I have a 96 suncoast hard tail dragster 215 in...I think it is probably 1850 pounds..I weighed the front end tonight, and the results are..with both red top batteries in.. in front of what you guys call the foot box..439# .. take one out..and I get 402#.. take the other one out..and I get 370 #.. I am thinking replace all that with lithium ion batteries at 8# each..very expensive but going to 16 volts as well..yeah or neah..what say you gurus...

I got cut off..How much weight should be on the front end..so not to jumpout of the beams and red light.. can save 67# ..of heavy battery weight, but at what chance of jumping out of the beams and red light..

If money is not object(congratulations if not) Then go for it. You could save quite a bit with single 16 volt battery. Not as lite,but then neither is you biffold.Is lot lighter than two 12's. Cranks lot better also.

If too much front weight is your main issue either the single battery and/or move it back.Heck move it behind axle and get weight transfer plus weight off front.

185 is heavy for hardtail.Our old spitzer was 230" and weighed about 1750.Now thats with brother and I think he hits around 180 lbs.

25% of the total car weight on the front with the driver in it is the rule of thumb.

hey Chris..thanx for the response.. Money is a huge object,, up here in Canada.. And I was taking note from a previous post you said, and I remember in my day,38 years ago...100 bucks a pound is considered money well spent..in the racing world..soo if i spend lut's say 2 grand and save 67 pounds..that is a good drag racing deal..is it not?..haha..I think it is ,and I get 16 volts out of it..ok.. the next question would be will I jump the beams and red light trying to get everything to light and not balanced out.. and the 1850 is just a guess, probably way heavy.. the front end is the only data that I have actually weighed..

thanx ..Bender,, exactly the answer to one of my questions

You can lose the weight with the lighter batteries, AND keep weight on the front if you move those little batteries into the nose. If there is room.

Thanx Bucky,, and yes, that is what I would do..there is also 25 # of lead ballast up there already...

That is a good question and I would like to know the answer for Front Engine Dragster weight. I have a new front engine dragster and I started out with 389 on front and it was not working good at all. I think that for that car 389 is way too much weight up front and I am moving weight in the off season.
The reason I say that is because on a hard tail Front or rear engine, I think the weight distribution is much of the key to making it work right. I also think with a rear suspended car you can get away with much more front weight than a hard tail.

quote:

Originally posted by STEVE LUCE:
Thanx Bucky,, and yes, that is what I would do..there is also 25 # of lead ballast up there already...

Are you running a blown Alky engine? Top Fuel? If not, why in the world would you have that much weight on the front?

quote:

Originally posted by STEVE LUCE:
I have a 96 suncoast hard tail dragster 215 in...I think it is probably 1850 pounds..I weighed the front end tonight, and the results are..with both red top batteries in.. in front of what you guys call the foot box..439# .. take one out..and I get 402#.. take the other one out..and I get 370 #.. I am thinking replace all that with lithium ion batteries at 8# each..very expensive but going to 16 volts as well..yeah or neah..what say you gurus...

Have you actually put the whole car on the scale? and work from there. Seems like a lot of weight for a 215. Isn't much to a 215 HT. My friends 215 MW car weighs 1625 with him in it. 598CI. My 235 HT with the 632 is 1805. Your block filled? But mine is built be Neils and Parks. Weight saving Company. >> lightest

Kind of surprising to me just how many people do not even know how much weight is on front wheels and the front /rear weight bias.

I have lined up the opportunity with our local dyno guy here to borrow his scales.. will get real numbers and continue this conversation.. I am still curious as to what is the weight that should be on the front end..Bender said 25 %.. soo.. we shall see what the numbers are.. and I purchased the car as is ,and didn't change anything, cause needed seat time for me before changing anything.. now I am getting deeper into making changes, and looking for input to make it right...

Curly,

Frank Parks told me 300# is minimum for drivablity.Now 389# is a lot compared. At same time where on front weight is will have big effect.If at axles its weight if hangin out front as my battery is it has leverage effect. If its weight from further back I think it has less effect on keeping front end down. So in that point yes it is balance.If possible I would remove all weight in front of axle first.

Then FED and RED react different in lots of ways.

mine works out to almost exactly 25 %,517 approximate on front

quote:

Originally posted by Curly1:
That is a good question and I would like to know the answer for Front Engine Dragster weight. I have a new front engine dragster and I started out with 389 on front and it was not working good at all. I think that for that car 389 is way too much weight up front and I am moving weight in the off season.
The reason I say that is because on a hard tail Front or rear engine, I think the weight distribution is much of the key to making it work right. I also think with a rear suspended car you can get away with much more front weight than a hard tail.

Bruce that sounds like too much weight on the front of your car ! With ballast on the front of mine it's right around 300 lbs ! i have also found that the Goodyear 2585 tire has worked the best for me ! If you could get one of the Junior Fuel guy's to let you try a set I think you will see a world of difference in your car !

quote:

Originally posted by bill masiello:

quote:

Originally posted by Curly1:
That is a good question and I would like to know the answer for Front Engine Dragster weight. I have a new front engine dragster and I started out with 389 on front and it was not working good at all. I think that for that car 389 is way too much weight up front and I am moving weight in the off season.
The reason I say that is because on a hard tail Front or rear engine, I think the weight distribution is much of the key to making it work right. I also think with a rear suspended car you can get away with much more front weight than a hard tail.

Bruce that sounds like too much weight on the front of your car ! With ballast on the front of mine it's right around 300 lbs ! i have also found that the Goodyear 2585 tire has worked the best for me ! If you could get one of the Junior Fuel guy's to let you try a set I think you will see a world of difference in your car !

I believe the problem with my car is too much weight on front or not enough power to plant rear tires and hold it. The problem with a car like mine is there is not really any out there exactly same. Weight distribution, horsepower and how flexible the chassis is makes a lot of difference. Mine is not right as it is but I will figure it out and I think it is going in right direction. Also think once I do get it right should be fun and easy to drive.

Bruce I played around with different things on my car and found that keeping the weight out of the middle of the car helped the chassis work better !

quote:

Originally posted by STEVE LUCE:
I got cut off..How much weight should be on the front end..so not to jumpout of the beams and red light.. can save 67# ..of heavy battery weight, but at what chance of jumping out of the beams and red light..

The only correct answer is "As much as u need to keep the wheels from popping out of the beams", period!

There are too many variables that effect this deal of which some are: converter setup, chassis lengths and construction, rear gear, trans first gear, HP, rear tires!!!!

The car needs to be balanced to match the combo.

quote:

Originally posted by TOP38:


The only correct answer is "As much as u need to keep the wheels from popping out of the beams", period!

There are too many variables that effect this deal of which some are: converter setup, chassis lengths and construction, rear gear, trans first gear, HP, rear tires!!!!

The car needs to be balanced to match the combo.

And tested and changed and tested and changed until it works.