In automotive design , an RR , or rear-engine , rear-wheel-drive layout places both the engine and drive wheels at the rear of the vehicle. In contrast to the RMR layout , the center of mass of the engine is between the rear axle and the rear bumper. Although very common in transit buses and coaches due to the elimination of the drive shaft with low-floor buses , this layout has become increasingly rare in passenger cars .
51-598: The Bajaj Qute (known as Bajaj RE60 during its unveiling in 2012) is a rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive , four-passenger India-classified quadricycle (similar category to the L7e Quadricycle subcategory found in EU-classified quadricycle norms ) built by the Indian company Bajaj Auto and is aimed primarily at the Indian domestic market . The Bajaj Qute was the first four-wheeler manufactured by Bajaj Auto. It
102-517: A Land Rover , the drive shaft to the front axle is noticeably shorter and more steeply articulated than the rear shaft, making it a more difficult engineering problem to build a reliable drive shaft, and which may involve a more sophisticated form of universal joint. Modern light cars with all-wheel drive (notably Audi or the Fiat Panda ) may use a system that more closely resembles a front-wheel drive layout. The transmission and final drive for
153-575: A US$ 2,500 car, aiming at a fuel-efficiency of 30 kilometres per litre (85 mpg ‑imp ; 71 mpg ‑US ) (3.3 L/100 km), or twice an average small car, and carbon dioxide emissions of 100 g/km. Bajaj Auto first unveiled the Bajaj Qute as the RE60 on 3 January 2012, at the 2012 Auto Expo in Delhi . Bajaj Auto was best known for scooters and three-wheel auto-rickshaws , and
204-449: A drivetrain that cannot be connected directly because of distance or the need to allow for relative movement between them. As torque carriers, drive shafts are subject to torsion and shear stress , equivalent to the difference between the input torque and the load. They must therefore be strong enough to bear the stress, while avoiding too much additional weight as that would in turn increase their inertia . To allow for variations in
255-402: A chain-drive in bicycles for the past century, never becoming very popular. A shaft-driven bicycle (or "Acatène", from an early maker) has several advantages and disadvantages: Drive shafts are one method of transferring power from an engine and PTO to vehicle-mounted accessory equipment, such as an air compressor . Drive shafts are used when there is not enough space beside the engine for
306-443: A disadvantage, since it requires either increased coolant piping from a front-mounted radiator (meaning more weight and complexity), or relocating the radiator(s) to the sides or rear, and adding air ducting to compensate for the lower airflow at the rear of the car. Due to the handling difficulty, the need for more space efficiency, and the near ubiquitous use of liquid-cooled engines in modern cars, most manufacturers have abandoned
357-429: A drive shaft is used to transfer a certain speed or torque from the internal combustion engine to a dynamometer . A "shaft guard" is used at a shaft connection to protect against contact with the drive shaft and for detection of a shaft failure. At a transmission test stand a drive shaft connects the prime mover with the transmission. An automotive drive shaft can typically last about 120,000 kilometres. However, if
408-406: A ratchet handle similar to a car's hand brake or parking brake , as opposed to an air brake button or lever. Risk factors for drivers include parking on a steep slope when heavily loaded, not applying the brake with enough force, changing the load or load balance while parked on a slope, or parking where one side of the vehicle is able to slip. Using chocks on the wheels is one way of preventing
459-435: A rear differential to a rear wheel may be called a half-shaft. The name derives from the fact that two such shafts are required to form one rear axle . Early automobiles often used chain drive or belt drive mechanisms rather than a drive shaft. Some used electrical generators and motors to transmit power to the wheels. In British English , the term drive shaft is restricted to a transverse shaft that transmits power to
510-585: A rear-engined vehicle, although they have introduced multiple all-wheel-drive models. Most notably, the 911 Turbo has been sold as AWD-only since the release of the 993 model. Race-oriented models such as the GT3 and twin-turbocharged GT2 remain solely RR, however. Another manufacturer to implement the RR configuration was the DeLorean Motor Company with its DeLorean sports car. To compensate for
