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Car Weight Rules


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yea myself and my stepdad/crew cheif have talked about getting some... We just arent sure if we want to invest that much into scales since for good ones they are quite expensive... Atleast at this point in our extremely short career (hell car is still in prep mode to be built) we just arent ready for them yet... Now again we might make a second car in a year or two after this one so either we can move up in class or so he can race with me... (LoL right now there is no way he can fit through the window hole in our regal) :) :) LOL just had to take a pop shot him... j/k

 

I think I can call in a favor to a DOT man with those portable scales just I was hopeing to be able to weigh on the official scales to make damn sure we are going to be legal... Who knows maybe we can get it to a point before Octoberfast and maybe on the practice night we can get weighed?? Who knows we are a bit aways from that though right now... Of course a couple more days and few more dollars and we could be really close to having to weigh it to see where we are at.. :) :) :)

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Just got off the phone with Rick Day. Anyone who wishes to weigh their car on the "Drive On" scales at SAS is welcome to do so. Just call and make sure someone is there to open the gate for you. If you ever have any questions about SAS please call and talk to Rick about it. He is a real nice guy. He is here running SAS not only for Terry but for the fans and YOU. He is VERY fair. He is not the enemy. Call him...talk to him...

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I see where Larry is coming from about many cars not hitting the scales. Times in the past we have rolled all the cars across the scales after the race. Done it after qualifying as well. Different series have different senarios such as usra mods with the different weights. As long as things are enforced fairly I don't see where there would be a problem.

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One of the problems (aside from logistics) with weighing before and event is what I call the "B-B phenomenon."

 

When you weigh before an event, there are all kinds of clever ways to get rid of unwanted weight during an event. I'm not going to go into all the different ways to accomplish this on-track lightening process, but those of us who raced during the era when weighing was routinely done before an event are familiar with what I am talking about.

 

If fact, one of the reasons many sanctioning bodies went to post-race weight inspections was due to the "B-B phenomenon." Cars mysteriouisly come back from an event many pounds light and several percentage points high on the left...

 

Not that any of our Texas racers would ever think of doing such a thing...

 

Nick

Does the "water in certain areas of the roll cage pipe" theory work??

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Does the "water in certain areas of the roll cage pipe" theory work??

 

Anything that weighs a lot and can be dumped onto the track without too many people noticing works just fine. The all time favorite has to be to fill some thing on the right side of the car with b-b's. Then when the car is in the turn during the parade laps, the b-bs all spill out onto the track

 

That one's hardly a secret and has been used very successfully from many years at tracks and series where they weigh before the race and not after.

 

As far as water.. well, that shows up on the track surface too easily. It has to be something that ends up at the side of the track in the turns after rolling down the banking.

 

We used to have a lead filled towel that the driver would drape over the right side of the cage while the car was being weighed. Then, just before leaving pit road for the race he would hand the towel back to the pit crew. Hey, five pounds is five pounds!

 

Then there's always the mercury filled Marlboro box that managed to end up on the right side roof while the car was being weighed...

 

There are lots more ways to skin this cat, but those are some of the better known and less high-tech ways to fudge the scales a bit. Of course, some of these techniques can be used even if they weigh after the race.

 

Nick

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No Jodi water is too lite you have to use mercury, so I heard

 

Ace,

Someone told me that you could use water weight jackers. It never leaves the car. Which way would water go while in the corner though??? NO SAVY THAT SHIZZLE.

 

 

 

Nick,

How about every car has to be shaken with the motor off while a tech official puts his ear to the roll cage????

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Yes right idea but water is to lite the mass=lbs is not as efficiant as mercury you have to build it in the car with some sort of valves so when you go across scales it is on the right side of car . Then when on track open the valve and let it run to the left side of the carand close the valve trapping it where you want it on the left or rear of the car.

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Anyone using mercury is out of their mind. Besides the damage mercury itself can do from being highly toxic and absorbed by breathing or through the skin, EPA could/would close the track down if mercury was spilled and EPA got involved.

 

 

I was not suggesting using it just a example ;)

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Weighing before the race would make it a little easier,if the fuel cell location is not specified,it plays both ways,guys with the cell on the left will get lighter on the left side as the race goes,guys with it on the right will gain left side weight,. I prefer in the middle that way it remains constant.If you have a set of scales like SAS weighin everyone before is not as hard as far as getting overall weight.You have to keep those scales swept down to keep gravel off to keep accurate,and I did not care for them on windy days especially with the late models due to the aerodynamics of the bodies.Everyone needs to go on and off the same way as well,and as a veteran late model driver once said everyone uses the same scales here,not the ones at their shop.Darn those weight bolts keep coming off. :D

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Anyone using mercury is out of their mind.  Besides the damage mercury itself can do from being highly toxic and absorbed by breathing or through the skin, EPA could/would close the track down if mercury was spilled and EPA got involved.

True, but carbon tetrachloride is an inert liquid and is pretty darn heavy too - much more dense than water. It just takes more of it.

 

Nick

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I was not suggesting using it just a example  ;)

I remember reading in Stock Car Racing magazine (back years ago when Dick Berggren was editor and the mag was really into safety) that a track in another part of the country actually caught someone with mercury in their frame rails. So, it isn't too far of a stretch to think someone might actually try it here.

 

I'd sure hate to see ANY track boarded up because someone tried to get an advantage that way and goobered it up by spilling a toxic substance. We can't afford to lose any more tracks, so if someone's gotta indulge in "creative interpretations of the rules", PLEASE do it in another way. (I have also heard of someone using a garage door opener to move weight from one side to another - have no idea how they dealt with the voltage issue ...)

 

 

I know - getting a "little" off-topic here...

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