Why aren’t mid engined cars popular in drifting?
From an outsider’s perspective, it seems slightly odd that mid-engined cars aren’t really a part of the drift scene. Sure, people do occasionally drift caymans and supercars and the like, but it seems to not be the norm.
I have a theory on what part of this might be. Drifting requires very precise control over the yaw acceleration (change in rotational speed) of the car, and the primary “damper” of a car’s yaw acceleration is its yaw moment of inertia, dictated by how far away from the center of gravity the biggest contributors to the mass are (engine, trans, etc). Meaning, you can have two cars with 50/50 weight distribution, but if one is front engined and the other mid engined, the latter will experience changes in yaw acceleration more rapidly. This would make the car more difficult to hold a constant angle in, or to control in transitions.
TLDR: mid engined cars are just inherently more prone to fast rotation, regardless of the weight or the weight distribution.
Is this why mid engined isn’t the norm? I know that style is a huge part of the drifting scene, and that cars like the MR2 or Porsche Cayman don’t seem to fit that style too well, but is it also that mid engined just isn’t ideal? I’m curious what people in the community think.