Most everyone is thinking similar Losing weight is important but we all have budgets to deal with and sometimes it is not worth the money to save a few ounces at the cost of thousands. I do not have a problem if others spend that kind of money for such a small gain.

One other thing is we actually need some weight to get our cars to hook good. So we place what weight we do have where it helps us most.

My car got light when it had to and I had access to the things I needed to make it that way. Don't matter any more and just like me it keeps gaining weight these days. Bracket racing don't care what you weigh.

quote:

Originally posted by ferndaleflyer:
Bracket racing don't care what you weigh.

^^^This, Fern Knows^^^, as do others!

The rest can do as they wish, to make themselves feel better.

2BKing is great, just ask me.

quote:

Originally posted by 1320racer:

quote:

Originally posted by racerdude2054:
2,000 dollars and how much weight would it actually save? Would it even equal a hundredth or two on track?

We bracket race….

EXACTLY!

quote:

Originally posted by DragRaceResults:
Do you even consider weight on your car?

depends on which group of bracket racers you ask, The broke dyck door car crowd ain't buying lite weight parts, titanium bolts nor carbon fiber. Instead they will use a hole saw, sawzall and hammer to cut up their shyt box and replace sheet metal with tin and/or cheap chinese fiberglass parts.

The top bulb, top dragster, go fast medium dragster crowd for whom money is not a concern, will spend whatever they have to to achieve their goal in weight and performance.

That said, my next dragster will have a full carbon package, dash, panels, trays, etc. which I'm told is worth 30 lbs. at best over all aluminum. It will not be devoid of chrome, paint or a data logger nor convenience options like an on board compressor and trans pump that make it a bracket car that can be double entered without concern.

theres not as much there as most think, my aluminum belly pan that came with car was 1# lighter then my carbon pan... then if paint and clear gets added, the savings are minimal...

MY PCRC is 150 lbs. heavier than an equivalent brand name dragster. There was a time when that bothered me, but it's a 2011 and it's held up better than most other brands of the same year. I see guys replacing their car every other year. Is it because they are worn out or they just like to spend their hard earned money on new pipe.

Just like any light weight components you put on race cars the lighter they are the quicker they wear out.

removing weight is not always expensive. It is for the most part if cutting every once. A drill and few bits will remove some weight,minor but ti does add up. It will not be enough to make you tenth quicker, but hell it is fun, Now if you do nothing but write check for race car parts it will be very expensive. The old figure was 100 per lb. Admitted on bracket is probably not best use of money. On heads up with rules on engine thats not bad.

No data to back this up. A lighter car has less resistance to get moving and seems would be more consistent and thinking balancing weight as or more important.

Buying lighter parts from the start is the cheapest way to have a lite car.

I would say reducing rolling resistance is of equal importance for both performance and consistency.

Good feedback and a wide variety of answers. Obviously this question comes up with our building of our 4th set of dragsters this winter.

Deuces Wild American Dragster Build

That being said, we have to purchase parts anyway so I'm looking at weights. Everything from wheels, to TI 4 link bars, Drive Shafts, to bolts, to king pins and so on.

It's been a long time since I walked this road. Built a 1700lb SG car once only to bolt 400lbs on it. lol

But with everyone getting faster on the Big Bucks side, I didn't want to change engine combos or go to a blower, so we dialed up my good friend Greg Brotherton at BRODIX, got some big chunks of aluminum coming on the block side and started looking at everything else.

I've always been up front about my car weights. 1950 lb at 155 with a 615 was pretty much my average. I'd like to think I can build these new ones at 1775 and go 160 with the same combo.

We will know more in March!

quote:

Originally posted by DragRaceResults:
Good feedback and a wide variety of answers. Obviously this question comes up with our building of our 4th set of dragsters this winter.

Deuces Wild American Dragster Build

That being said, we have to purchase parts anyway so I'm looking at weights. Everything from wheels, to TI 4 link bars, Drive Shafts, to bolts, to king pins and so on.

It's been a long time since I walked this road. Built a 1700lb SG car once only to bolt 400lbs on it. lol

But with everyone getting faster on the Big Bucks side, I didn't want to change engine combos or go to a blower, so we dialed up my good friend Greg Brotherton at BRODIX, got some big chunks of aluminum coming on the block side and started looking at everything else.

I've always been up front about my car weights. 1950 lb at 155 with a 615 was pretty much my average. I'd like to think I can build these new ones at 1775 and go 160 with the same combo.

We will know more in March!

