Left side percentage too high (another rookie question)

[A ron]

2013 Trakstar, 604 crateSheet says 53.5% left, 52.5% rear, with the driver in the car.Currently at 55% left 51% rear. My question is: is it better to add ballast to get the percentages right even if it puts you 100lbs over the minimum or get it as close as possible with out adding the extra weight? I've already moved the battery as far right as possible. The fuel cell could possible be moved a couple of more inches.

[RacerX10]

I'd think you should be able to hit those numbers without going overweight. Where do you have the lead hanging right now ?

[grt74]

left side weight is forward drive,to an extent,55%(with driver in the car) isn't to high for say,but if your in a crate with hard tires i would want some more rear,springs can compensate for the left side weight

[A ron]

no weight on the car at the moment. 2350 with driver (I'm a big guy 240lbs). Minimum is 2300. and we are on D21's

[RacerX10]

(I'm a big guy 240lbs)

That probably makes it tough

[A ron]

I was guessing that was most of the problem.

[chop6259]

I don't want to state the obvious, but since you said in the heading that this is a rookie question, I will go ahead and do so. 1) I would double check and make sure your scales are level. Typical shop/garage floors are not very level. I would get a self leveling line laser (Lowes sells a cheap Skill level for about $35) and use it to verify things. Simply put the laser on the highest scale pad, then use a ruler to shim the other scales up to level so you have a nice flat "surface plate" to measure your car on. 2) Are you measuring with fuel in the car? 3) Make sure you either remove an axle rod, or jack the left rear up after setting the car on the scales to let the axle unbind, then set it back down. 4) If you do have to add weight, try to keep it low in the car.

[MBR Performance]

Where is your battery located?

[A ron]

Battery is located on the far right frame rail outside and midway between the front and rear

[MBR Performance]

Slide it back where the dry sump tank should be that will help rear %. There is nothing wrong with weighing heavy to get the numbers right. The benefit of having the car right will far outweigh the add total weight.

[A ron]

Thank you MBR. The benefit of the car being right outweighing added weight answers my question.

[Matt49]

100% right about getting the balance where it needs to be is more important than total weight.
That being said, two cars with the same (correct) balance, the lighter car will be faster.
With the crate deal, it often becomes important to find ways of reducing front weight to get your tail weight where it needs to be without being too far overweight.
Cut off excess bolt threads (that stick out past the nylon lock). Even consider using shorter lock nuts on all your stuff so you can cut the bolts down even shorter. Move the power steering pump to behind the motor (if possible). There are countless weights to reduce nose weight and they don't seem like much but they all add up.

[grt74]

if your on soft rubber (d 21),just try it one time,a crate wants to be pretty free,now if you have to run the hard stuff,it will need more rear,I've seen cars with 58% win and I've seen cars with 52% on the left win,you just need to understand springs and shocks to make a complete package so it will work,but 55% with the driver isn't too bad,unless its a super slick track all the time(then i would want more rear), i would try it 1st you maybe surprised because your on the soft stuff,matt49 is correct on the stuff from the engine plate forward,we have found that moving the radiator back helps too(also the weight of the radiator,you would be surprised,we found 5lbs difference in-between some brands),of coarse I'm saying this hoping you have room to add fuel or 2- 40lb pieces of lead ready to bolt on(that should be worth 2-3%)but remember to do it on the scales so you know how many rounds to put in the rear at the track,as always good luck too all

[A ron]

Yeah I'm sure moving the power steering pump etc to the rear would help. I'm also running the old standard steel bell housing. We tried it. Car turned pretty good just extremely loose from the center to exit. Now once again this is probably my 10th race in a late model so a lot of it could be driver. Also, last night, I found that the driveshaft was too long and the yoke was bottoming out, which probably didn't help.

[billetbirdcage]

Ron, to save you some time and maybe some problems down the road. If your not sure if it's a car problem or driver issue (even the good teams have this issue), see on some practice night if you can get another experienced driver you trust to make just a few laps in the car. This will show you pretty quick if the car has an issue or it's just driver induced problems.

The is no use learning to drive a bad car and no use trying to fix the car when the problem isn't with the car. Right now just be concerned that the car handles well and is balanced, it may not be as fast as is needed but least you can learn to drive a balanced car and work on the speed later.

[grt74]

Yeah I'm sure moving the power steering pump etc to the rear would help. I'm also running the old standard steel bell housing. We tried it. Car turned pretty good just extremely loose from the center to exit. Now once again this is probably my 10th race in a late model so a lot of it could be driver. Also, last night, I found that the driveshaft was too long and the yoke was bottoming out, which probably didn't help.

if your a new driver i highly recommend learning to drive a free race car before having a fast tight car,and here is my reason why,it teaches you to hang on to it and keep it under you,if its a real tight car,you have a ton of traction but when it does break free its in a split second and you better be ready for it ,if not its a wrecked car(most of the time),most of the young guys i have helped try to drive a car with setups way to tight and they end up not trusting the car to turn,then the bad habits start,
like someone else has said have someone thats very experienced with these cars to go over the car,then drive it and get it close but free and start from there,and as always make it fun,your not going to win a ton right out of the box,it takes time,good luck and have a blast

[a25rjr]

One simple way to reduce left side is to run wheel spacers on the lefts. They make quite a bit of diff on the %s!

It wont help the rear %, but it will help with forward bite.

[PushinTheLimit]

I'm still pretty new at setting up late models and have limited experience compared to alot of guys on here, but I'm surprised how low your rear percentage is. Is your ride height set according to the book too?

I had a good friend take my car out after one of our local racers this past year to get his opinion on how the car setup was. I was struggling that night and wanted to know if it was the car, or me. He drove it while I watched him go out there and run laps as fast as the leaders were that night. He came in and told me it was just a touch too tight, but otherwise felt really good. So that made me go to work on myself and figure out what I was doing that needed fixed.