A Lesson In Balance: Race Car Weight Distribution!

A Lesson In Balance: Race Car Weight Distribution!
/ grt.garrettracingteam
Come along and check out this NASCAR style Modified Race Car as we go over the topic of weight distribution! Are you working on your own motorsports project trying to determine how to increase Left vs Right and Front vs Rear weight percentages or just curious how a race car is prepared to get the correct weight balance throughout the car? Then be sure to stick around to the end to learn more, I hope you enjoy!
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[@garrettracingteam]

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[@jeffgiles1599]

To your last point about adding weight even if you're over min to achieve percentages... You can always change your offset on your wheels to get there and still stay at min weight.

[@mark4m557]

I’ve learned a lot about racing in these past few years. 1 is it’s the little things that make the biggest difference, and don’t work with the rules, work around them.

[@brianlrayburn2576]

I learned it the hard way as well. I've asked for some direction from a few people who understood the subject thoroughly. I'd take it as far as I could and go back. This, hopefully, showed I was working for their general guidance. The subject is unbelievably deep. It's deepest levels will humble even the seasoned racer, at least it does me. You're videos will help a bunch of racers.

[@garrettracingteam]

Thanks for the comment Brian! I am trying to get some of these concepts that I have struggled with in the past out there for others to learn from. Stay tuned for more content as I have been super busy at the track lately, but have a ton of awesome footage I want to share!

[@jamieday6602]

First time viewer! I loved how you explained everything in simple terms! Thanks for sharing!

[@garrettracingteam]

Thanks for the subscription Jamie, I am glad you enjoyed it!

[@tonyhuffman5248]

Really like the info

[@johnbennett6364]

Good video

[@biebssss4174]

Great video! .. question ..if we are at step 2, set the car up for race, psi, stagger and stuff..do we zero out the coil over/springs? And then scale it? Or I guess how to determine on where to set the coils before we do the weight?

[@timchilders3535]

Hi guys. Love this video, ive been out of racing for many years but recently jumped right back in. Im pretty familiar, but always learning. With that i have a question for any of you: 3/8 mile banked asphalt track, (Hickory Speedway) Street Stock / Renegade cars, metric chassis, with stock(ish) suspension components😉. My question is, how much stagger, with a full spool locker? Especially rear stagger? I know a locked rear end likes some stagger to roll free thru the middle. We had a decent run first time out, other than a carb stutter issue. Car drove pretty well. We run street radials, and its hard to get much stagger, unless you get crafty. We ran two weeks ago with all of a 1/4 inch front rear. Think it needs much more. So now, with the new tires and rims we just got, we can do 2 inches easy. Thats kinda what i felt like we needed, maybe inch and a half to two inches. Car has great adjustability built in, with front bar, shocks, and adjustable cups all four corners. I figure, two inches of stagge should free it up nicely all the way through the corner, and we should have enough chassis adjustments to tighten it up a tick if needed. Sorry for the long message, but id love to hear anyone's thoughts on stagger. Thanks!

[@garrettracingteam]

Hey Tim, it’s great to hear from a local racer. Maybe I will see you someday if I make it down to Hickory with my 602 modified. But to answer your question as best as I can from my modified experience: with a fully locked rear differential using a spool I typically see 3” to 3-1/2” work, using a ratcheting locker style rear diff (the type that uses springs) typically 1-1/2” to 2” should work like you stated, and if you have one of the torque sensing diffs that use gears/clutch style such as a winters track star typically you can run less than 1” even down to 0” of stagger. I hope this helps and good luck!

[@timchilders3535]

@@garrettracingteam Thank you for the info,, much appreciated! Hope to run into you one night at one of the tracks!

[@EJ2TrackRat]

awesome video. any idea on which to set first? corner balance vs weight distribution? How do you isolate the effects of corner weights from coilovers when you're solely trying to change weight distribution

[@jerseyshoredroneservices225]

In my personal experience we usually like to set the ride heights first then adjust the wheel wait to what we expect to be close then check the ride heights again because they'll probably change when you turn the Spring colors to make wheelway adjustments period after you go back and forth with that a few times you get it pretty close. Then check the left side weight, rear weight cross weight. etc and move ballast if necessary. Ideally all ballast would be in the center of the car but these cars are generally not designed in a way that lets you do that. To get left side weight and we're way percentages you're probably have to have most if not all of your ballast on the left side frame rail split between the area by the petals and the area behind the driver's seat. How much ballast you have to put in which particular place will vary depend on the rules, the overall weight of your car and things like the size of the fuel cell, how full you plan to run it, how far back it's mounted, etc. Some guys run a straight rear that does away with the weight and drag of the quick change gears but it's also smaller and let's you move the fuel cell forward.