It's always nice to shave some weight in parts if you don't have to spend a bunch extra to do it. I'd you need to do it to get every possible number you can of ET for qualified fields I can see spending the extra but for bracket racing I don't see the need to spend a larger difference in parts.

not being a smart azz here by any means so please dont be offended.

has anyone done a survey on the big money races as to how many sub 440 plus 155mph cars are winning? i see mostly door cars and above 450 dragsters doing most of the winning. again i do not keep stats on these races but when i watch that is what i see.

if someone is not winning going 440 is the chances better going 420. i get that the race is in front but there are drivers in 470 cars who can hold a tenth and make it looks easy. so if i am going 420 i get to watch the man running 470 beat me the whole way.

now, if you are getting help from manufacturers on the light weight parts for a minimal cost difference then by all means it makes more since.

i would figure out how to win at the speed and et i am working with rather than worrying about how much i weigh and how fast i am.

i would love to have an aluminum small block and drop 100# or so but i am not willing to spend the money so i try to win where i am.

ep-maybe i look at things wrong.

quote:

Originally posted by pauley:
not being a smart azz here by any means so please dont be offended.

has anyone done a survey on the big money races as to how many sub 440 plus 155mph cars are winning? i see mostly door cars and above 450 dragsters doing most of the winning. again i do not keep stats on these races but when i watch that is what i see.

if someone is not winning going 440 is the chances better going 420. i get that the race is in front but there are drivers in 470 cars who can hold a tenth and make it looks easy. so if i am going 420 i get to watch the man running 470 beat me the whole way.

ep-maybe i look at things wrong.

No you are dead on with a zero!

Again..

pauley…Knows!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: 1320racer,

quote:

Originally posted by pauley:
not being a smart azz here by any means so please dont be offended.

has anyone done a survey on the big money races as to how many sub 440 plus 155mph cars are winning? i see mostly door cars and above 450 dragsters doing most of the winning. again i do not keep stats on these races but when i watch that is what i see.

if someone is not winning going 440 is the chances better going 420. i get that the race is in front but there are drivers in 470 cars who can hold a tenth and make it looks easy. so if i am going 420 i get to watch the man running 470 beat me the whole way.

now, if you are getting help from manufacturers on the light weight parts for a minimal cost difference then by all means it makes more since.

i would figure out how to win at the speed and et i am working with rather than worrying about how much i weigh and how fast i am.

i would love to have an aluminum small block and drop 100# or so but i am not willing to spend the money so i try to win where i am.

ep-maybe i look at things wrong.

A winner will win with anything. Most of us are not winners and will get lucky some times, but then again, luck doesn't really rely on an advantage, like weight or horsepower.

I am sure some of the elites beaten by Nick Hastings in a funny looking car foot braking got their feelings hurt. And just how many races and money has he won?

quote:

I am sure some of the elites beaten by Nick Hastings in a funny looking car foot braking got their feelings hurt. And just how many races and money has he won?

Bingo!

DOOR TRUCKS FTW…..

According to my friends, I own the heaviest 72 Nova known to man, lol.

Did I consider weight, yep. I keep adding it to slow it down to 6.39 and slower.

Going relatively fast super lightweight, is just more reliable, less maintenance.

I'd rather a light 4.60-4.70 dragster making 1000hp, than a heavy 4.60-4.70 dragster making 1150hp.

I'd also rather a long rod ratio peaky power BBC combo, the piston skirts and bore last longer, less maintenance.

Common sense.

That's the plan with #MEAN GREEN. Now if I can help them hit the winner circle regularly, everyone will live happily ever after.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Mike Rietow,

In fact, I'm gonna put #MEAN GREEN on scales and suggest to the man to start peeling weight of it, with the incentive being less maintenance.

It'll be interesting to see just how light we can get this thing, aluminum block, 100 lb driver.

quote:

Originally posted by pauley:
so if i am going 420 i get to watch the man running 470 beat me the whole way.

Very good point ! LOL

I do chassis work for a living and most of my customers are heads up racers, grudge/No Time or No Prep. For most of these guys, weight is a huge deal and the past number of years we have been using more and more carbon fiber and titanium. We have a couple bodies here delivered from McAmis. One of the group is fiberglass, the rest carbon fiber. I guess we get spoiled working with so much C/F as the fiberglass body is really heavy and really thick, but in comparison, not as rigid.

For my own car, the class I had planned to go back into had a 2800 lb minimum weight so I didn't feel the need to go super light on the build. But being a big block under the hood and a 25.2 round tube back half chassis, I knew it would be nose heavy. For this reason I made the front as light as I could. Carbon fiber front end and hood, spindle mount struts/wheels, all tube in front of the stock shock towers and a carbon fiber roof skin.

But the middle of the car I kept the stock steel power window doors, stock hatch and all the oem glass (and dual batteries in the back for additional ballast). I the end the car wound up being 2450 without driver and 2645 with driver. Could have saved another 150 -175 with carbon doors and all lexan, but I'm liking having roll up windows again.

If I were building chassis, I'd be selling the idea of making everything light. I understand it's the expensive approach.

Then adding ballast in optimum locations to meet minimum weight requirements, per the rules.

The idea would come at the cost of losing a lot of work, I'm sure.

I'd stick to my guns though.

I had a local chassis builder put a chromoly six point in this 30 years ago. He couldn't understand why I'd wanna spend the extra money.

It's because Rome wasn't built in one day.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Mike Rietow,