Where the engine sits decides where the weight sits. And where the weight sits decides how a car brakes, turns and puts the power down.
That is why an AMG and a Ferrari feel like two different games in ACC, even with the same driver and the same track. Here is which car is which, and what it means when you drive them.
The quick answer
- Front engine: stable, forgiving, pushes the nose. Easy to drive at 95 percent.
- Mid engine: agile, quick to rotate, quick to spin. Rewards precise hands.
- Rear engine: only the Porsche. Brakes late, launches out of slow corners, bites if you lift mid corner.
None of the three is the fast one. Balance of performance keeps the cars close, and the layout mostly changes where on the lap you gain and lose.
Which ACC cars are front, mid and rear engined
| Layout | GT3 cars in ACC |
|---|---|
| Front engine | Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3, Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT3, Bentley Continental GT3 (2015 and 2018), BMW M6 GT3, BMW M4 GT3, Emil Frey Jaguar G3, Ford Mustang GT3, Lexus RC F GT3, Mercedes-AMG GT3 (2015 and Evo), Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 (2015 and 2018) |
| Mid engine | Audi R8 LMS (base, Evo and Evo II), Ferrari 488 GT3 (base and Evo), Ferrari 296 GT3, Honda NSX GT3 (base and Evo), Lamborghini Huracan GT3 (base, Evo and Evo2), McLaren 650S GT3, McLaren 720S GT3 (base and Evo), Reiter Engineering R-EX GT3 |
| Rear engine | Porsche 991 GT3 R, Porsche 991 II GT3 R, Porsche 992 GT3 R |
A detail on the front engine cars: in a GT3 car the engine sits low and far back, behind the front axle. So they are not as nose heavy as the road cars they come from. They still carry more weight on the front than the other two layouts, and you feel it.
If you want every car in the game with its class and year, that is the ACC cars list. For the setup side of everything on this page, start from the ACC setup guide.
How each layout drives
| Corner phase | Front engine | Mid engine | Rear engine |
|---|---|---|---|
| Braking | Stable, the car stays straight | Strong, but the rear can move if you brake and turn hard | Very strong. The weight at the back lets the rear tyres do more of the stopping |
| Turn in | A bit lazy. The nose wants to push | Sharp. The car turns the moment you ask | Light nose. It pushes unless you keep some brake on |
| Mid corner | Understeer if you carry too much speed | Neutral, on a narrow edge | Neutral once the nose is loaded |
| Exit | Predictable. The rear slides slowly | Good traction, quick snap if you overdo it | The best traction of the three |
| Kerbs and bumps | Rides them well | Does not like big kerbs | Fine on kerbs, nervous if the rear goes light |
| When it goes wrong | A slow slide you can catch | A fast spin | A pendulum. The rear keeps going once it starts |
Front engine
More weight on the nose makes the car slow to change direction and slow to get into trouble. When the rear lets go, it does it gradually and you have time to catch it.
The price is understeer. Go in too fast and the front tyres give up first, the car runs wide and you wait for it to come back before you can get on the throttle. So the technique is simple: get the braking done, get the car turned, then go. Patience on entry, early on the power.
They are also the cars that ride kerbs best. At tracks where the lap time is in the kerbs, that matters.
Mid engine
The engine sits between the driver and the rear axle, so the heavy parts are close to the middle of the car. A car built like that turns with very little effort. Think of spinning a hammer by the middle of the handle against spinning it by the end.
That is the good part and the bad part. It rotates quickly in slow corners and through chicanes. It also rotates quickly when you did not ask for it. Hit a kerb badly or come off the brake too suddenly and the rear is gone before you have reacted.
Smooth inputs are what make these cars fast. Release the brake progressively, be gentle with the first part of the steering, and the car does the rest. I cover the brake release in the ACC braking guide.
Rear engine
The Porsche has its engine behind the rear axle. Nobody else builds a GT3 car that way.
With that much weight over the driven wheels, traction out of slow corners is the best in the field. Braking is very strong too, because the rear tyres carry enough load to do real work when the weight moves forward.
The problem is the front. With little weight on it, the nose does not want to turn in. The fix is trail braking: keep some brake pressure as you turn, so the weight stays on the front tyres until the car is pointed at the apex.
