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Been thinking about this today and thought you guys might be able to assist(im hoping scuffers can have an input as I do like trying to learn from him)
Ok first question is, most elise/exige have a 40/60 weight distribution, now ive read in few books that this is pretty close to optimum rather than 50/50 because when you head into a corner with deceleration the weight transfer to the front brings the car more 50/50 meaning you dont overload the front end compared to a normal 50/50 sports car.
If thats the case is that the perfect weight distribution above all else for our chassis, if you have the ability to pull alot of weight out of the car, should that be the number you should always be aiming for.
The reason I ask is im pondering my recent geo and setup.
This is with 100kg of ballast in the drivers seat and 10kg of fuel(fuel tank is only on passenger side)
this has a 58.8% rear bias.
So im working on pulling more weight out of the car, which will be again mostly from the back end of the car which will again send my bias further forward.
Should I actually be aiming to only pull weight out of the front to get me back closer to 40/60.
I understand from what scuffers said on the weight thread on lotus talk that a couple of percent wont really make any difference but since im still pulling more weight out of the car it would be nice to know what is classed as 'perfect'
If there is such a thing of course, im sure driving style, types of tracks probably play a part aswell.
Next thing would be spring rates relating to the weight distribution, now if we ignore the aero for a second and assume that the downforce my car produces on track matches identically the weight distribution the static car it(not saying it will but just to make it a little easier)
I have fitted 900lb fronts and 1150lb rears to my car, the reason for this choice is based on jamies car in which he runs 1000lb/1400lb. His car is 110kg heavier than mine with a more reward weight distribution and runs slicks, so Ive taken 250lbs off the rear end and 100lb off the front, the reason for not taking much off the front is I have a 200mm extended splitter plus big canards so I need to make sure I keep the splitter off the ground at speed.
The issue with this is that im not balanced spring wise to my weight distribution, my springs are 43.9/56.1 compared to static weight 41.2/58.8, i know its not much but again should i be aiming to perfectly match my weight distribution ignoring aero for a second.
For example if i change the fronts to a 800lb that would match my weight distribution, assuming i can keep the front end off the tarmac it would be a better choice?
If thats not possible and 800lbs do touch at say 130mph(my splitter edge will be 60mm from tarmac static) or under heavy braking should I up the spring rate at the back to 1300lb?
Finally if anyone can comment on tyre width verses weight distribution im all ears.
With a 255mm rear tyre if i match the weight distribution it would only be 178mm which wouldnt be fees able, im running a 225 tyre on the front currently, so I do wonder if you try and match the car up in a certain way other than static weight and maybe expected weight under braking etc
If you ahve got this far and have any comments I would be most grateful for your input
Ok first question is, most elise/exige have a 40/60 weight distribution, now ive read in few books that this is pretty close to optimum rather than 50/50 because when you head into a corner with deceleration the weight transfer to the front brings the car more 50/50 meaning you dont overload the front end compared to a normal 50/50 sports car.
If thats the case is that the perfect weight distribution above all else for our chassis, if you have the ability to pull alot of weight out of the car, should that be the number you should always be aiming for.
The reason I ask is im pondering my recent geo and setup.
This is with 100kg of ballast in the drivers seat and 10kg of fuel(fuel tank is only on passenger side)

this has a 58.8% rear bias.
So im working on pulling more weight out of the car, which will be again mostly from the back end of the car which will again send my bias further forward.
Should I actually be aiming to only pull weight out of the front to get me back closer to 40/60.
I understand from what scuffers said on the weight thread on lotus talk that a couple of percent wont really make any difference but since im still pulling more weight out of the car it would be nice to know what is classed as 'perfect'
If there is such a thing of course, im sure driving style, types of tracks probably play a part aswell.
Next thing would be spring rates relating to the weight distribution, now if we ignore the aero for a second and assume that the downforce my car produces on track matches identically the weight distribution the static car it(not saying it will but just to make it a little easier)
I have fitted 900lb fronts and 1150lb rears to my car, the reason for this choice is based on jamies car in which he runs 1000lb/1400lb. His car is 110kg heavier than mine with a more reward weight distribution and runs slicks, so Ive taken 250lbs off the rear end and 100lb off the front, the reason for not taking much off the front is I have a 200mm extended splitter plus big canards so I need to make sure I keep the splitter off the ground at speed.
The issue with this is that im not balanced spring wise to my weight distribution, my springs are 43.9/56.1 compared to static weight 41.2/58.8, i know its not much but again should i be aiming to perfectly match my weight distribution ignoring aero for a second.
For example if i change the fronts to a 800lb that would match my weight distribution, assuming i can keep the front end off the tarmac it would be a better choice?
If thats not possible and 800lbs do touch at say 130mph(my splitter edge will be 60mm from tarmac static) or under heavy braking should I up the spring rate at the back to 1300lb?
Finally if anyone can comment on tyre width verses weight distribution im all ears.
With a 255mm rear tyre if i match the weight distribution it would only be 178mm which wouldnt be fees able, im running a 225 tyre on the front currently, so I do wonder if you try and match the car up in a certain way other than static weight and maybe expected weight under braking etc
If you ahve got this far and have any comments I would be most grateful for your input