[@jerseyshoredroneservices225]

I didn't mention it in that other comment but before you do all that stuff you make sure the frame is straight then make sure the rear is straight in the frame (assuming that's how you plan to run it) Make sure that the right side tires are aligned unless you plan to run the right front or right rear out more than the other one. Basically the point is that you don't leave anything to chance.

[@DBENTLEY369ig]

Sell out EV power when equal power with 200# to place in the car. The setups that it lends itself to.

[@CTPAYC2323]

Good info, thanks! If I need to balance my race car, and need higher percentage of the weight on the rear wheels, should I avoid moving parts or adding weight behind the rear axle? That'd be most efficient to move more weight onto the rear wheels, while stationary. But am I asking for some trouble in handling while on track with weight outside of the wheelbase?

[@garrettracingteam]

As a rule of thumb, I do not try and mount weight outside of the wheelbase, either behind the rear axle or in front of the front axle/spindles. For one, many rule books including the one that I have to use do not allow this, and two, once you get weight so far away from the center of the car it can create a whipping effect while cornering. It is something to play with and can be dependent on the style of racing you do (dirt vs paved, oval vs road course), but like everything else you can go too far with it. I like to keep my added weight as low and as centered as I can that allows for a maximum left side percentage (since I am oval track racing) and minimum total weight.

[@CTPAYC2323]

​@@garrettracingteam Thanks for the response! I'm on a paved road course, endurance racing. I'll need to get some better intuition around "whipping effect". If I need to move a lot of balance to the rear, then it makes sense to move it as far as I can. But it only makes sense while the car is stationary. I think the key would be to think how it would behave under weight transfer in cornering / trail braking / accelerating out of a corner. Then weight behind the rear axle would have significant impact on the dynamics of the weight distribution, if I make sense.

[@timchilders3535]

@@garrettracingteam Yes, agreed. We often refer to lead hung behind the housing as "slinging weight".

[@juniorwhelchel6337]

I run on dirt also where are you located

[@garrettracingteam]

I race on Asphalt with the open wheel modified. I race at a track called ACE Speedway in Altamahaw, NC

[@juniorwhelchel6337]

I run a Monte Carlo metric chassis in pure stock class we can not run any type of weight do u have any pointers for me

[@garrettracingteam]

Do you have to meet a minimum weight? If so, how do you meet minimum weight if they do not allow you to add any?

[@juniorwhelchel6337]

No weight limit

[@garrettracingteam]

@@juniorwhelchel6337 I would remove all the weight that I could then. Find parts that will work that are lighter, especially rotating weight such as wheels, hubs, brake rotors, clutch assemblies, rear end internals, transmission internals, etc. Can you run fiberglass body pieces? I run a fiberglass roof and hood that helps cut down alot of weight. You can also look at getting more left side percentage by removing weight from just the right side. Get creative and look at the car and see what is really needed and what can be removed and still be safe to race.

[@garrettracingteam]

Also, take a look at your competitors when you are at the track to see where they may have removed weight as well. And if you go across scales at the end of races, have someone record what the weights are for the winners. That will give you an idea of where everyone is compared to your car

[@juniorwhelchel6337]

Everything is supposed to be completely stock and we can't remove any thing as far as cutting stuff off the car but I definitely appreciate you speaking with me

[@renedayhoff7629]

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[@traceygreenlow7599]

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[@TheBaldMiddleAgedMetalHead]

If you aim to package a car with the lowest polar moment of inertia and the lowest centre if gravity. Weight distribution almost takes care of itself. But I'd say weight distribution is one of the least important things on a race car, Porsche's and Audi's have proven that time and time again.

[@jerseyshoredroneservices225]

Tour type modified's running on small, banked ovals can't really be compared to Porsches and Audies. They aren't designed and engineered for this kind of a race track with this kind of tires and and a spool in the rear end.

[@jerseyshoredroneservices225]

Promosm? Wth is that?

[@pandoradamas6861]

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