Hi Guys,

im building a track toy, 1st Gen CRX (1986) B16 Turbo, fully gutted, rollcage etc.
I've put it on scales last week with me in it. and a half tank of fuel.



LF: 613.8 LBS RF: 477.4 LBS
LR: 356.4 LBS RR: 305.8 LBS

would you still try to move some static weight in the car or with the Front Rear ratio of 62.2 / 37.8 and a cross Weight of 47.6% just ajust the +10 and -10 lbs Target weights by adjusting the height each individual wheel?
I would end up with the Rear Bite of 70.6 ( 48.7% wedge ).

All tips and feedback is welcome!

Greetings E.

 

48.7% Cross is still in the realm of where you'd have a noticeably different handling through left hand turns vs right hand turns. I would try to physically shift some weight back towards the Right Rear corner as well as adjusting the ride heights to see if you can get any closer to 50%. It will have the added benefit of shifting the static weight rearwards too. Shifting 50 or so lbs towards the back of the car makes a huge difference in how the car feels through corners.

You may have to consider ballasting that corner a little bit to make that happen. We had a similar problem with our D16 powered 2nd gen CRX. The solution we came up with was bolting a big heavy car battery back there and using it as backup power for our light boards.

 

 

damn, you're 250? i think you may need to consider some weight reduction! I like how some of the drivers in the old best motoring vids are like 130lbs soaking wet... Where'd you find that cool worksheet?

 

 

Man, 1491lbs without driver. That's insane. That's 600 lbs less than our Endurance Racing 2nd gen CRX Si and almost 1000 lbs less than my sprint race Prelude Si. That must feel really lively on a full size road course.

 

 

You should really consider some height reduction.

 

 

If you have the scales/time play around with the weight placement. You don't necessarily want to move the weight over the wheel(s) or even farther back, as that's just more weight to move and stop moving. For the most part you want the weight as low and close to the center of the wheelbase as possible. Think passenger side floor.

 

 

Depends on the location and the rulebook you're working with. If you just need to add ballast to the passenger side floor old barbell weights are a popular option. They are easy to handle and you can find them anywhere. Just drill enough mounting holes in them to spread the load and put a backing plate on the other side of the floor so they don't pull through in a crash.

If you want to ballast a specific corner or end of the car and/or the rules prohibit ballasting in the location where you need weight, you have to get a bit more clever. For example, some cars (e.g. Miatas) are notoriously light in the right rear corner. Most club racing rules prohibit you from adding ballast back there but they are perfectly ok with you using huge 1/4" thick steel plate as roll cage feet and sandwiching them from the underside with another 1/4" plate.

Similarly, the rules for many stock-like racing classes (e.g. Improved Touring) allow but do not require the removal of the spare tyre. When Improved Touring was in its heyday, many a Civic driver would improve their weight distribution by putting a full size 15" steel wheel (with the biggest, heaviest tyre they could find) in the back of their car and bolt it to the floor with long class 12.9 bolts.