Those lighter wheels and girodiscs would win in both handling, acceleration, and rotating mass. I would asterisk those. Expensive but do fit the buy once and done.
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So very true! Getting down to 3000lbs can be really expensive. Maybe that coyote swap is not such a crazy idea??Some more spreadsheets for us to ponder:
Current power levels, full on gutting for weight reduction, the best I can get for my power to weight ratio is:
0.0906 RWHP/LB
This would cost $9000 to achieve.
Using the excel sheet, I have come up with the cheapest way to hit my target of 0.1 RWHP/LB (hint hint, it involves BIG power):
View attachment 81811
Some food for thought. Looks like no matter what I'll have to open the engine up.
Here is a screenshot which shows the general "bang for your buck" as it relates to power to weight ratio and cost. See the far right column. The green numbers are good, orange is medium and red is bad.
View attachment 81812
Definitely have some thinking to do, I did not realize power mods would be so efficient at increasing the power to weight ratio, but in hindsight it makes perfect sense given rwhp is a much smaller number than curb weight
Yes, that would be for a "plug and play" set of fully assembled, ported, polished, big cams, and installation cost. It could be less, but I digress.So very true! Getting down to 3000lbs can be really expensive. Maybe that coyote swap is not such a crazy idea??
Out of curiosity, the price of 7000 for heads and cams was including shop work and install?? Because you could get a Gen2 coyote/tranny for about that.
Yup, I have read this as well, hence the K-member I have on order is cortex, spoke with Filip at length about it and he said it is stiffer than stock.Be careful of the lightweight K-members - they are typically built for drag racing and not robust enough for curb-hopping track cars.
Losing weight not only improves acceleration, but deceleration and turning as well. Not to say power may still be best bang-for-buck, but you need to look at the whole picture.
Another idea is to see if the plateau you've hit is the car or the driver. Sometimes we just get comfortable with the car and our driving style. It's happened to me. See if you can get a hot shoe instructor to take a few laps at the next event as you ride shotgun and see if they can better your lap time. Pay attention to braking point/amount, throttle tip-in, and line through the corners.
That's a great point in regards to distribution, strictly from an acceleration standpoint, do you think distribution would matter?I once read an article about a Lotus or something, and the writer said manufacturers were always adding power because it's so much easier than "adding lightness".
Now that I'm more awake and took a good look at the spreadsheet,
I can see where new wheels wouldn't be a cost-effective improvement over what you've got now, but I'd consider that AGM battery.
Also, let's not forget that our weight issues aren't just about the amount of weight, but also the weight distribution. The carbon fiber hood was a good step. I wouldn't consider a carbon fiber trunk lid at all. Is your current battery in the trunk? If not, maybe it should be.
Come to think of it, once the battery is in the trunk you might not want a weight-saving battery.
A car is only as good as the driver and the driver can only be as good as the car.....they work hand in hand...HP is only a plus for both..............................Another idea is to see if the plateau you've hit is the car or the driver.
It matters in terms of traction, doesn't it? Am I correct in guessing that was already a concern, since you have that wing?That's a great point in regards to distribution, strictly from an acceleration standpoint, do you think distribution would matter?
Did you ever reach out to Braille about this? The scenario you describe above is definitely one I'm not interested in!That battery in the trunk thing. I did the math on it and with the added weight of cable it didn't seem to me to be a good thing, you need a full length of cable on the power side and with that length you need more thickness as well to avoid too much voltage drop. That cable weight was going to be significant and while some of that weight was going aft it didn't seem to me to be enough to be worth doing.
So I went with a Braille B2015 in the stock location at about half the weight of the stock battery. But that's a mixed blessing as well, under perfect conditions it will start the car fine, but there are situations where it was very marginal, like when it's hot it often will just go "clunk" and not turn the motor over at all. Got tired of looking for a paddock spot on a slope to bump start the damn thing.
I always worried about a spin on track or an off track with a stall of the engine and then the battery refusing to start a hot motor. While it never happened, I just did not want to be that guy that caused a stoppage of a session to remove my car.
I've just gone back to the stock battery in the stock location and lived with it, for me with just a lapping day car, the weight loss did not outweigh the practical need for a reliable starting battery. Race cars, as always, are a different story.
Yes, that's a great point. As is, the car is balanced pretty well, but does suffer from understeer at speed. I'm hoping putting a splitter on will fix this.It matters in terms of traction, doesn't it? Am I correct in guessing that was already a concern, since you have that wing?
By my thinking, you should take all the weight you can off the front of the car to improve turn-in, cornering, and whatnot, and leave weight on the drive wheels for the sake of traction.
As you increase power, because that's the more cost-effective way to improve power-to-weight ratio, I expect weight on the rear tires makes difference in how much power you can apply before you exceed your traction.
Took it the dealer, they tested it, said it worked within spec. So I think it is just not big enough to crank a hot Coyote reliably. With the stock Ford battery there are no issues, so, since I'm just lapping, I prefer reliable to saving a few pounds.Did you ever reach out to Braille about this? The scenario you describe above is definitely one I'm not interested in!
Were these lithium Brailles or AGM Brailles?Went through two Brailles with out much luck, problems starting and then they died within 3 to 4 months.
Took it to the dealer as in....Braille dealer? Or ford dealer?Took it the dealer, they tested it, said it worked within spec. So I think it is just not big enough to crank a hot Coyote reliably. With the stock Ford battery there are no issues, so, since I'm just lapping, I prefer reliable to saving a few pounds.
It has been repurposed into a high tech device for crushing film plastic bags into a small tight package for the recycle man.