Adding Weight

[Mike Gray]

Adding 150lbs is a little harder than I thought. I have to separate it into permanent weight with a welded nut, removable weight bolted to frame/ chassis and a weight box for adjustment. Before I go through all this how much ET difference am I looking at with a low 10 sec. big block car? I would imagine the 1/10 per hundred is not the same for every combo.

[Hacksaw]

I've seen cars not lose a tick after adding 100 lbs. My guess... you lose a tenth. Report back.

[Mike Gray]

Thanks
If I don’t lose much I would rather add the weight and go down a class. I need a couple of tenths either way to be more competitive. The index difference is three tenths and if I only lose one it’s like finding a couple of tenths. Seems like a logical choice except the lower class has about double the amount of cars.

[Cglrcng]

Mike, start with the box. You can then add the weight to the box if done for testing and experiment outside of competition and it will allow you to move the weight around to see results. If it does not work out then at least you have the box to make incremental smaller (up to 100 lb scale deviation weight changes legally later).

Sometimes just moving weight around in different combos can yield surprising results. You already know your starting scale weight from the last run you made in competition so just weigh everything you add or subtract in accomplishing the task so keep accurate records and be careful with your math as scales will not be open during testing periods and you may want to revert it right back to where it last was quickly.

Good luck.

[Mike Gray]

This is part of the appeal of class racing vs .90 racing that I use to do. There is more strategy with being able to move up or down classes and you pay more attention to how many competitors are in your class and how well each of them run. Heads up with no break out, either you want them or you want to avoid them. Now if I can only get use to a count down tree!

[Billy Nees]

Originally Posted by Cglrcng

move the weight around to see results.Good luck.

This^^^^
You would be surprised at WHERE you can gain and lose ET by not just piling all of your weight in the trunk.
There was a good article about moving weight in one of the magazines some years ago and as I can recall it involved Sheldon Gecker's S/G car.

[1320racer]

Originally Posted by Mike Gray

Adding 150lbs is a little harder than I thought. I have to separate it into permanent weight with a welded nut, removable weight bolted to frame/ chassis and a weight box for adjustment.

My former Super Stocker had 2 steel plates below the weight box and everything was secured with 4 bolts. IIRC, the plates were 50 lbs. each



Same 4 bolts I still use now to secure the weight box.

Before I go through all this how much ET difference am I looking at with a low 10 sec. big block car? I would imagine the 1/10 per hundred is not the same for every combo.

it's not and the heavier the car the further away from that ratio. My former Chevelle weighed 3880 lbs. and it was 35 lbs. for .01.

That said, 150 lbs. will surely slow your ET about a tenth and the car will hook in a puddle.

[Cglrcng]

Originally Posted by Billy Nees

This^^^^
You would be surprised at WHERE you can gain and lose ET by not just piling all of your weight in the trunk.
There was a good article about moving weight in one of the magazines some years ago and as I can recall it involved Sheldon Gecker's S/G car.

Especially on a FWD vehicle car eh Billy! Pushing weight is easier than pulling it.

In my case the finished product scaling the car was surprisingly well done w/ me in the drivers seat helmet on, the front corners are exactly 3 lbs. difference. Getting the weight transferred from rear to front was accomplished by replacing the stock 14 gal tank with a 5 gal cell, but the rear is 155 lbs. heavier on left rear than right...but those are not the drive tires anyway, just along for the ride and some added smooth and effective efficient braking power down at the dancing end. Lol.

We read the same info Billy.

Yes, making the weight work can make you hook up in a snow storm on a nicely prepared track

[Cglrcng]

My particular issue is no longer where the weight is located, but the fact that due to factoring an extra 6 HP (more than 6 percent), I never had to begin with means I am forced to carry an extra 150 lbs. more than I should in my class (over other much lighter competitor(s).

2,795 lbs. Min wt. on a turtle of a mere 99 midget pony powers at elevation in too hot temps is really tough (a lot tougher than at a sea level track for sure). An A or B car a 1/10th per hundred lbs. is about a right guessing point to start at if properly placed as the horsepower you are dealing with is much larger and the lbs. per HP is drastically lower than our combos waaay down the list.

Going up in class is actually easier (though both involves addl. work, expense, and testing experimentation), and presents a possible different class racing experience w/ car counts within your class. But, it may be worth the trouble.

I recently attempted with my slow combo for the first time to drop it to the natural class (DF/S), picked up a lot more than you will ever find, my adjustment of weight is much more, it ran much faster, but nowhere near making the grade to run under the index (with the current 6 HP factoring penalty).

So, I piled the weight and parts back on it again. The option is there (I now at least know what I can expect it to run, even at nasty elevation and super lousy air, the class designation(s) exist
w/black tape slashes across them on the glass, and I can accomplish a full switchover in 2 hrs (or less at the track), coming off, and about 3 hrs. going back on by myself (less time w/ help), should I wish to do so.

And that option (and all the work involved), made the experience worth it.

Taking weight out to drop class (with all the research to do so legally, planning, expense, materials like adding new class designations, etc. took a lot more time and documentation time since I do not have access to my own or borrowed scales (Track based starting and ending weights only, along w/a bathroom type scale and meticulous note taking utilized and compounded into a sheet), but my end results were within an easily adj. 5-10 lbs spot on when finished both times.

All that detail to say "It is worth the try!" At least once. Experimenting is good for the soul and it is great for class racing...it gives you options we already have available but may have never yet tried.

[Mike Gray]

Do to the scales calibration I ended up adding about 120lbs. With no changes and similar weather it was about .08 slower.