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Hey guys, new to the boards. I got hooked after seeing cc runner’s N600 build. I recently got an N600 myself and plan to do a BEC as well with it. My question is - has anyone transverse mounted an inline 4 and had rear wheel drive (w/o using a chain)? I know, I know, it sounds crazy. I have been searching and haven't seen any builds with this (maybe for a reason). If this was possible though, it seems like it would open up many more engine options for some BEC applications.

I wonder if a pulley system to a midline drive shaft would work. The original Honda N600 engine has an interesting belt system to run the cooling fan (pictured). Could this concept be adapted to make this work? Or would the belt just slip? I also imagine this setup would cause the belt to wear out faster, but I’m not entirely sure. Does this sound too crazy to you guys or does it sound somewhat plausible?







The N600 is dwarfed by all the other cars in the garage haha - cracks me up everytime

A belt won't hold the power. However, a bolt-on PTO from a FWD based AWD system would. You'd probably want the whole AWD transmission setup, just for the input shaft to the PTO, so that you could then modify that to work with a custom housing, a couple of sealed bearings, and a sprocket, to be chain driven by the bike engine.

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-Justin

"Orville Wright did not have a pilots license." - Gordon MacKenzie

Thanks Justin.

Many motorcycles use cog belt drive systems instead of chains. Do you think a belt of this type would be better suited or wouldn't hold the power at large angles either?

Your idea sounds great. Sounds like it could be heavy, but I'll do some research and see how much weight it would add.

Sure there are synchronous (toothed) belts that will physically handle the power...Just not in this application. I have never seen or heard of one being used in a right-angle drive configuration, namely because in general they are considerably less tolerant to twisting than a V-groove belt. Even V-groove right-angle/quarter-turn belt drives, as shown above, never really gained widespread acceptance or use for automotive accessory drive. The inherently reduced belt life means they are just not reliable enough.

_________________
-Justin

"Orville Wright did not have a pilots license." - Gordon MacKenzie

There are transverse 4 cylinder motorcycles that use a shaft drive, that would probably be the simplest way to go I would think.

A BEC is complicated enough as is. I think I will just stick with readily available options. The Honda VFR1200 seems like a great option but I haven't seen many available in my area.

I used that type of drive to run a 38" lawn mower deck. It worked very good, allowing the deck to "hinge" to follow lawn contour. Used a 5/8" belt. It was not particularly hard on belts and transmitted power without slippage. If a 5/8" belt can transmit enough power to drive your car, I'd say the system would work.

Bill

Thanks Bill. That sounds like a pretty cool lawn mower. Now that you mention it.. I do remember seeing some commercial mowers years back where all the blades ran off of belts that were tensioned with a lever (to engage or disengage the blades). The drive wheels on these mowers also ran off of a belt drive that you could decrease the tension on the belt to turn the mower or use the brake.