Too much weight?
Building a drag race car and wondering what is too much weight or if that is even an issue. I figure you guys have tried it all by now. Does it ever become a point when too much weight is an issue? If so where is that point?
Discussion
Chuck Norris was once supposed to meet Red Pill for a diecast race. Upon site of the legendary Red Pill, Chuck Norris immediately crossed the street and cowered in an alley until Red Pill walked by.
- For sure an urban legend as Chuck doesn't back down from anything... just saying... — TexTenn_Racing
- I heard Chuck’s tears can cure cancer but we’ll never know. — Soapy_Waters_Racing
Red Pill:
"Too much weight? Bah! WE DIE LIKE MEN !!!"
Track length can come into play, depending on the angle of your start ramp. I've found the heavier cars can be slower off the line, but bring a burst of speed when they hit the straight level ground. Recent race on King of the 621 had a heavy Silverado that was always the last off the line, but consistantly third or better at the finish. Somewhere there's a sweet spot where the late charge cancels out the slow start and I think it can be fun to watch the light and heavy cars battle over this difference.
An article about this topic from the pages of Diecast Racing Report:
issuu.com/diecastracingreport/docs/drr-2020-09-01/s/10948146
- Great article. Especially good to note the effects of weight on an open track. There is a lot of random luck on an open track but you can help yourself a bit by minding the weight and how it works in turns. — redlinederby
- Excellent! — TexTenn_Racing
Here's a post from long ago with a video as well. It's focused on Pinewood racing but the physics is the same and you can translate the ideas down to the diecast rather easily. Obviously, more helpful for drag strip racing rather than open track...but eitherway, might jog your idea factory. Experiment!
I do not believe that there is an actual weight maximum for getting the most speed from a build. Weight placement is definitely more important. The higher off the ground the weight is the more unstable the car will be. Unstable is not fast.
any updates?
Whats the heaviest car y'all have built? win or fail?
inquiring minds want to know
dr
- Currently doing operation triple digit,trying to mod a car that will be the first to weigh in the triple digits for jester motorworks — Kingjester
- My fastest build is 114.9gm everything over that has been unstable. — Redline_Salvage_Inc
- The purple people eater or a different mod? — Kingjester
- I think anything over 60g is probably overkill. I did build a couple of 100g+ vehicles for the Junkyard Joust. — TheMakersBox
- I think, we reach a point, that weight, vs axle friction becomes "diminishing returns" not less weight, better axles...lol — dr_dodge
- ground, plated polished axles? but what dia, vs wheel center dia???? Smaller is better, but can't hold true under weight/force. interesting condrum, to say the least — dr_dodge
More mass usually translates to more inertial resistance, like AlleyCatRaceClub mentioned. Unless you're using an insanely steep drop angle, a heavier car will take longer to come up to speed than a lighter car. And then there's 'static friction' which is the rolling resistance created by the standing weight of the car itself. Also keep in mind that heavier cars can become axle benders if the transition angle is too sharp.
You can actually build a car that's too heavy,I have built a few castings of the same style and tested them against the same casting built lighter,with the result of the lighter being quicker off the line on a drag race track. I have found that 65 to 85 grams is a good weight range for diecast racing,even on tracks with lots of curves.I've found that if you use a good wheel and axle combo,with a little polishing on the axles,and a little sanding and polishing on the wheels,with the addition of some weight,will make the casting you use as fast,or faster as a casting with lots of weight.This is what I have found,and I don't want to step on any toes in this forum,I just know this works well with me and the guys and gals in my racing club. I hope this helps
I have always found that anything over 140-150 grams is very difficult to maintain the speed. I've built several cars near the 200 gram mark and not one of them could be considered the fastest thing I ever built. My two fastest cars built are right around 120 grams.