So I've been pulling weight out of the car. Looks like I'm going to need 40lbs of ballast. Reading the rules, I can only put the weight is in the passenger floorboard forward or even with the front seat bolts. That's a weird rule. I was hoping to mount the ballast more towards the rear of the car. Looks like I may be using fuel to make weight.

My idea is to weigh the car with almost no fuel in the car and then add fuel until I'm 5-10lbs over weight. Then mark the reading on the fuel gauge. This will be my new "empty" mark.

Does that make sense? At 6 lbs per gallon, I should need around 7-7.5 gallons of extra fuel in the tank at all times to make weight.

-bj

That makes no sense. Fuel moves in the tank and is high and behind the rear axle so it is NOT what you want.

Jim

Yeah, but how else do I get weight over the rear axle?

The rules only allow me to put the weight in the front of the center line. I'd rather have the weight a little higher but in the rear than on the front axle.

I guess I could re-install the spare. That puts the weight way at the end of the car, though.

-bj

Couldn't you also add cross bracing to the rear of your cage as long as the additional tubing doesn't add any contact points?

If you haven't already, it's time to invest in a cool suit system. Not only does it help keep you cool, the cooler can be placed in a couple of desirable locations.

Put your car on scales and see what the affect is of adding your ballast in the legal position. It is not as far rearward as you would like but is still better, IMO, than weight that moves around during cornering, braking, etc.

Adding a tube, as suggested, puts the weight up high and is not what you want either. Our cars can not be exactly corner balanced but get close and having the weight low and between the axles is better than higher and behind them. For that reason, putting the spare tire back in is a poor solution.

At the end of the day, how much it matters I do not know. It matters some but????? The driver is more important than much of what we do to our cars so the important thing is to do what gives you confidence and go out and have FUN!

Big Dog