561-421: A similar design, however the free space is usually used for luggage , and sometimes air conditioning equipment. Driveshaft A drive shaft , driveshaft , driving shaft , tailshaft ( Australian English ), propeller shaft ( prop shaft ), or Cardan shaft (after Girolamo Cardano ) is a component for transmitting mechanical power , torque , and rotation, usually used to connect other components of
SECTION 10
#1732787224624612-431: A single motor due to the low weight and cooling requirements of the electric motor . The Tesla Cybertruck and GMC Hummer EV will also use this layout for their base variants. Most modern heavy duty buses use an extreme RR layout. In transit buses this can be used to make a very low floor level in the first two-thirds of the bus, thus making disabled access much easier. Most tour buses and coaches also employ
663-443: A tendency for rear-engined cars to understeer out of a corner. In these respects, an RR can be considered to be an exaggeration of MR - harder braking, faster and earlier acceleration, and increased oversteer. In off-road and low-traction situations, the RR layout has some advantages compared to other 2WD layouts. The weight is biased towards the driven wheels- as with FF vehicles. This both improves drive-wheel traction and reduces
714-819: Is 70 kilometres per hour (43 mph). The Qute in its standard European market configuration received 1 star in the Euro NCAP Quadricycle Ratings in 2016. Bajaj Auto plans to roll out 5,000 units/month of its much-delayed four-seater 'quadricycle' Qute from its Aurangabad Plant and it is to be priced between ₹ 1.25 lakh and ₹2.5 lakh. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has decided to allow operation of quadricycles as passenger vehicles, besides commercial use. They have allowed 16-year-olds to drive only quadricycles. In 2019, Qute finally got all approvals for Indian roads after six years of legal fights and regulatory impediments. The governments of 22 states have approved it and already plying on
765-406: Is India's second-largest two-wheeled vehicle maker and is a world leader in three-wheeled vehicles. The Qute is Bajaj's first foray into the four-wheel market. At its unveiling, the company announced that the car had high fuel efficiency of 35 km/L (99 mpg ‑imp ; 82 mpg ‑US ) and low carbon dioxide emissions. With a fare meter included in the base model's dashboard,
816-402: Is also required to send power the length of the vehicle. Two forms dominate: The torque tube with a single universal joint and the more common Hotchkiss drive with two or more joints. This system became known as Système Panhard after the automobile company Panhard et Levassor which patented it. Most of these vehicles have a clutch and gearbox (or transmission) mounted directly on
867-463: Is in that the engine is located outside the wheelbase. The major advantage of MR - low moment of inertia - is negated somewhat (though still lower than FR ), and there is more room for passengers and cargo (though usually less than FR). Furthermore, because both axles are on the same side of the engine, it is technically more straightforward to drive all four wheels, than in a mid-engined configuration (though there have been more high-performance cars with
918-489: Is in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution. An automobile may use a longitudinal shaft to deliver power from an engine/transmission to the other end of the vehicle before it goes to the wheels. A pair of short drive shafts is commonly used to send power from a central differential , transmission , or transaxle to the wheels. In front-engined, rear-wheel drive vehicles, a longer drive shaft
969-404: Is known as the tail shaft. The Shay , Climax and Heisler locomotives, all introduced in the late 19th century, used quill drives to couple power from a centrally mounted multi-cylinder engine to each of the trucks supporting the engine. On each of these geared steam locomotives , one end of each drive shaft was coupled to the driven truck through a universal joint while the other end
1020-492: Is more evenly distributed among all four wheels under braking. Similarly, a rear weight bias means that the driven wheels have increased traction when accelerating, allowing them to put more power on the ground and accelerate faster. The disadvantage to a rear weight bias is that the car can become unstable and tend to oversteer , especially when decelerating (whether braking or lifting off the throttle; see lift-off oversteer ). When this happens, rotational inertia dictates that
