MHISSTC Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 The car: '86 Mustang LX 5.0 Rule Refresher: From Table #1 in Section 7.7.1: Minimum weight is 3150 with a max of 230hp and 300tq. 8.8. Ballast Up to 150lbs of ballast is allowed, but no further rearward than the plane of the front of the main hoop of the roll cage. Ballast must be securely fastened and each ballast piece may not be taller than three inches or stacked higher than three inches. Bolts to secure ballast must have a backing plate that spans between bolts. The Problem: At our recent regional dyno/tech day, the car with probably a couple of gallons of gas (still need to troubleshoot the gauge ) and the lighter of our two drivers (110lbs) weighed in at 2885 pounds. Corner weights were LF 854, RF 859, LR 597, and RR 576. We still have a few small items to install and take care of, which I anticipate would only add another 40lbs MAX to the car. So, with a starting point of 2885lbs + 40lbs of additional equipment + 150lbs ballast, plus a full tank of gas (15.4 gal at 5.8-6.5lbs/gas = ~+80lbs) we are going to be at 3165 lbs...just 15 lbs over the minimum weight. We'll make weight at the beginning of the race, but if we burn more than about 3 gallons of gas during the race, we'll be under the minimum weight. With my fat ass in the car, we'll be up another 65 pounds, which roughly accounts for another 10 gallons of gas, so we should be OK with me driving. The thought of coating everything in the interior with rubberized bed liner has crossed my mind, but I'm doubtful if that will add enough weight. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to bulk up the car in order to make the end of the race minimum weight with the lighter of our two drivers? Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMC#11 Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 I'd run full-tread tires. Plan to run your car 100% full of gas before each session. This will give you weight down low, in the back, and have less slosh. It makes is very easy to hit your weight after each session. I fill up before each run and always come off track b/w 3160-3170. Not sure what you already have on the car but you could add a cool shirt, passenger seat, fire system, strut tower brace, ph bar, etc. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MHISSTC Posted March 1, 2008 Author Share Posted March 1, 2008 This car will have a STB and eventually have a fire system, but will not have a passenger seat or a PB this year. We've had a few conversations already and I think this year is going to be a case of a rookie team with rookie drivers being allowed to drive an underweight, under-braked, and severely underpowered car in an effort to earn our comp licenses and gain experience in the W2W environment without ever being a threat to the podium finishers. Once the big red "R" is peeled off, I full well expect the implied leniency to disappear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K Shaw Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 blah. You guys have it good. The slowmaro is making the same HP # as you guys and is 100lbs OVERWEIGHT. Did you guys try my little hints to getting the car to make the #. I believe that the car has atleast another 10-15 in it. kyle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT4Point6 Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 Accusump, over the axle rear exit exhaust, mufflers, canton oil pan, PHB, more stickers ...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K Shaw Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 Or Dave and I could just swap cars. with my 220lb big ass in daves car it would make weight and with Daves 110 skinny girlish figure in the chubby third gen it wouldnt be so gosh darn over weight. kyle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MHISSTC Posted March 1, 2008 Author Share Posted March 1, 2008 Did you guys try my little hints to getting the car to make the #. I believe that the car has atleast another 10-15 in it. Not yet. We're still putting the car back together and working on getting it legal. I'll be dropping it off at Hank's on Monday morning to get a driveshaft loop put in while the cats are cut out. We were planning on using a FRPP driveshaft loop pulled from one of my parts cars. It follows the contours of the factory floor very nicely. Unfortunately, the floor was extensively "massaged" on the driver's side in order to gain clearance for the seat mounting brackets and seat. Since neither one of us has the tools or talent for fabricating much of anything, back to Hank's it goes. It's almost humorous. Since we work in the same office and don't usually have common days off, we see each other at work during the shift change. Our shift change briefing consists of work related issues followed by CMC car items that have been completed, are in progress, or still need to be started along with a list of what the next guy needs to pick up at the parts store. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MHISSTC Posted March 1, 2008 Author Share Posted March 1, 2008 Accusump, over the axle rear exit exhaust, mufflers, canton oil pan, PHB, more stickers ...... Accusump/Canton/PHB...not yet. Mufflers...none. Rear exit exhaust...Check. Stickers...oooo....we haven't put those on yet. Maybe if we double up on them it'll push us over the edge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MHISSTC Posted March 1, 2008 Author Share Posted March 1, 2008 Or Dave and I could just swap cars. with my 220lb big ass in daves car it would make weight and with Daves 110 skinny girlish figure in the chubby third gen it wouldnt be so gosh darn over weight. kyle Ha, ha... The driver swap would just about work out perfectly to bring both cars right to the lower weight limit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichV Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 Not sure in CMC, I know in SpecE30 you could run with a spare to add weight and not count as a balast. Dave drives, add spare, you drive, remove spare, add different kind spare tire. j/k. But it would add some weight for you guys. Also, run a bigger cooling system. Accusump, big pan, what about sway bars, do you have that big ass SOB, I bet you could add another fire system or tank, heavier battery, fill the headlights with concrete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MHISSTC Posted March 1, 2008 Author Share Posted March 1, 2008 No spare....although that would be cheap and effective. Yes on sway bars. Although the bigger cooling system and larger oil pan would be good for more reasons than just an increase in overall weight, it's not in the plan right now. More weight added to the back than the front would be better. A panhard bar would be good...not just for weight purposes...as would a fuel cell. That's adds some $$$ to the build. A 4.6L fire system would be consideration too if he didn't already have a 2.3L system. The idea of a bigger battery crossed my mind and would work to add ballast without counting as ballast. Small Group 56 battery for me... ...big ass giant Group 8D battery for Dave!