Rear Engine Layout
In the rear engine layout, the engine sits at the rear of a
vehicle. Most of the vehicles use front engine layout because
of the effective cooling it offers to run it efficiently. However,
due to some design constraints, sometimes engineers use the
rear engine layout. This design, i.e. the rear engine layout,
places the engine at the rear of the vehicle but behind the rear
axle line while the driven wheels are also at the rear of the
vehicle.
The rear engine layout is not the most commonly used forms
of engine layout. Engineers use it in compact or micro-cars. It
places the engine in a location which is accessible from the
rear. Thus, being at the rear, it does not provide protection to
the driver in case of an accident. However, the advantage of
rear engine layout is a simple design. Placement of the heavy
engine closer to the rear wheels makes the drive-train smaller
and lighter. It is also simpler and more efficient as it
eliminates the need for the propeller shaft while the
differential merges with the transmission to save space.
Rear Engine Layout, Rear Wheel Drive:
The longitudinally mounted rear-engine layout places the
engine at the farthest rear location and behind the rear axle
line. It fits along the vehicle’s length which is parallel to
its wheels. The engine attaches to the gearbox and drives the
rear wheels thru’ a driveshaft as seen in the diagram. Some of
the popular cars with a longitudinally mounted rear-engine
layout with rear-wheel drive are Tata Nano and VW
Beetle which use a similar layout.
Advantages of rear engine layout:
Placing the engine near the rear axle usually results in more
weight on the rear axle than the front. This causes
uneven weight distribution with rear axle carrying about 65%
of the weight. As a result, the all four wheels get even traction
under braking. It offers shorter stopping time and braking
distance.
Disadvantages of rear engine layout:
However, the disadvantage of the rear-engine layout with
rear-wheel drive is that the car tends to over-steer while
slowing down and can become unstable. Furthermore, this
layout is inconvenient for liquid-cooled engines because it
requires longer coolant pipes in case of the front-mounted
radiator. It may also require moving the radiator to the sides
or rear and addition of air ducts for more airflow to the rear of
the car.
