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weight reduction and 1/4 mile times
airkewld - March 18th, 2008 at 02:45 PM

Was Just wondering if anyone could tell me what kind of time you would be saving down the 1/4 if you were to remove say 60 kg ( around 130lb) from the weight of a bug. Also would having light ercos instead of standard wheels have a big impact on reducing times..... cheers


bond - March 18th, 2008 at 02:52 PM

i take it you are not pete from airkewld?


airkewld - March 18th, 2008 at 03:17 PM

lol no im not....


dangerous - March 18th, 2008 at 03:57 PM

With lighter, low power cars like a VW every 100lbs is worth around a couple of tenths.

So 60kgs is 132lbs therefore about a quarter of a second.

Rotating weight will benefit more than static weight,
unless you want to get complicated and say
there may be gains or losses if the weight transfer is effected.(regarding suspension effect)


vw54 - March 18th, 2008 at 05:18 PM

i dont think anyone has actually done a study on weight reduction and the exact times for each POUND of weight

but as Dave says the lighter the car the quicker it will go


dangerous - March 18th, 2008 at 05:26 PM

Try here for your weight reductions:

http://www.wallaceracing.com/Calculators.htm 


vw54 - March 18th, 2008 at 06:12 PM

some good stuf there Dave :starhit::starhit::starhit:


airkewld - March 18th, 2008 at 07:54 PM

Thanks guys much appreciated..... Apart from changing to fibreglass and using lexan instead of glass what are some other options to reduce the weight of your car?


vw54 - March 18th, 2008 at 08:13 PM

buy a 1 inch and 2 inch hole saw and start drilling the body work

this is OK if your going to have a dedicated drag car
other wise it may become a bit week for a fully registered street car

U can also start running around the block and the weight of you will also vary the times of the car

no good 4 a fat bastard like me i must build an engine with more power hehehehehhe

how FAST you want and nned to go will vary on your budget and of course with a BIG budget you get to go fast

just ask Dave how many years of time and developement he has put into going fast


airkewld - March 18th, 2008 at 08:38 PM

ok awsome... yeah well it is a street and strip bug however most of its time will be spent at the track.... my goal is to run in the 11s.... we have the power but just may need to lighten her up a little.... bumpers, back seat, windows are being replaced with lexan, and other unwanted things have been taken out.... next step is to get some lighter wheels as the total weight of each wheel currently is 14.9kg so roughly 60kg for all 4....


vw54 - March 19th, 2008 at 05:48 AM

its a bit hard to try and havea car that suits both street driven all the time and a dedicated drag car

sounds like yr on the right path with reducing weight
fibreglass bumpers and guards engine lid bonnet etc etc all good
where will you be racing


airkewld - March 19th, 2008 at 10:46 AM

I agree ...... we will be racing at WSID ...... raced there before and at warwick.... first time out there we ran well ( 12.5 @ 104) just top gear was too tall...... then warwick we had a few issues and we broke her lol... so she is back at CBB getting reparied.... so in the coming month hopefully we will be out there again to give her another run