Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version nyu B notes v1.5 12/10/84; site acf4.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!cmcl2!acf4!hkr4627 From: hkr4627@acf4.UUCP (Hedley K. J. Rainnie) Newsgroups: net.auto Subject: Re: Miscellaneous Ramblings Message-ID: <330020@acf4.UUCP> Date: Sun, 10-Mar-85 17:43:00 EST Article-I.D.: acf4.330020 Posted: Sun Mar 10 17:43:00 1985 Date-Received: Tue, 12-Mar-85 20:54:11 EST References: <330004@acf4.UUCP> Organization: New York University Lines: 33 Re response 1: PHYSICS: I think comparing a car with its weight hung out over the ends to a high-wire act is my point. After all, the high-wire walker cannot subject himself to any highly transient motion. Furthermore, stating that a mid-engine car can really spin may be true, but with the lower polar moment of inertia, it should STOP spinning before one whose mass is concentrated at the ends. Putting the weight on the ends of a car is the typical problem of big old American sedans, with their big engines in front and huge, over hanging trunk in rear. And beleive me, those things spin out. BRAKES: Corvettes have been endowed with four wheel disc brakes as standard since 1966. They also have had a fully independent rear suspension since 1963, something which Alfa still lacks :-) (DeDoin is not considered independent) Re response 2: Weight distributions of Corvettes: March 1969 Road & Track: 50/50 weight distribution 435HP 427 Corvette (Big Block) January 1968 Road & Track 49/51 (fr/rear) 350 HP 350 Corvette (Small Block) Setting the engine back and the independent rear allowed the nearly perfect weight distribution.