Why cars motor is on the front and not on the back of the car?
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Some cars do have their motors in the back. Most cars are front-wheel drive, so they have their engines at the front as well to add more weight and traction to them. Rear-wheel drive cars will usually have their engines at the back (like formula 1 racing cars).
There are of course some exceptions, like some US muscle-cars which typically have engines at the front although they are rear-wheel drive.
Has nothing to do with front wheel drive cars. I dont know the real answer but rear engines were around way before front wheel drive cars were so common.
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From what I understand bcause most cars are front wheel drive and having the engine above the front wheels is better for traction (the weight of the engine helps this0.
It’s worth point out there are many configurations of motor placements though:
* Front Engine cars – most cars are this design
* Mid-engine cars – often seen in sporty cars
* Rear engine cars – more rare but where they exist are most often seen in sports cars
One other thing to note is that there is also consideration about which wheels do the driving – there are plenty of front-engined rear-wheel drive cars (BMWs being one).
I don’t know if there are any rear-engine front wheel drive cars but given the sheer variety of vehicles out there I bet there probably are.
There’s a few reasons why most cars are front-engine regardless of the drive wheels.
First, the engine and transmission are the heaviest part of a car. When a car goes into a slide, the heavier end wants to lead. Which is why rear-engine cars have a reputation for swapping ends when they lose traction. Front – heavy is somewhat safer. Or at least less frightening.
Several things work best in the front of the car. The driver’s pedals. The steering system. The radiator. Rear engine cars have to route throttle cables, coolant and hydraulic lines to the back. The traditional front-engine, rear-drive car also put the transmission right next to the driver, so there was no linkage necessary.
Rear engine cars are typically hard to work on, as the engine is buried under the back deck.
Historically the first cars were emulating what they were familiar with: carriage with horses. The horses are always in the front.
The general cabin was modeled in that fashion. Most popular was rear wheel drive configuration. But that has shortcomings and today cars (trying to be mostly efficient) come in front wheel drive configuration.
On top of these popular cars, some racing inspired autos come with mid engine (like the latest Corvette). But that sacrifices space for stability.
It is easier to put the motor at the front. Most engines are water-cooled, so they need a radiator with air flowing through it to keep things cool. Mounting the radiator up front, air will naturally flow through it as you drive, but you can also strap a fan to the front of the engine to help with cooling; also keeping the engine and radiator close helps reduce the amount of plumbing and keeps air from getting trapped in the cooling system.
Mounting the engine at the very back has some adverse affects on handling – it makes the car more likely to oversteer and spin if you are taking a sharp turn and loose traction at the rear; this is difficult for a novice driver to recover from.
Race cars mount the engine in the center of the vehicle (like the new Corvette does) for optimal handling and weight distribution in the vehicle, but this has the disadvantage that you can’t easily have a second row of seats in the car without it being *very* long.
So front-engine is the mounting location with the fewest compromises for a reasonable price.
For the older cars it would have been the size of the components, easier to go the length of the car with the components being larger and making less power than modern equivalents. It’s a lot easier to keep the rotation axis the same for as far as possible through the system. When you have 5ft of engine and a manual transmission behind it ( conveniently at the driver’s reach) it just makes sense.
Cabin space and power efficiency.
Most cars are front wheel drive due to ease of driving, so putting the engine at the front essentially bundles up the drivetrain in a one neat package.
If you had the engine on the back, you’d need to connect the engine to the front wheels, which means a long driveshaft has to go through the length of the car.
This reduces interior space and causes loss of power due to friction, etc.
Having the engine on the front also has cooling advantages, as you simply need a big radiator on the front and short coolant pipes.
If you had the engine on the middle or the rear, you’d either need long piping or have to place the radiators on the sides/back, which affects ease of maintenance and interior & cargo space.
Mid or rear engine layout is used in sports cars or racing cars, because it allows you to centralize the mass to the center of the car, improving handling and providing aerodynamic benefits (can have low & sleek front end, more room for aero elements that manipulate the air and generate downforce, etc.)
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