1071-434: Is needed to turn the power 90° from the shaft to the rear wheel, losing some power in the process. BMW has produced shaft drive motorcycles since 1923; and Moto Guzzi have built shaft-drive V-twins since the 1960s. The British company, Triumph and the major Japanese brands, Honda , Suzuki , Kawasaki and Yamaha , have produced shaft drive motorcycles. Lambretta motorscooters type A up to type LD are shaft-driven
SECTION 20
#17327872246241122-625: The 130H (1934). The radical 1930s Tatra format (air-cooled, rear engine and streamlined, teardrop design) was an influence on Ferdinand Porsche's 'People's Car' ( Volkswagen ) for Adolf Hitler. As well as being the most produced car ever, it set a trend for RR small cars that lasted well into the 1960s. The final form of the RR Volkswagen was the Type 3 of 1961, which flattened the engine (or 'pancake'), allowing for luggage spaces front and rear. Porsche has continued to develop its 911 model as
1173-575: The M4 layout than with R4 ). Finally, a rear-mounted engine has empty air (often at a lower pressure) behind it when moving, allowing more efficient cooling for air-cooled vehicles (more of which have been RR than liquid-cooled, such as the Volkswagen Beetle , and one of the few production air-cooled turbocharged cars, the Porsche 930 ). For liquid-cooled vehicles, however, this layout presents
1224-412: The hull . The thrust, the axial force generated by the propeller, is transmitted to the vessel by the thrust block or thrust bearing, which, in all but the smallest of boats, is incorporated in the main engine or gearbox. Shafts can be made of stainless steel or composite materials depending on what type of ship will install them. The portion of the drive train which connects directly to the propeller
1275-407: The transfer case was placed between transmission and final drives in both axles. This split the drive to the two axles and may also have included reduction gears, a dog clutch or differential. At least two drive shafts were used, one from the transfer case to each axle. In some larger vehicles, the transfer box was centrally mounted and was itself driven by a short drive shaft. In vehicles the size of
1326-565: The NSU Prima scooter is also shaft-driven Motorcycle engines positioned such that the crankshaft is longitudinal and parallel to the frame are often used for shaft-driven motorcycles. This requires only one 90° turn in power transmission, rather than two. Bikes from Moto Guzzi and BMW, plus the Triumph Rocket III and Honda ST series all use this engine layout. Motorcycles with shaft drive are subject to shaft effect , where
1377-628: The RR layout. The major exception is Porsche , who has developed the 911 for over 40 years and has taken advantage of the benefits of RR while mitigating its drawbacks to acceptable levels, lately with the help of electronic aids. One of first RR cars was Tatra 77 of 1934, the first serial-produced aerodynamic car, designed by Hans Ledwinka . Tatra used this layout until end of production of T700 in 1999. In case of T613 and T700 Tatra used layout with engine above rear axle, which reduced some disadvantages of RR layout. Mercedes-Benz also produced several models of RR cars in this period, starting with
1428-418: The added weight away from the axis of rotation (generally the steering wheels) will be more likely to maintain the spin, especially under braking. This is an inherent instability in the design, making it easier to induce and more difficult to recover from a slide than in a less rear-weight-biased vehicle. Under hard acceleration, the decreased weight over the front wheels means less traction, sometimes producing
1479-426: The alignment and distance between the driving and driven components, drive shafts frequently incorporate one or more universal joints , jaw couplings , or rag joints , and sometimes a splined joint or prismatic joint . The term driveshaft first appeared during the mid-19th century. In Stover's 1861 patent reissue for a planing and matching machine , the term is used to refer to the belt-driven shaft by which
1530-454: The chassis climbs when power is applied. This effect, which is the opposite of that exhibited by chain-drive motorcycles, is counteracted with systems such as BMW's Paralever , Moto Guzzi's CARC and Kawasaki's Tetra Lever . On a power-driven ship, the drive shaft, or propeller shaft, usually connects the propeller outside the vessel to the driving machinery inside, passing through at least one shaft seal or stuffing box where it intersects