The other thing to respect is the lift. If you come off the throttle suddenly in the middle of a fast corner, the weight at the back acts like a pendulum and the rear comes round. Once it starts, it is hard to stop. Commit to the corner or sort your speed out before it.
Setup direction for each layout
The safe and aggressive presets already account for the layout. But each type has a problem that comes back at most tracks, and these are the first changes I would try.
| Layout | Typical problem | First things I would touch |
|---|---|---|
| Front engine | Understeer on entry and mid corner | Softer front anti roll bar, one or two clicks less rear wing, brake bias a touch rearward |
| Mid engine | Snap oversteer on entry or over kerbs | One or two clicks more rear wing, softer rear anti roll bar, one step more TC while you learn the car |
| Rear engine | Push on turn in, rear swinging on a lift | Trail brake deeper before any setup change, then softer front anti roll bar and a bit more rear wing |
One change at a time, then five laps. The full method is in the ACC understeer and oversteer guide, and the wing and ride height side is in the ACC aerodynamics guide. For the electronics, see TC1 vs TC2 in ACC.
Tyres over a stint
The layout also changes which tyres suffer.
- Front engine: the fronts work harder, and if you fight the understeer with more steering angle you cook them. Turn less, wait more.
- Mid engine: wear is usually even, as long as you do not slide the rear on exit.
- Rear engine: the rears carry the load and take the traction. Wheelspin out of hairpins costs you at the end of the stint.
How to read wear and manage it is in the ACC tyre wear guide.
Which layout should you pick?
If you are new to ACC, I would start with a front engine car. The Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo, the BMW M4 GT3, the Bentley and the Aston Martin V8 are all easy to drive consistently, and consistency is what wins races when you start out.
Once your laps are within a few tenths of each other, try a mid engine car. The Ferrari 296, the Lamborghini Huracan Evo2 and the McLaren 720S Evo give more back when you are precise. You will spin more at first. That is normal.
The Porsche I would leave until you can trail brake without thinking about it. It is a great car and a very rewarding one, but it asks for a specific technique from the first corner.
Whatever you choose, stay with it. A driver with 50 hours in one car beats a driver with 5 hours in ten cars. I go through the choice car by car in the ACC car choice guide.
What about GT4 and the other classes?
| Layout | GT4 cars in ACC |
|---|---|
| Front engine | Aston Martin Vantage GT4, BMW M4 GT4, Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R, Ginetta G55 GT4, Maserati MC GT4, Mercedes-AMG GT4 |
| Mid engine | Alpine A110 GT4, Audi R8 LMS GT4, KTM X-Bow GT4, McLaren 570S GT4, Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport |
| Rear engine | None |
Notice the Porsche. In GT3 it is rear engined, in GT4 the 718 Cayman is mid engined, so it behaves like a different family of car. The class as a whole is slower and softer, which I explain in ACC GT3 vs GT4.
In the single make classes, the Porsche 911 Cup cars are rear engined, the Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo and the Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo are mid engined, and the BMW M2 CS Racing is front engined.
FAQ
Which ACC cars are mid engine?
In GT3: the Audi R8 LMS, Ferrari 488 and 296, Honda NSX, Lamborghini Huracan, the McLarens and the Reiter R-EX. In GT4: the Alpine, Audi, KTM, McLaren and Porsche Cayman.
Which ACC cars are front engine?
In GT3: the Aston Martins, Bentley, BMW M6 and M4, Jaguar, Ford Mustang, Lexus, Mercedes-AMG and Nissan GT-R.
Is the Porsche in ACC rear engine?
The 911 GT3 R and the 911 Cup cars are rear engined. The 718 Cayman GT4 is mid engined.
Are mid engine cars faster in ACC?
No. Balance of performance keeps the layouts close. Mid engine cars gain in slow and medium corners and lose in forgiveness.
What is the easiest layout for beginners in ACC?
Front engine. The cars are stable on the brakes and over kerbs, and they slide slowly enough to catch.
Why does my mid engine car spin on corner entry?
Usually the brake release is too sudden or the car hit a kerb with steering on. Release the brake more slowly, and add a click or two of rear wing while you learn it.
Why does the Porsche understeer on entry?
There is little weight on the front tyres. Keep some brake on as you turn in, so the nose stays loaded until the apex.