Quote Originally Posted by David View Post
Something you may be forgetting, is the mass of the block above the crank(cylinders etc). Its not that you loose the weight compared to a standard inline/V motor, but you move it much lower. It can have a fairly profound effect on the handing of a car as it affects the CG and the roll axis inclination of the car which affects handling dynamics. Im guessing the subaru motor moves more than 50-70lbs 8-12 inchs lower in the chassis(or more) compared to an upright motor of the same configuration. If you dont that thats much, tie 50 lbs to a rope and start swinging it in a circle

A lower CG allows one to lower the roll center without impacting roll of the car, reducing jacking forces, reducing bar diameters and increasing grip and responsiveness... all other things being equal. Same reason Porsche uses this type of motor. Its also inherently a very smooth running design.

David
David, knowing that you have done a bunch of suspension research I have a couple of questions. Let's assume you are correct that a typical inline-4 has fifty pounds of weight 8-12 inches higher above the crank. And lets say both engine/tranny combos weigh the same at say 350 lbs. (I'm pulling these numbers out of the air). How much higher is the center of gravity on the inline-4 vs the boxer 4? A couple of inches? Now if you compare those two engines in the same car (which weighs 2500 lbs) in which I would assume (again please tell me if I'm wrong) the center of gravity of the whole car is higher than the center of gravity of the engine/tranny how much does the engine difference change the entire cars cog. Maybe a quarter of an inch? less/more? How much of a real world difference does it make? I've watch 911's racing corvettes/mustangs/bmw's for years and there is obviously not much of a difference. I'm not arguing that there is a difference in cog, just wondering how much it really is.