Quote:
Originally Posted by 7thgear
Actually, I want the data. And I wish someone had the data, then I'd shut up. But all I'm reading is "don't do it, it's stupid" but no one saying "I tried it, it didn't work"
Because the only known case of someone close to me doing it (on a track, in a stock mustang) actually went faster when he put his spare tire back in. But that was one case, and a spare in a mustang is probably 40 pounds tops, and no known experiments since then. So I dunno.
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This is all useless speculation because there are too many variables to consider to call it an experiment. You need the following:
2 identical cars, and I mean IDENTICAL, down to all wear items and fuel level.
A driver who is incredibly consistent.
If you find that, you've got yourself an experiment.
But what if the alignment has to be optimized for the added weight? Tire pressures adjusted. Ride height changed, etc. By the time you optimize all that, you don't have an experiment anymore. You've heat cycled tires, used up gas, fatigued the driver, conditions have changed. What if the setup change is also faster in the car without the weight? There's a reason no one's done it. It's because anyone doing this long enough knows there's a 99% chance it's going to be a fruitless experiment. There's enough physics knowledge and evidence from other experiments to support that adding weight is 99.9% of the time, worse. You're better off relocating weight than adding it. You're better off setting the car up to behave in a way that lets you drive it at 100%, and still be faster in a straight line due to lower weight. The experiment would not have a worthwhile reward because you're only making the car easier to drive, not actually faster, when in contrast, you can do both without compromising.