Is Weight Redux all the way always a good thing?

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dumkopf

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In every car that I've tuned to all the way, I've found that the weight reduction seems to upset the car. As much of a benefit as weight reduction is. I think it hinders the car. As soon as you lift off the throttle you're sliding. I know part of this is a lack of downforce, but I just can't get used to the wings. I've tried adding some ballast and it hasn't had an effect. Maybe it's not enough?
 
I've never noticed any form of disturbance after weight reduction. I assume if you can drive it properly it will nly help. :confused: ;)
 
This probably depends on the car - cars that are already light might suffer, heavier cars will probably improve.

I almost never use weight reduction - it cannot be undone; although weight reduction 1 is probably the most cost effective enhancement you can do the higher levels are too expensive; it is mostly unnecessary.

You say that "as soon as you lift off the throttle you're sliding" - sounds like you need to be slowing down a bit earlier. Are you sure it is the weight reduction that is causing the problem?
 
I've had stability problems with the Ginetta G4 after reducing weight. The car was all over the place. Couldn't use wings...

Try to work with the susp settings!!!
 
Possibly due to aids and/or LSD? I may think that may be the reason.
 
What you may feel is the change in power to weight ratio. Naturally your car is going much faster. Likewise, your handling in the car is also changed, most likely to be more sensitive.

I don't think weight reductions are a bad thing. Going all the way with weight reductions can make a world of difference.
However, I usually only go to the stage 2 weight reduction because the difference in weight from stage 2 to stage 3 is not worth the price. The amount of weight loss at stage 3 is nothing compared to stage 1.

My suggestion is to only use stage 3 when doing some kind of competition. Otherwise, save your money and take advantage of stage 1 and 2. 👍

Great question. 👍
 
Less weight = Free speed (Better performance in everything).

The only way I could see it posing a problem is if you have a driving style that heavily relies on weight-transferring; as the vehicle loses more weight, the less effect transferring weight to the inner-wheels in a corner is going to have.

-But it would'nt be much of a problem I suspect, as increased cornering capabilities would make up for it.
 
A heavier car is inherently more stable, that's why land speed record challengers weigh as much as a small truck. Ron Dennis once said, "getting a car to do 1000 mph isn't hard, keeping it on the ground is."
 
For cars with greater weight,
such as Nissan Skyline GT-Rs,
weight reduction would be more worthwhile.

But for cars that are already of lower weight,
such as Cappuccino and Ginetta G4,
I guess weight losing would be quite unnecessary.
 
I have found that weight loss in land yachts, such as the 300C or Dodge Ram HEMI, acually helps them tremendously. My truck was over 2200KGs stock. The HEMI struggled and strained just to get it to a buck and a half. After all 3 stages, the HEMI could sling the 1800KG pickup to 170 with ease. It also helped that beast in the twisties. I noticed it was alot less likely to wag it's tail in the middle of a chicane and pushed less on binders. Speaking of binders, they worked so much better.
 
One thing that has not been mentioned is that spring rates need to be revisited after a weight reduction. If they are not changed the effect is the same as increasing the spring rate.

And reducing weight will ALWAYS make the car faster so long as the suspension is re-tuned appropriately - it might not, however, make it more enjoyable or easier to drive.
 
Lately, I've been trying to use a m3 csl for the nurb 4 hr endurance, I gave it a stage 1 and the car feels really unstable and I'm having trouble chasing the lead car. Im thinking the lighter weight of the car causes the m3 to bounce more, so I'm considering adding some weight back on. ;)
 
dumkopf
So a tad bit of softening of the spring rates should do the trick? Front? Rear? Both?
Click to expand...

As a general rule of thumb, the more you reduce the cars weight, the more you would have to soften the spring rate, dampers and stabilisers. These should be softened all round.

The basic reason is quite simple, spring rates are not directly comparable from car to car, for a set spring rate, the lighter a car is the stiffer it will feel and the heavier the car is the softer it will feel. So if you have a car set-up just right and you then go and remove 100kilos+ in weight, the previously fine spring rates will now most likely be too stiff and will require a reduction in rate.

Damper settings need to be linked to spring rates so as a rule of thumb as you reduce the spring rate you may need to reduce the damper rates as well. Stabilisers are effectively springs that act only during lateral roll and as such are subject to the same issue as the main road springs, reducing the cars weight requires a reduction in stabiliser weight.

Given that the default settings for the fully customisable suspension are too stiff (particularly in the area of dampers), its almost mandatory to soften the suspension should the car go on a diet.


KiwiBoy
Lately, I've been trying to use a m3 csl for the nurb 4 hr endurance, I gave it a stage 1 and the car feels really unstable and I'm having trouble chasing the lead car. Im thinking the lighter weight of the car causes the m3 to bounce more, so I'm considering adding some weight back on.
Click to expand...
Try addressing the suspension settings of the CSL first, as a default its quite a stiff car (even with stock suspension), so reducing the weight makes it even more sensitive to the bumpy nature of the 'ring. The end result is a car that can jump around too much, fit FC suspension (if you have not already) and soften the suspension before getting to car to put weight back on. You gain a lot of advantages from weight reduction, a quick set-up adjustment should allow you to keep these advantages with minimal adverse effects.

Regards

Scaff
 
I recently had a desire to take a gt mustang around the nurburgring so i set it up with all the suspension, transmission, brake, and weight modifications. first try i had problems such as trouble around corners and launching whenever i'd go inside a little to far.

A quick ride height, bound-rebound, and spring rate reduction made a world of a difference and gave the mustang some great handling (after a little more tweeking)

so like it was said, its not really the weight reduction which is affecting the car, its mostly the suspension. Also, I know this is completely obvious, but you have to remember that 300hp in a heavier car is going to feel like 400-500hp once you've installed the weight reductions so power might also be your problem.
 
Don't do weight reduction on a car you plan to use in a race or series for un-modified cars. (Standard, production, I don't recall the terminology used.) Weight reduction can't be un-installed, and a reduced car is no longer eligible for such an event, event with nothing else done to it.
 

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