restomod67

Couldn't find anything using search on this topic so help me out!
It's pretty much given that in race/strip applications additional vehicle weight is not wanted.
Besides speed/race applications the only other negatives I know of in adding vehicle weight (like 500lb) is gas mileage and greater suspension wear.

Can anyone shed some light on any other negatives ?
And what about any positives of adding weight ?

Also:
How does adding weight affect handling ?
For example, if the weight is centered low, does it improve taking a curve at high speed ?

Thanks all !

Chopper

Unless you are going for an ultra smooth ride,added weight is always going to be a bad thing.Adding weight to lower the center of gravity would give less body roll but you still have to overcome the inertia of the added weight to make the car turn.This would require more friction against the road surface to have the same performance as the lighter version of the vehicle.

Colorado_Mustang

Added weight is useful for gaining some traction on slick roads. The negative to that, however, is that once you start to slide, it will be harder to recover.

restomod67

Thank for the reply Chopper. Do you know at at about how much additional weight to a vehicles production weight it really becomes a problem ?

If you add 50lb or 100lb not too much of big deal right ? How about 300lb 500lb ?
Where's a good balance ?

restomod67

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Colorado_Mustang

Drive around with a variety of passengers and/or sandbags (maybe they are the same in your world) and find out for sure. You won't get a real comfy ride in a Mustang, btw. Even with some added weight. There are several other variables to consider for ride quality.

Read the door tag and it will tell you the maximum weight they recommend for the chassis.

Chopper

You don't say what your'e trying to accomplish.If you want better traction in snow,then you would add as much weight as the car can carry.A word of caution though,the weight you add should go as close to the middle of the car as possible.The floor in front of the rear seats is where I would place extra weights.This loads both the front and rear tires and keeps the center of gravity low in the car.
If you are going for better rear wheel traction at a dragstrip,the weight should go over the rear wheels.This allows the weight to transfer from the front wheels to the back upon launch,planting the rears for better off the line traction.This might give you less wheel spin but the added weight would probably increase your 60 foot time and would definately increase the ET.Better race track traction would best come from a set of track only tires mounted on some light weight rims.
I have a link somewhere about removing weight from the car and the theoretical improvements to be had.If I can find it I'll put it in.
AHAA I found it! I think?
http://forums.modulardepot.com/showt...&threadid=1877