You bring up a valid point.
The engine damage thing is kinda silly, no other tanks are that much of a gamble.
And holding it two lines back as AMPM says he always sees happen
just ends up giving it so much scatter that its pretty much a waste of resources on the battlefield
So basically you have 95% chance of NOT getting a Engine dmg. It is HUGE chance...very huge that it happens with every shot
its actually more like a 10-15% chance of happening on every shot, but seems more like a 50% when it comes to nebel/stuka/hummel rounds. Also has a fair chance of happening on almost any nearby explosion.