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 Even though I am grossly overweight, I always figured that the smartest place to get weight back would be in the exhaust system from the cat area on back. It's low and you can use whatever gauge piping that you want. When I removed my street-legal exhaust from my CMC car, I believe it got me 60lbs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snakebit Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 Sounds like Dave needs to go on a Big Mac diet....or put lead in his pockets....or give him a 10 gallon water bottle! Certainly he could have a permantly mounted water bottle....? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 its against the rules to run a battery other than the stock group size. just an FYI. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichV Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 How about a Pace Car cowl hood, those are some heavy ass hoods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffburch Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 Make a battery box out of 1/4" plate steel. jb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MHISSTC Posted March 1, 2008 Author Share Posted March 1, 2008 its against the rules to run a battery other than the stock group size. just an FYI. I respectfully disagree. Emphasis below is my own. 8.10. BatteryThe battery may be relocated. Batteries located inside the driver’s compartment shall be securely fastened down to the car and shall be fully covered and firmly secured to the chassis in a marine type battery case. The battery must be of the same type, group size (i.e. 24F), and voltage as originally equipped, or heavier, and may not be modified. Spiral cell batteries such as Optimas are highly recommended. The battery must be securely held with a suitable metal battery hold down. The positive terminals on both the battery and any remotely mounted starter solenoids must be covered with a non-conductive shield. I read that as saying I am required to use a battery of at least the same mimal dimensions and weight as the original equipment, but that I am not prohibited from using one that is larger or heavier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MHISSTC Posted March 1, 2008 Author Share Posted March 1, 2008 All joking aside, there are some good suggestions in there that I hadn't considered. I appreciate the input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Matt1548534716 Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 Welcome to the club. I weigh 215 in gear and a driver any lighter than me would have trouble making minimum even starting with a full 15 gallons of fuel in the stock tank. I've already got an Accusump, fire system, a second fire extinguisher, a stock weight battery, and 150 pounds of ballast, plus both factory door beams. So start thinking about things you can legally add that are not "technically" ballast, like a passenger seat, or a coolsuit system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 its against the rules to run a battery other than the stock group size. just an FYI. I respectfully disagree. Emphasis below is my own. 8.10. BatteryThe battery may be relocated. Batteries located inside the driver’s compartment shall be securely fastened down to the car and shall be fully covered and firmly secured to the chassis in a marine type battery case. The battery must be of the same type, group size (i.e. 24F), and voltage as originally equipped, or heavier, and may not be modified. Spiral cell batteries such as Optimas are highly recommended. The battery must be securely held with a suitable metal battery hold down. The positive terminals on both the battery and any remotely mounted starter solenoids must be covered with a non-conductive shield. I read that as saying I am required to use a battery of at least the same mimal dimensions and weight as the original equipment, but that I am not prohibited from using one that is larger or heavier. your correct. they must have added that in sometime over the last year. at one time it did not have the " or heavier" part in the rules. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT4Point6 Posted March 2, 2008 Share Posted March 2, 2008 your correct. they must have added that in sometime over the last year. at one time it did not have the " or heavier" part in the rules. I don't remember that change either, good to know! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMC#11 Posted March 2, 2008 Share Posted March 2, 2008 Make a battery box out of 1/4" plate steel. jb Wow, what a great idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K Shaw Posted March 2, 2008 Share Posted March 2, 2008 Dave and Scott. uh oh. The green machine lives. Looks like I will get to chase you guys around during the comp school. My car is allergic to orange so why dont you guys just move over and let me pass when you see that big #20 on the green hood come up from behind ya. j/k kyle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Ginsberg Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 Install an SFI bellhousing. A PITA to deal with if you have to change a clutch at the track, but it's heavy, sits low, is a good safety item, and cannot be considered ballast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Al F. Posted March 3, 2008 Members Share Posted March 3, 2008 Pull a Brad Simpson and put the a/c back in! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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