engine in and you’re good. Also, you could invest in a lighter weight engine too.
Not gonna lie, based on the title I thought you were going to suggest new chassis designs, such as box frame or X-frame for body on frame cars (with the current ladder frames being reserved for trucks), or uniframe/partial unibody that represents older-fashion unibody cars with subframes under the engine or trunk that are separate from the central body shell.
2 Likes
Even with the S2000 body and an aluminium I4 you’ll be hard pushed to get 52:48 when you’re running miata level weight. A miata will get a nice 50:50 distribution with an iron block up front.
Recreating any car I find the weight biased 5-10 more to engine side than in reality and you can’t compensate with biased front/rear suspension height.
I’ve definitely made much closer to reality builds with a transverse FF build but running FR configurations, I only see remotely balanced weight in 1500kg+, it’s definitely off.
1 Like
It would be nice to be able to move the engine within the engine bay when there is place left. There will be hardware restrictions for that.
Possibly relatively easily doable with jbeam editing in Beam though.
2 Likes
I think the way its automatically positioned is good enough, the engine is automatically placed as far low and closest to the centre of the car’s mass as possible (and it does account for extra non-engine stuff you’d find in an engine bay that just isnt visually modeled). Basically the engine only moves up/towards extremities if the drive train forces it to move out like 4x4 or long. FWD as examples (compared to long. RWD those drivetrains are higher/pushed forward respectively)
1 Like
The issue being that the firewall makes all engines sit between the front or rear wheels, which means it’s never actually FMR/RMR. Thus the need for FMR/RMR chassis.