Power - Weight Ratio

  • Thread starter Thread starter j3ozg
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Power to weight can be the same for a heavy and light car.

But the lighter car will win as long as the race involves any braking.
 
Just remember that power to weight isn't everything. Would you rather have a 4000 lb car with 800 hp or a 2000 lb car with 400 hp? The power to weight ratio is the same, but depending on the track you'll get completely different results. Say you are on an oval. You get a lot more top speed out of the 4000 lb car, as the raw power will help and drag areas aren't typically scaling directly with weight.
Very true. 👍

The heavy car with the high horsepower is the winner on that oval track. Now, if you can imagine that big oval track transforming gradually into a tight, twisty track, at some point the high hp/heavy car will lose its advantage. The tighter and twistier the track gets, the more the advantage tilts to the lower horsepower, lighter weight car. The high powered/higher weight cars are on more equal footing with the lighter cars when the race track's straights get longer.

We say "horses for courses" a lot in slot racing -- what works well at one track isn't necessarily a good combination at another track. You don't know for sure until you try, and you have to test, test, test.
 
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