Engine rotation = more traction?

[spetz]

I was wondering if engine rotation in a FWD car provides more traction?

Namely if the engine rotates forward, does this give more traction to it rotating backwards?
It makes sense that it would, but at the same time if the car doesn't lift at the front it wouldn't matter?

Please discuss!

[aaronng]

The effects of engine rotation on front end lift is very minimal compared to the amount of lift you get from your tyre rotation.

[spetz]

So...
Engine rotation doesn't matter?

I just noticed that when I drove cars that the engine rotate to put weight down onto the tyres, they seemed to have much better traction than otherwise.

Namely, I was comparing friends B16A Civic against my 6A12 Lancer. After some research and asking around I came to the conclusion that my car made more torque below 3000rpm than the Civic did at it's peak at 7000rpm.
But, then I drove a few times another friends older lancer, with a 1.6 turbo running 15psi. The engine rotation is the same as the civic's in the older lancer's, and he seemed to have more traction, though hard to tell as it would still spin first but he made a lot more power than my car. At the same time, it also leads to the arguement of my engine making more torque down low, as the turbo lancer didn't hit full boost untill 4000rpm

What are the average Honda 60 foot times on street tyres compared to other cars? Of the same weight/power?

[aaronng]

Did your friend have wider tyres or lower tyre pressure? Was his suspension stock or modded? It could be even the different road conditions!

I don't recall any Mitsubishi engines that spin in the opposite direction than convention. I thought it was only the old Honda engines.

[spetz]

The older Mitsubishi engines didn't actually spin the wrong way, but the engine was sat in the engine bay such that when looking at the car, it spun in the same direction as older Honda engines. Basically the gearbox was just on the other side

His suspension was modded, and he had 195 tyres but oddly enough they were quite wide, ie wider than 195. Tyre pressure would be similar.

It may be a power thing, as with my car I can make it spin so much that it hits rev limiter, where as his car def couldn't. His car would get a lot of axle tramp as well though

My suspension was quite a lot stiffer though (coilovers Vs springs + shocks)

[panda[cRx]]

driver, tyre width and susssy would have a fair amount to do with it.... i doubt ur engine rotation would realistically affect it at all

[spetz]

So why did Honda make the engine rotate the wrong way?

[panda[cRx]]

it's not the 'wrong' way, just a different way

[ALLMTR]

Can work magic if you build your engine mounts to take advantage of it...

[CoZZm0]

So why did Honda make the engine rotate the wrong way?

one thing is that having exhaust at the rear of the motor makes the cat heat up faster after startup makig it more efficient reducing the emisssions of the vehicle which has helped honda to attain the LEV (low emission vehicle) rating for a lot of its cars.

[bennjamin]

one thing is that having exhaust at the rear of the motor makes the cat heat up faster after startup makig it more efficient reducing the emisssions of the vehicle which has helped honda to attain the LEV (low emission vehicle) rating for a lot of its cars.

the way an engine rotates isnt defined by its layout - the point of this discussion is that is rotates the opposite way compared to a few other FWD cars or others , and what advantage/reason this is -

[spetz]

Can work magic if you build your engine mounts to take advantage of it...


In what sense do you mean ALLMTR? And does this matter in which direction the engine spins?
I know, stiffer engine mounts increase traction and decrease axle tramp, but how much more traction does this give? And is it worth it for a street car considering all the extra NVH?

To make this post a bit clearer, it isn't really focused on the engine spinning clockwise or anti clockwise, but rather which way it spins within the engine?

ie. would a FWD car gain more traction from the engine spinning one way from the other?


Also, to give an example, take some RWD cars with N-S engine layouts, in neutral when the engine is revved sometimes you see I think it is the left side lift and right side stay or squat. Would this play an effect with engine rotation in a FWD car?

[ALLMTR]

The engine will only "torque" one way in the engine bay and that is opposite to the direction the wheels are turning. If motor is upright and east west, cyl head will move towards firewall upon accelerating forward. Will move away from firewall when you accelerate in reverse. Crank rotation will not affect this. A mount on the rear of the motor will push down on the chassis and a front one will lift up on forward acceleration......

[spetz]

So basically get stiffer front and rear engine mounts so the engine doesn't move backwards and forwards as much?

How much extra traction would this give as opposed to how much vibration into the cabin??