1581-494: The clutch and transmission at the rear of the car and the drive shaft between them and the engine. In this case the drive shaft rotates continuously with the engine, even when the car is stationary and out of gear. However, the Porsche 924/944/928 models have the clutch mounted to the back of the engine in a bell housing and the drive shaft from the clutch output, located inside of a hollow protective torque tube, transfers power to
Bajaj Qute - Misplaced Pages Continue
1632-450: The clutch disengaged, the engine and flywheel inertia is relatively low and is not burdened with the added rotational inertia of the driveshaft. The Porsche torque tube is solidly fastened to both the engine's bell housing and to the transaxle case, fixing the length and alignment between the bell housing and the transaxle and greatly minimizing rear wheel drive reaction torque from twisting the transaxle in any plane. A drive shaft connecting
1683-413: The drive force generated by the engine to the axles. Several different types of drive shaft are used in the automotive industry: The slip-in-tube drive shaft is a new type that improves crash safety. It can be compressed to absorb energy in the event of a crash, so is also known as a "collapsible drive shaft". These evolved from the front-engine rear-wheel drive layout. A new form of transmission called
1734-444: The engine is typically the heaviest component of the car, putting it near the rear axle usually results in more weight over the rear axle than the front, commonly referred to as a rear weight bias. The farther back the engine, the greater the bias. Typical weight bias for an FF (front engine, front-wheel-drive) is 65/35 front/rear; for FR, 55/45; for MR, 45/55; for RR, 35/65. A static rear weight requires less forward brake bias , as load
1785-472: The engine, with a drive shaft leading to a final drive in the rear axle. When the vehicle is stationary, the drive shaft does not rotate. Some vehicles (generally sports cars, such as the Chevrolet Corvette C5 / C6 / C7 , Alfa Romeo Alfetta and Porsche 924/944/928 ), seeking improved weight balance between front and rear, use a rear-mounted transaxle . In some non-Porsche models, this places
1836-418: The firm is targeting auto-rickshaw drivers by offering a four wheeler as economical to run as a three-wheeler, but safer and more comfortable. The Qute is powered by a 217-cc single cylinder engine with a capability to generate power output of 20 hp (15 kW). It has a metal-polymer monocoque body, it weighs 400 kilograms (880 lb), and its turning radius is 3.5 metres (11 ft). Its top speed
1887-448: The front axle are combined into one housing alongside the engine, and a single drive shaft runs the length of the car to the rear axle. This is a favoured design where the torque is biased to the front wheels to give car-like handling, or where the maker wishes to produce both four-wheel drive and front-wheel drive cars with many shared components. The automotive industry also uses drive shafts at testing plants. At an engine test stand ,
1938-505: The machine is driven. The term is not used in his original patent. Another early use of the term occurs in the 1861 patent reissue for the Watkins and Bryson horse-drawn mowing machine . Here, the term refers to the shaft transmitting power from the machine's wheels to the gear train that works the cutting mechanism. In the 1890s, the term began to be used in a manner closer to the modern sense. In 1891, for example, Battles referred to
1989-410: The rear mounted transaxle (transmission + differential). Thus the Porsche driveshaft only rotates when the rear wheels are turning as the engine-mounted clutch can decouple engine crankshaft rotation from the driveshaft. So for Porsche, when the driver is using the clutch while briskly shifting up or down (manual transmission), the engine can rev freely with the driver's accelerator pedal input, since with
2040-433: The roads of six of those states: Kerala , Gujarat , Rajasthan , Uttar Pradesh , Odisha , and Maharashtra . A Bajaj Qute appears in the 2022 American romantic comedy film The Lost City , where it is used by the main characters before being destroyed. Tata Nano (2008) – A remarkably small and cheap actual 4-door car , developed and offered by Tata Motors . Rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout Most of
2091-446: The shaft between the transmission and driving trucks of his Climax locomotive as the drive shaft, and Stillman referred to the shaft linking the crankshaft to the rear axle of his shaft-driven bicycle as a drive shaft. In 1899, Bukey used the term to describe the shaft transmitting power from the wheel to the driven machinery by a universal joint in his Horse-Power . In the same year, Clark described his Marine Velocipede using
