Is there anyway to figure out what a car should run with properly setup suspension and so forth by a power to weight ratio?

And on a side note is there any 4th gens out there in the 2800 pound range? If so how'd they get there because I'm willing to try anything to get this thing below 3k pounds.

 

Basic auto math
Weight is race weight. The total weight the engine has to move down the track. Car, driver, fuel, stereo etc.

ET = (weight / hp) ^ (1/3) x 5.825

To determine the hp, use your mph.

hp = weight x (mph / 234) ^ 3

 

Stephan,

The HP numbers to use are rwhp numbers, correct?

I did the calculations, and it's scary how close to my actual numbers it came. The rwhp was within 4 rwhp. It said 294 rwhp, but I have 290 rwhp. E.T. was within 0.3 seconds. It said I should run a 13.5, but I ran a 13.8. That's mostly due to my launch only being a 2.15 60' time though.

Dan

 

Getting a 4th gen under 3k lbs requires some pretty major weight reduction. My cars pretty lightly optioned (no power seats, cloth) and I removed the following: Jack, spare, all of the a/c system, rear seats, front sway bar. On skinnies/16" drs and 1/4 tank of gas my raceweight was 3480 (with me 170) Even with all that 'moderate' weight reduction the car is still at 3310. (with the stock 10bolt) I cant imagine how stripped down the car would have to be to come in at under 3k. I could see losing another 100lbs maybe with light carpet, no padding, lightweight seats maybe. If its a track only car and you dont mind it stripped down thats one thing, for a street car that much more weight reduction would be a little crazy imo.

 

My race car is 2840 lbs, but it's stripped. It is in no way streetable. We yanked out everything that was not necessary. No power brakes, no ABS, no power steering, no heater, no A/C, no front or rear bumper supports. The only thing in the interior is a Wolfe 6 point rollbar, a Jeg's poly carbonite driver's seat, carpet, and the shell of the stock dashboard. The door panels are made out of aluminium. We ripped out the factory wiring harness and rewired it with only the circuits I needed for racing, i.e. Start, Ignition, Fans, Water Pump, Linelock and Lights.(so I can see the gauges at nighttime)

I have a 4 gallon fuel cell on the way so I can ditch the stock fuel tank. Plus, a wish list that includes, but is not limited to, the following: Aerospace lightweight front and rear brakes, VFN fiberglass doors and hatch, and lexan windows.

 

Now that's badass. I'm prolly going somewhat in this route with it but I'm going to back half the car. I think I should drop some weight right there and i also want to do the lexan hatch window.

 

My third gen is completely stripped for racing. I'm sure I could find another 100 pounds or so if I really wanted. My race weight this year was 3040. That's with a big block, powerglide, 9" diff and a full 12 point cage. Next year with the aluminum heads the race weight will be easily below 3000 pounds. My goal is to have a race weight around 2800 pounds but I could never see that if the car is kept in street trim.

Fourth gens are heavier than third gens and 3rd are heavier than second and firsts. There's too much sheet metal in our unibody cars. At least the 1st and 2nd gens have true sub frame frames so they didn't have as much multiple layers of sheetmetal for strength.

 

But isn't a big block 200 pounds heavier? Or maybe that is too high I can't remember.

 

Depends on the comparrison. 200 pounds for a complete iron BBC compared to a complete iron SBC including the intake manifolds. Closer to 130-150 pounds when aluminum intakes are used.

The larger displacement, stroke (torque) and head/valve size easily compensates for the extra weight.

 

I should clarify. That 2840 is without me. Race weight is 3070

 

I don't doubt any of that I was just making a point it'd be even ligther with a sbc in there.