Weight of Race Car

#41

I currently have no ballast in the car (obviously need to add some), but I was still a bit shocked that a race car with all it’s original glass, a spare tire, and complete interior sound deadening (minus the very heavy trunk stuff, it seems) can be at minimum weight with a full tank of gas.

#42

Since the weight of the trunk sound deadening is in a fairly convenient place, why remove it? Not picking on you, others have done this too. Maybe I’m missing something? No, that can’t be it .

#43

Honestly, we removed the sound insulation in the trunk after we got the car because we were in generic race car preparation mode, and pulling such things out of a car is what we do on autopilot after we acquire it for racing. Only after the trash truck had carted the interior away did we learn that it would have been better for the class weight specs to keep it.

EDIT: I just checked the numbers on the project car page, the asphalt in the trunk weighed approximately 53 pounds total. That’s a huge sum. Wouldn’t it be logical to be able to put that weight back in the trunk in some form if it’s been removed?

#44

I’m not that heavy of a guy. Even with 100 pounds of ballast, I’m not so sure I’ll meet minimum weight, especially after that spec exhaust. More ballast or a lower weight would do the trick. I wonder if they’ll consider a rule change for next year. 50lbs would be real easy for anyone to get down to. A lot of the weight-removal tricks are free, like just removing the sound deadening. Everyone I’ve seen is running ballast, a spare tire, or leaving the sound deadening in just to meet minimum weight. Could ease the wear on our tires, too. Maybe see how everyone would react to losing 50lbs? Or 75?

#45

my weight is about 120. It look as if I will be looking to find so how of making my car heavyer. I will also eat more cupcakes.:silly:

Could I make my fire suppression sistom out of lead filled pipes. Not the hoes but the rack to hold the bottle? I bet I could over build the crap out of that thing. btw: I have the drivers side of my cage put in. If all keeps going this good I will be out there soon to mix it up.

#46

If you carry some hoes around in your car, I guarantee you’ll make weight!:laugh:

Sasha

#47

TeddyM3 wrote:

I’m also a skinny bastard :laugh: . I removed the sound deadening and run about 90lbs of ballast, 50 + a spare tire. I did leave my front windows operational so that helped. I could probably run without the spare if the race is short. Longer races like Nationals I have to run the spare. I have a fire system and an exstensive cage. I also haven’t removed the power steering pump yet.

#48

I would like to hear one of the higher-ups chime in, just to let us know if they’re considering lowering the minimum weight or hearing what the racers are saying

#49

Ex36 wrote:

[quote]If you carry some hoes around in your car, I guarantee you’ll make weight!:laugh:

Sasha[/quote]

Particularly if those hos have some extra “junk in da trunk” :woohoo: … To paraphrase Tommy Davidson’s In Living Color parody “Baby got Snacks”…he says… “If you wanna get a big girl in the mood, you gotta have some food.”

#50

I knew it - Don is a closet rapper! I knew you had rhythm!

#51

No Don’t lower the weight!

I have plenty of ballast that I can’t unbolt! It’ll take months on the elliptical!

:stuck_out_tongue:

#52

Don’t lower the weight. There is no need.

#53

+1 for not lowering the weight. With a passenger seat and fuel starvation requiring a full tank it’s been a pita to get down near the min. And for what?

#54

155MPH wrote:

says the 200 pound circus bear :laugh:

#55

At least allow more ballast.

For the guys barely making minimum, what have and haven’t you taken off your car? Seems like you’d need to leave a lot on to reach that, depending on your own body weight. If people could afford to chuck the sound deadening, A/C and interior panels, I don’t see the need for that kind of stuff in a race car. I won’t butt heads with the masses, so I’d better go find a place to buy a lead race suit and helmet :laugh:

#56

JeepinMatt wrote:

Are you saying you can’t make weight with 100lbs in the passenger side and a spare wheel and tire in the trunk and starting with full tanks? If that’s the case get a better cage :wink:

#57

Actually, freeing up the ballast rules some would be great in our case.

If you took every last drop of gas out of our car, it would come in under weight even if it had 100 pounds of ballast. That’s with tons of stuff still in the car (spare, aforementioned windows and power steering, etc.). Our Kirk Racing cage is extremely robust, too, many people have commented on its badassedness. Why isn’t trunk ballast allowed in lieu of the trunk matting?

#58

Here we go. :wink:

#59

GRMScott wrote:

Yeah but don’t you kinda need gas in the car :lol:. Seriously my point is I don’t see anybody having a problem meeting weight. Maybe I’m wrong. I certainly wouldn’t complain if they dropped the min weight 50lbs but it seems ok where it is. I think the only reason to drop the weight is if someone legitmally could not make weight, or if a lot of cars were carrying 100 lbs of ballast and the spare tire. How much ballast do you have to carry with gas in the car Scott? Obviously 100 lbs of lead bolted to the passenger floor is probably not ideal in a wreck.

#60

For the 40 minute race at Roebling, I figure I’ll need at least 60 pounds of ballast to be on the safe side. Within the rules, to be sure, but that’s a lot of mass to have riding along in the passenger compartment. And if I were Danica Patrick, not only would I be a lot hotter, but I’d weigh about 70 pounds less than I do now, and I’d be in real trouble.