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So has anyone thought about transferring weight from the front of the vehicle to the rear, in order to establish a more even distribution? Most of the mods we do are pretty typical amongst tuner-cars in general, like weight-reduction, downforce mods (body-kits), and suspension upgrades; however I was looking at some Porsche Boxsters on Craigslist, and began thinking about it's reputation for superior handling; the source of which is not only it's mid-engine, but it's 50/50 weight distribution. So this got me thinking ... Correct me if I'm wrong, but the SC is about 56/44 which isn't bad, but what could we do to replace some of that front end weight to the rear; in order to come closer to 50/50 and improve cornering capability to the ideal?
What are the heaviest components (besides the engine of course) in the front end?
What are some ideas we could have to even it out?
One thing that's easy to relocate, as we all know, is the battery ... So theres #1.
Help me add to this list; lets see what we can establish:
In my limited experience, not having driven a ton of cars at various points along the front/rear balance spectrum, approaching the 50/50 figure is pure handling magic! Turn the wheel, punch it, and you're instantly off in a new direction.
The battery is the only easy one, unfortunately. It's on my to-do list.
I added beefier rear wheels and am looking for an appropriately styled, light set of front wheels to offset the weight gain and lighten the front relative to the rear. I looked at some mint Enkei RSVs yesterday, but as feared, they'll require a 15+ mm spacer to fit the LS400 calipers.
You're spot on with the CF hood. It's spendy, but how else do you cut 35-40 lbs off the front?
Some have suggested a rear mount radiator, but I'm not sure how practical that is. The extra water plumbing penalty might offset however much weight is moved rearward.
All the other savings up front are of the nickel and diming variety, unfortunately. I've got all the items I've shed broken down by front/mid/rear in my build thread. I've taken 15+ lbs off the front, 12 oz at a time...
I'm pretty sure you've 100% missed the point of 50/50 weight distribution. It's about handling, not straight line acceleration.
normally i'd find a creative way to tell you you're wrong and why but i'm kinda tired so... you are but here's why.
handling does not exist apart from forward motion. that forward motion is constantly fluctuating. you are either accelerating or braking on a race track. so the weight is either being shifted forward or back all the time.
a proper suspension setup will do more for a car with 40/60 weight distribution than a 50/50 car setup with a not so great suspension. <-- that's the point.
good springs, good struts, good sway bars, good alignment, and good tires trump weight distribution. only when that stuff is settled should someone start trying to do things that return far less for their cost.
Its just not that big of a deal in most cases. weight distribution is like way down on the list of stuff that needs to happen to make these cars awesome.
50/50 distribution is cool like mentioned above, but its about reducing weight in the right areas and concentrating it elsewhere. for example its better to have less weight in front of the front wheels and advantageous to have more weight over the rear wheels. Also better to have weight lower in the car than higher up (sunroof vs no sunroof)
I think moving the battery to the boot or using a light weight battery should be enough. If you were really hardcore then you would move the engine back a few inches
normally i'd find a creative way to tell you you're wrong and why but i'm kinda tired so... you are but here's why.
handling does not exist apart from forward motion. that forward motion is constantly fluctuating. you are either accelerating or braking on a race track. so the weight is either being shifted forward or back all the time.
I'd be much more "swayed" if you had used a daily street driving example, where cornering means regular side to side shifting of weight. I've felt a massive difference in that respect by taking 50-100 lbs off the front of an already nearly-50/50 car.
No one's going to argue against the value of a good suspension setup, but I firmly believe that a balanced vehicle is every bit as important for street driving. I'll take real world experience over theory every day.
Originally Posted by czar07
50/50 distribution is cool like mentioned above, but its about reducing weight in the right areas and concentrating it elsewhere. for example its better to have less weight in front of the front wheels and advantageous to have more weight over the rear wheels.
Isn't that just a more precise way of saying the same thing? It's still largely about moving weight back. If that moon roof were sitting above the hood, it would be doubly important to eliminate because it's up front in addition to being high.
Hunh ... This is interesting.
If you cut out out the spare tire well, you could horizontally install a radiator, tucking it neatly (and safely) beneath the car in the back; so as to avoid sacrificing actual trunk space.
Not quite what he did here, but I like how it's under the car however.
How difficult is a job like this? You would def. need an electric fan(s) in this case, I suppose.
^ That looks pretty slick! Seems like a ton of work, but the "cool" factor is very high. The engine bay would stay a lot cooler, too, without the hot air from the radiator to dissipate. And imagine how puzzled mechanics would be when popping the hood. I wonder if you could go with a half-height spare tire well (for a donut spare) and still create enough space down below?
Seido, that's a sick setup, but I don't think running the rad hose from the from to the back is going to be reliable solution to weight distribution.
Actually, I think it would be the ultimate in weight distribution, with the supply and return hoses being spread evenly along the length of the car. Weight penalty is a different matter, though. That and the fear of a hose rupture under the car.
Would you need a pump?
How do they feed the rad fluid to the front of the car, with these sorts of setups?
You would route your upper and lower hose to the radiator the exact same way as if it was in the front of the car. The only differences are:
1) An electric fan becomes mandatory.
2) You might need to switch to a high volume water pump just to increase the flow rate since you are now pushing fluid 10+ feet as opposed to 2.
What about relocating the windshield washer reservoir to the trunk? Unlike a radiator relocation, there's virtually no danger to a leak -- it just cleans things for you. And the hose is so thin, there'd be hardly any weight penalty. A bonus would be if you could source a Soarer rear wiper, since you would need hose plumbed back there, anyway.
I couldn't find a listing of the capacity, but from the size of it and what I saw for the RX, it probably holds right around a gallon. That's 15+ lbs that could be moved rearward. There should be plenty of space to either side of the gas tank, above the strut towers, so no loss of trunk space. Either run a filler spout through the panel that covers the gas tank, or just pull the panel out a couple times a year when filling the reservoir. It would probably require using a differently shaped washer bottle with compatible electronics hookups.
Like the radiator relocation, the strength of the pump would be an unknown to address. It could be tested easily enough with a long run of hose from the stock location, though.
04-05-15, 03:41 AM
50/50 Weight Distribution?
It's about handling, not straight line acceleration.
I wonder if you could go with a half-height spare tire well (for a donut spare) and still create enough space down below?
