AutoX with spare/jack in?
 

I have never taken my spare/jack out of any car when I've AutoX'd. I always figure that little bit of extra weight might help rear traction.

What's everyone's take on this?

Less weight is always better. Everyone will agree.








However if I'm lazy I might not take it out either. Depends on what the event is and what I am trying to accomplish. My car is not fully prepped or anything anyway.

What Blaine said...if you want the extra "stability" weight. Fill the gas tank...Lighter is better..it 35lbs.... plus another 30lbs for the muffler... so that minus 65 lbs right there...

Bill

Run it with them in, then run it with them out then repeat multiple times... You wont run consistently faster times in one configuration than the other.

Out is directionally correct, but it won't be a quantifiable improvement.

i leave mine in. its a pain in the butt to take in and out, i mean i'm too lazy to do so

For racing is as Scooby South said, it's going to be negligible for most.

I can tell you this though, you know when you have a full tank of gas and when you have an 1/4 tank of gas in this car though. ;)

Best bet is to stick with one set-up and learn that. Keep things consistent and it will be easier to learn and improve on.

Well I already have a muffler delete...so I'm part way there ;)

I could go into calculations regarding 35 pounds located exactly where the jack is in our car and how those pounds would impact the car as it rotates, transitions, brakes and accelerates, but my god that would be so boring.

I'll simplify. If ANY race team were allowed to remove 35 pounds from their car as easily as we can pop 35 pounds out of the back of ours, THEY WOULD HAVE IT REMOVED BEFORE THE INK DRIED ON THE RULE BOOK! Take it out. It's not that hard to do!

The trick about weight savings is you don't just think of it in terms of just one item. Yes the jack doesn't weigh much, 1 gallon of gas doesn't weigh much, etc. But if you run minimum gas, light wheels, remove all the junk from the trunk, floormats, glovebox junk, muffler delete etc. this could be over 100lbs. Now if you can't tell when you have a passenger in the car or not, you just aren't going fast enough yet IMO.

While most of us aren't fast enough that we can't run our fastest run on a full tank with all the junk in the car, it is just smart and very easy prep that does help.

I usually take the spare tire and jack out, I also have a muffler delete, lightweight wheels, and run with minimal fuel it all adds up. If I decide to switch from RTR to STX next year, I'll be looking at more weight savings via a lighter battery (20+lbs), lighter brakes, and hopefully lighter coilovers.

Many clubs require you to pull stuff like that from your trunk. But seriously, why would you not want to in the first place? Weight savings is weight savings.