Bajaj Qute - Misplaced Pages Continue
2142-465: The tendency for the undriven wheels to dig in. In addition, the driving and steering requirements are split between front and rear- as with FR vehicles- making it less likely for either to lose traction. Many dune buggies successfully use a Volkswagen beetle as the donor car for this reason. The relative simplicity and light weight compared to 4WD can therefore sometimes outweigh the disadvantage of only having two driven wheels. Where RR differs from MR
2193-404: The term to refer to the gear-driven shaft transmitting power through a universal joint to the propeller shaft. Crompton used the term to refer to the shaft between the transmission of his steam-powered Motor Vehicle of 1903 and the driven axle. The pioneering automobile industry company, Autocar , was the first to use a drive shaft in a gasoline-powered car. Built in 1901, today this vehicle
2244-449: The traits of the RR configuration are shared with the mid-engine rear-wheel-drive, or MR . Placing the engine near the driven rear wheels allows for a physically smaller, lighter, less complex, and more efficient drivetrain, since there is no need for a driveshaft , and the differential can be integrated with the transmission, commonly referred to as a transaxle . The front-engine front-wheel-drive layout also has this advantage. Since
2295-463: The uneven (35/65) weight distribution caused by the rear-mounted engine, DeLorean used rear wheels with a diameter slightly greater than the front wheels. Before that was the rear-engined Škoda's from Škoda 1000MB (produced from 1964) to Škoda 130/135/136 (produced until 1990) or the Polski Fiat 126p (produced until October 2000). A range of sports road cars and racing cars with the RR layout
2346-433: The vehicle experiencing any of the signs below, drivers should get it checked as soon as possible. A cardan shaft park brake works on the drive shaft rather than the wheels. These brakes are commonly used on small trucks. This type of brake is prone to failure and has led to incidents where the truck has run away on a slope, leading to safety alerts being issued. Heavy vehicles that have this type of park brake usually have
2397-565: The vehicle from moving on a slope. Drive shafts have been used on motorcycles since before WW1, such as the Belgian FN motorcycle from 1903 and the Stuart Turner Stellar motorcycle of 1912. As an alternative to chain and belt drives, drive shafts offer long-lived, clean, and relatively maintenance-free operation. A disadvantage of shaft drive on a motorcycle is that helical gearing , spiral bevel gearing or similar
2448-412: The wheels, especially the front wheels. The shaft connecting the gearbox to a rear differential is called a "propeller shaft", or "prop-shaft". A prop-shaft assembly consists of a propeller shaft, a slip joint and one or more universal joints. Where the engine and axles are separated from each other, as on four-wheel drive and rear-wheel drive vehicles, it is the propeller shaft that serves to transmit
2499-537: Was powered by the crankshaft , transmission or another truck through a second universal joint. A quill drive also has the ability to slide lengthways, effectively varying its length. This is required to allow the bogies to rotate when passing a curve. Cardan shafts are used in some diesel locomotives (mainly diesel-hydraulics, such as British Rail Class 52 ) and some electric locomotives (e.g. British Rail Class 91 ). They are also widely used in diesel multiple units . The drive shaft has served as an alternative to
2550-687: Was produced by the French company Alpine . These had bodies made of composite materials and used mechanical components made by Renault. (Alpine was eventually acquired by Renault; the A610 was a Renault product that used the Alpine name.) Early cars using the RR layout included the Tucker , Volkswagen Beetle , Porsche 356 , Chevrolet Corvair , NSU Prinz , ZAZ Zaporozhets and Hino Contessa . Many modern electric cars use an RR layout for base variants with
2601-557: Was unveiled on 3 January 2012 and production started in 2019. On 22 May 2013, the Government of India legally classified it as a 'quadricycle'. As a result, it is electronically speed-limited to 70 km/h, and as of now, is only allowed to be used for commercial purposes as an alternative to auto rickshaws . When the Bajaj Qute was brought to Europe, it was classified as an L7e Quadricycle. In 2010, Bajaj Auto announced its partnership with Renault and Nissan Motor to develop
SECTION 50
#1732787224624#623376