Where did Honda compromise with the Insight?

[user removed]

From the tire marks on the snow, it looks like the rear tires are about 4 inches total inside of the front.

regards
Mech

[luvit]

i'm looking at the snow real close.
the passenger wheels look in-line, but the driver-side wheels have an illusion with that stray line between the front and rear wheels.

[user removed]

From the specifications.

http://www.internetautoguide.com/car...ght/index.html

Track front 1435 MM
Track rear 1326 MM

Just over 4 inches.

regards
Mech

[luvit]

lol. ok. good job, mech.
2 inches per side. i'm very surprised.
i should check to see if any vehicles in my ownership history has ever not been in-line.

[RobertSmalls]

Parallel lines do not meet, ever. They may come "close enough" for your purposes at a great enough distance, but they never meet. You could prove this to yourself in that photo by picturing a train at the end of the track, and asking yourself whether the train's two rows of wheels turn to one row when it gets far enough away from you.

On the subject of aerodynamics, a 1.6mph crosswind at 65mph would bring two of the wheels in-line.

[user removed]

This is from memory so I could easily be wrong. Most cars have a wider front than rear track. Usually not as much as the Insight but there usually is a small difference.

Not talking about modified (not stock) and this may not apply to high performance cars with wider tires in the rear than in the front.

I THINK (sometimes dangerous ) that it has something to do with the dynamics of thrust and if the thrust from the rear wheels in a RWD car is outside the front wheel track, then you can have handling issues.

Could (and probably is different dynamics in a FWD car, and there could be other reasons for the difference in front and rear track.

There have been cars with different wheelbases from one side to the other. One was a Renault. Again this is from memory so don't jump on me too hard if I am wrong.

regards
Mech

[Arragonis]

Originally Posted by Old Mechanic

There have been cars with different wheelbases from one side to the other. One was a Renault. Again this is from memory so don't jump on me too hard if I am wrong.

Renault 4 and 5 I think had different wheelbases. The rear suspension was independent torsion bars and it allowed them to be side by side. It affected the handling not one bit and some people have >250 hp in Renault 5 GT Turbos.

[bikeracer]

On in-line wheels, does this explain one of the reasons why the front wheel spats stick a few inches further in beyond where the tire ends? It could also be to shelter the suspension. Wheels tracking closer in the rear seems like an advantageous compromise. The wake of the body having a proper shape seems more important than an extra 4" of tire exposed in an already turbulent area of the underbody.

[luvit]

Originally Posted by RobertSmalls

Parallel lines do not meet, ever. They may come "close enough" for your purposes at a great enough distance, but they never meet. You could prove this to yourself in that photo by picturing a train at the end of the track, and asking yourself whether the train's two rows of wheels turn to one row when it gets far enough away from you.

awe gee. i was wrong twice? my face is getting warm. imagine kurt cobain with a red face.

[3-Wheeler]

Originally Posted by luvit

lol. ok. good job, mech.
2 inches per side. i'm very surprised.
i should check to see if any vehicles in my ownership history has ever not been in-line.

And...

That photo shows the front view of the car very well.

You probably can't tell, but it was taken with a 500mm zoom lens maxed out for range.

I was probably a good 200 feet in front of the car when the picture was taken on the tripod.

It does show just about exactly how much more air that the rear tires displace compared to the front.

On an aside note, you can feel the back end kicking around more when traveling through snow, since the wheels are not aligned. I am getting more used to it however, but it does keep your attention.

Jim.