Does weight distribution of a stock car really matter?

[crusader33x]

Hello! I was wondering, since I have been doing research on buying a sports car, one of the criteria i have is weight distribution. To sum it all up, is it really necessary to bother with a "stock" car's weight distribution if you are just going to install aftermarket coilovers? Can't you just corner weight the car to whatever spec you want? Is there an advantage to already having a desirable 50/50 (or close to it) weight distribution?

thanks

[VR43000GT]

There is a very big advantage if you plan on driving it hard. Ask Musashi. His unbalanced SRT-4 caused him to fly off on a turn resulting in him totaling his car.

[Polygon]

It's called polar momentum and it isn't JUST about getting 50/50. The idea is to have most of the weight as close to the center of the car as possible. You will have less inertia that way and the car will be easier to rotate. If you are dead nuts serious about handling, then yes, it is very important.

[crusader33x]

interesting, so in retrospect, what is the reason behind corner weighing?

[-The Stig-]

You balance the car, with the driver onboard and full fuel, to make sure that it's balanced on all four corners.

[slideways...]

center of the car and as low as possible to the ground. just wanted to add that.

[CassiesMan]

If you plan on seriously tracking your car, or even just tracking it occasionally but competitvely, then yes. If you plan on driving it hard through twisty roads, then yes. Elsewise, not really.

[Musashi3000GT]

Weight distribution cannot be changed by adding coil overs.
if the front of the car is 70% of the cars total wieght and you add coilovers when you trail brake your still dumping 70% of that weight down on the front of the car. guess what! if your rear lightens up from all that weight transfer to the nose your still gonna seriously reduce the contact patch on the rear tires and go into a spin! even with the best coilovers money can buy.

you should pick up my book "SRT-4s love trees" by "Musahsi the Goat Master", available at most book stores now.

[crusader33x]

hehe, i like the book you mentioned! but as for the coilovers, i meant that after you add coilovers, you can then corner weigh your car to the specs desired.

[Right_LiRrr]

Originally Posted by crusader33x

hehe, i like the book you mentioned! but as for the coilovers, i meant that after you add coilovers, you can then corner weigh your car to the specs desired.

ur getting slightly confused how weight distribution affects handling and the way coilovers add to it all. Also, I just want to add the myth lower is better is not true. Only to a certain extent. there will be a point when a car is so low that there is no benefit and u just risk scraping things.

I wouldn't TOTALLY agree with Musashi. you CAN change handling characteristics of a car with e.g. coilovers despite weight distribution.

uneven weight distribution affects a car's handling because too much weight on one end will cause that side to steer bad. e.g. too much front weight will cause a car to understeer. This is the problem with musashi's SRT4. U go into a corner hard, it will understeer not just cos of it's weight but also because naturally a FWD will do so. Then if you let off the throttle slightly then it understeers (natural reaction to get off throttle in such situations), all the weight will go into the front, and if ur turning slightly, u'll get a snap oversteer affect. If the car is very badly balanced, u'll start to spin which is very hard to get out of.

however, u can counteract slight uneven weight distributions with mods. but not 70/30 ahhaha that's just shit.

for example, u can make the front suspensions much harder compared to the rear or vice versa to encourgae under or oversteer depending on what u need.

This is how u would use coilovers to counteract bad weight distribution as they are easiest to tune.

however, getting stiffer or less stiff swaybars can also be used to change under/oversteer characteristics.

A combination of all these would be best i.e. adjust suspension, swaybars, weight.

so in summary, uneven weight distribution and the way it affects under/oversteering can be counteracted slightly by adjusting suspension's hardness and swaybar stiffness and similar stuff.

so if ur car is slightly unevenly distributed weight wise, u can easily counteract it.

I think 60/40 is the max I'd ever go for...idealy i'd want a car that's 50/50 cos it's just easier to tune a car's handling when u got a good starting base. it's the same with power, sure u can get a civic to 400whp, but wouldn't u just rather start with a GTR so u can get there easily and safely?!

Here's a summary for ya, courtesy of the boys at NASIOC

===========================================

TO REDUCE UNDERSTEER or INCREASE OVERSTEER:

Front tires:
- Increase tire pressure in 2.5psi increments
- Increase Section Width
- Lower the Aspect Ratio
- Reduce front tread depth

Rear Tires:
- Reduce tire pressure in 2.5psi increments
- Reduce section width
- Install higher aspect ratio tires
- Increase rear tread depth

Front Wheels:
- Install wider wheels
- Install lighter wheels

Rear Wheels:
- Install narrower wheels
- Install heavier wheels

Front Alignment settings:
- Dial in more negative camber
- Dial in More toe-out
- Dial in more positive caster

Rear Alignment settings:
- Dial in more positive camber
- Dial in more toe-out (Same as front)

Anti-Sway bars:
- Soften the Front
- Stiffen the Rear

Spring rates:
- Soften the Front
- Stiffen the Rear

Shock absorbers:
- Soften the Front
- Stiffen the Rear

Suspension Bushings:
- Soften the Front
- Stiffen the Rear

Brake Proportioning
- Reduce Front brake pressure
- Increase rear pressure

Weight Distribution
- Reduce front weight
- Increase rear weight

Aerodynamics:
- Increase Front Downforce
- Reduce rear downforce

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TO REDUCE OVERSTEER or INCREASE UNDERSTEER:

Front tires:
- Decrease tire pressure in 2.5psi increments
- Decrease Section Width
- Install higher Aspect Ratio tires
- Increase front tread depth

Rear Tires:
- Increase tire pressure in 2.5psi increments
- Increase section width
- Reduce aspect ratio
- Decrease rear tread depth

Front Wheels:
- Install narrower wheels
- Install heavier wheels

Rear Wheels:
- Install wider wheels
- Install lighter wheels

Front Alignment settings:
- Dial in less negative camber
- Dial in less toe-out (to toe-in if needed)
- Dial in less positive caster

Rear Alignment settings:
- Dial in less positive camber
- Dial in less toe-out (Same as front)

Anti-Sway bars:
- Stiffen the Front
- Soften the Rear

Spring rates:
- Stiffen the Front
- Soften the Rear

Shock absorbers:
- Stiffen the Front
- Soften the Rear

Suspension Bushings:
- Stiffen the Front
- Soften the Rear

Brake Proportioning
- Increase Front brake pressure
- Reduce rear brake pressure

Weight Distribution
- Increase front weight
- Decrease rear weight

Aerodynamics:
- Reduce Front Downforce
- Increase rear downforce