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(→MR: Corrected info about car physics. MR certainly does not make a car LESS likely to oversteer compared to FR; in fact quite the opposite.) |
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==MR== |
==MR== |
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| + | '''MR''' describes a car that has its engine placed between the front and rear axles of the car. Although there are real-world examples of mid-engined cars where the engine is placed in front of the passenger compartment, all the mid-engined cars that have appeared in the ''Gran Turismo'' series so far have the engine placed between the cockpit and rear axle. This shifts the car's weight balance towards the rear, creating a more responsive vehicle that turns into corners more easily, at the expense of being harder to control on the limit, requiring judicious steering and pedal control to avoid spinning. This makes it ideal for sports and racing cars, where speed and performance takes precedence over ease of driving. Examples include the [[Acura NSX '91]] and [[Toyota GT-ONE Race Car (TS020) '99]]. |
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| − | '''MR''' describes a car that has its engine in the middle of the car and that is rear wheel drive. Since the weight is balanced, there is not as much of an oversteer problem as FR cars. Thus, it is prime for racing because the rear wheel drive saves weight. Examples include the [[Acura NSX '91]]. |
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Cars of this drivetrain are required to enter [[MR Challenge]] events in the series. |
Cars of this drivetrain are required to enter [[MR Challenge]] events in the series. |
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Revision as of 21:46, 24 September 2019
The Drivetrain of a car is a term which describes the engine setup or location and the means by which the engines power is directed to the road. This is usually made up of a abbreviation of the engine location and to which wheels the power is delivered.
FF
FF describes a vehicle which is front-engined and front-wheel driven. Front-engined simply means that the engine is located ahead of the driver. This setup is very common in popular, low-powered road cars, such as the Ford Focus ST '06 or Toyota Yaris RS 1.5 (J) '00. The FF setup is generally regarded as good in low grip scenarios (though not as good as 4WD), but subject to understeer in normal conditions due to the steering wheels also delivering the power. High performance vehicles rarely use the FF layout because weight is transferred to the rear wheels under acceleration, while unloading the front wheels and sharply reducing their grip.
Cars of this drivetrain are required to enter FF Challenge events in the series.
FR
FR describes a vehicle which is front-engined and rear-wheel driven. This setup is used for most modern cars since it provides good controlled power, while leaving the front-wheels to steer the vehicle. During acceleration, weight is transferred to the rear wheels, which improves the efficiency of the driven wheels. Under braking however, the weight shifts to the front wheels, which aids in steering around corners. Many high-powered sports cars feature a FR layout, such as the Mazda RX-7 GT-X (FC) '90 and Honda S2000 '01. This is a drivetrain set-up most popular for drifting.
Cars of this drivetrain are required to enter FR Challenge events in the series.
MR
MR describes a car that has its engine placed between the front and rear axles of the car. Although there are real-world examples of mid-engined cars where the engine is placed in front of the passenger compartment, all the mid-engined cars that have appeared in the Gran Turismo series so far have the engine placed between the cockpit and rear axle. This shifts the car's weight balance towards the rear, creating a more responsive vehicle that turns into corners more easily, at the expense of being harder to control on the limit, requiring judicious steering and pedal control to avoid spinning. This makes it ideal for sports and racing cars, where speed and performance takes precedence over ease of driving. Examples include the Acura NSX '91 and Toyota GT-ONE Race Car (TS020) '99.
Cars of this drivetrain are required to enter MR Challenge events in the series.
4WD
4WD denotes any vehicle where all four wheels are powered by the engine, regardless of its placement. The four-wheel-drive setup is advantageous in that it improves control and torque, especially on rough surfaces and in wet weather. The disadvantages of four-wheel drive however are that it increases the overall mass of the car, as well as drivetrain inertia. Four-wheel-drive cars in the Gran Turismo series are typically geared towards off-road and rally driving, such as the Subaru IMPREZA Rally Car '99 or Lancia DELTA HF Integrale Rally Car '92. However, there are 4WD cars designed purely for on-road driving, such as the Nissan GT-R '07 (front engined), Lamborghini Murcielago LP640 '09 (mid engined), and RUF CTR2 '96 (rear engined).
Cars of this drivetrain are required to enter 4WD Challenge events in the series.
RR
RR refers to a vehicle that features rear-wheel drive paired with an engine located behind the rear axle. While this is good for acceleration, this setup does not provide good grip in high speed corners and can lead to uncontrollable oversteer under braking. Not many examples of this exist in the Gran Turismo universe and there is no event strictly for the RR drivetrain. The original Fiat 500 and variants of the Porsche 911 such as the RUF CTR "Yellow Bird" '87 and the Porsche 911 GT3 RS (991) '16 are examples of this.
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-- means that the drivetrain is classified, unknown, or does not fit into any of the above categories. Technically it is not a drivetrain, but is presented as one in the games. Examples include Chevrolet Chaparral 2X Vision Gran Turismo. As the Chaparral is not powered by the wheels, it is exempt from the "drivetrain" category.