car weight

#41

jlucas wrote:

I’m in agreement with Jeremy on the incremental change. I voted for 2700 in 2011.

#42

SpeedSmith wrote:

[quote]jlucas wrote:

I’m in agreement with Jeremy on the incremental change. I voted for 2700 in 2011.[/quote]
+1 - I’d like to see it incrementally go down - even with me weighing 240lbs I have to add 80 lbs of ballast just to make weight after a 40 min race…

#43

wildhorsesracing wrote:

That really surprises me. I guess it is time I weigh my car to find out where I am at since I am over 240. I figured it would be hard to get down to race weight.

#44

King Tut wrote:

[quote]wildhorsesracing wrote:

That really surprises me. I guess it is time I weigh my car to find out where I am at since I am over 240. I figured it would be hard to get down to race weight.[/quote]

not really. e30’s are pretty light when you strip them out. i left all the sound deadening in, put the spare in and still needed ballast. it makes sense to drop the min weight a 100lbs. heck, spec e36s are running around at 2760 lbs these days.

#45

I’ll definitely throw my vote in to lower the weight as well. I run 50lbs of ballast, spare tire, and door glass so I could remove any combination to hit all of the different numbers mentioned.

I think 2700 is a fair compromise if we’re looking for that, but 2675 sounds like the more “real” number we should be shooting for.

#46

agree with 2675.

#47

kishg wrote:

Me too for 2675.

I’m glad to see mostly everyone is in agreement that some reduction should take place. Even if the votes come in at 2700, at least we’ll have some notable improvement.

#48

2675 is a reasonable number, however, remember those who want to race SCCA also, the race weight of the car is 2750.

As a side note, it is very easy to get the chassis (less driver) under 2300 ready to race with fluids. Chuck

#49

cwbaader wrote:

SE30 doesn’t class well on the SCCA side. With an i motor, the car classes as an ITS and will be pig slow. An SE30 is pig slow in ITA for that matter.

When this debate came up 8 months ago, the powers that be decided it was worth keeping the weight at 2750 for the benefit of those who keep windows in the cars to have a weather-tight, secure place to store stuff (at the track, in the trailer, at the house…).

Personally, I would like to see the weight go lower. In other words, I agree with my position earlier in this thread. :laugh:

#50

cwbaader wrote:

[quote]2675 is a reasonable number, however, remember those who want to race SCCA also, the race weight of the car is 2750.

As a side note, it is very easy to get the chassis (less driver) under 2300 ready to race with fluids. Chuck[/quote]

If we change our weight it should be for the betterment of the NASA Spec E30 class. I don’t mean to dismiss your SCCA reason, Chuck. But if someone wants to run in SCCA they should add weight for that. I don’t agree with setting our weight based on SCCA standards any more than letting a car who has issues with fuel starvation set the rule. I mean… If the new weight was 2675, then reduce your car weight to 2615 or so and you can run a full tank to make weight. Likewise, if your running SCCA and they require a higher weight, then add it to run with them. The decision should be based solely on making SPEC E30 better, safer and cheaper. And with 318’s out… Why Not?!

#51

What’s with all this incremental BS? Take the weight down to 2650. How quickly you want to go down to it is up to you. The administrators have more better things to do than change the weights every year.

For you guys against because of your “stature”, all I have to say is push away from the table sooner. You’ll be doing yourself a favor.

#52

rrroadster wrote:

[quote]
For you guys against because of your “stature”, all I have to say is push away from the table sooner. You’ll be doing yourself a favor.[/quote]
Tough night last night, eh?

#53

Everyone knows how I feel about this… we need to lose 100lbs in these cars. Ballast is dangerous and should be kept to a minimum if we can control it, in this case we can. I am against incremental changes but if that’s the only way to get 100lbs out of the car then I’d vote for it.

#54

Ranger wrote:

[quote]
Tough night last night, eh?[/quote]

Tough month!

#55

For those with the knee jerk SCCA reaction, I threw that in there since there are SE30s entered at Barber Labor Day. And also note, with a tire change, the car can be quite competitive.

My ITA car is classified at 2550 with driver. This weight is fairly easily achievable ready to race with a driver of my size (6’, 270# with gear). That is with an extensive cage, NASCAR bars both sides, Allison bars, and low Petty bar and associated bracing. Rather than dick around with the weight, go ahead and drop it to 2550, RTR. Chuck

#56

cwbaader wrote:

[quote]For those with the knee jerk SCCA reaction, I threw that in there since there are SE30s entered at Barber Labor Day. And also note, with a tire change, the car can be quite competitive.

My ITA car is classified at 2550 with driver. This weight is fairly easily achievable ready to race with a driver of my size (6’, 270# with gear). That is with an extensive cage, NASCAR bars both sides, Allison bars, and low Petty bar and associated bracing. Rather than dick around with the weight, go ahead and drop it to 2550, RTR. Chuck[/quote]

good god, what am i missing? my car (89 coupe) is 2500#, which includes passenger accommodations and some small electronic gear but no door glass, tar, power steering, etc. how do you get under 2300#?

#57

If it does not look like a race car, take it off:woohoo: cb

#58

cwbaader wrote:

As they say in the SCCA, thank you for your input.

What we are looking for is the lowest weight that accommodates the most drivers with the least amount of work to the car.

If we drop to 2500-2600, the front bar will be even more stiff, so you will lose some of the handling benefit (unless we change that spec).

#59

Steve, I just finished my third car at this weight.

You are taking weight off the whole car, not just the front. Therefore, you are not stiffening only one end, per your opine, you are stiffening the whole car, which is a good thing. Remember, the springs are affected, too. Removing weight on the whole car will not affect the balance of the car, although some minor tuning will be necessary with ANY weight reduction. Chuck

#60

I think most of us don’t want to have to turn our cars into swiss cheese to get down to 2300 lbs. I thought part of that is why we have the rules where if it doesn’t say you can remove it then you can’t. It sounds like lowering the weight slightly is easily achievable which sounds good to me.