Weight reduction and F/R Balance

[Tamago]

dont' forget to mention the motion ratio on a civic suspension, 14K civic is like 10K yaris.. rough guess of course.

honestly my car rotates just fine with everything in the rear removed. getting weight out of the car at all does a lot to the handling, and remember that you're removing weight from the "rear-center" of the car anyway, it's not like the rear seats are BEHIND the rear axle.

with everything removed from my car the weight shift went from 60/40 to 61/39. not really that big of a deal, and it was over 250lbs of crap :)

[scape]

that's like removing two women! that's a terrible thought, haha
i'm just being silly...but your right, the back seats are before the axle, has anyone done much research on reducing the front's weight?

[eTiMaGo]

Originally Posted by scape

I've been thinking of just moving the battery to the back and not removing weight from the back, trying to even out the distribution

There's been a discussion about this, the weight of the heavy gauge cables you will need to use, will really negate or balance out the advantages. Might as well get a lightweight battery up front

Originally Posted by Lazerdot

Wouldn't a lighter rear end "break free" earlier in a turn allowing less under steer even if the higher weight is in the front? This if the front is allowed to grip more with less overall stiffness compared to the rear.
I've always liked a lighter stiffer rear end.

Good question. On the one hand less weight on the wheels means less grip, on the other hand less weight to "pull" to the outside by inertia.

Originally Posted by Tamago

honestly my car rotates just fine with everything in the rear removed. getting weight out of the car at all does a lot to the handling, and remember that you're removing weight from the "rear-center" of the car anyway, it's not like the rear seats are BEHIND the rear axle.

with everything removed from my car the weight shift went from 60/40 to 61/39. not really that big of a deal, and it was over 250lbs of crap :)

Very good points there, didn't think the weight would still be considered central, yes.

Originally Posted by scape

has anyone done much research on reducing the front's weight?

Apart from lightweight battery, CF hood, and pulleys, there's not a whole lot you could do up front? lightweight plexiglass windshield?