Ballast - how much is too much

[Stainless1]

My guess was you can't get beefy aluminum rods to absorb the shock to fit in the small space and the bearings you can buy are all less than .060 thick.  The 4 sizes available vary by about 6 tenths... total, thick to thin...
Changing bearings is not a drop the pan sort of situation....

[sabat]

Thanks for the suggestion SS, this should hold about 175lbs and give me more ground clearance than my first box. 

[stay`tee]

hey Dean, just a suggestion,, try and find a disposal place who has lead from a x-ray units walls,, this lead is very fine much like sand, eliminating a lot of the air space that comes with lead shot,, = more weight   

[Stan Back]

We got our reused shot from a local shotgun range, all cleaned up and ready to go in 25-pound sacks.
Anyone want some?  You can have a left-over bag for free -- sorry, no free shipping.

[Stainless1]

Good looking ballast box Dean... now start working on lower fairings to blend it all together.... less than 9 months left 

[sabat]

Thanks gents, last year I found a guy on Craigslist that was getting out of sailing and picked up a good quantity of lead for a reasonable $, in 25lb blocks. My lucky day.

[Stan Back]

The neat thing about shot is that it conforms to irregular shapes on the bottom sides on a finished vehicle.  More bottom is more better.

[John Burk]

Used wheel weights from tire stores is a good source of lead .

On nitro the low percentage being a waste of time is bad advice . You can go very fast on 25% . Even 10% is a big gain . On normal engines little gain between 75% and 100% . Hard starting is with cool weather and low compression . Unblown high compression engines with nitro start fine .

Ballast helps cars with lots of power and drag . It slows cars when the tires are not spinning .

Where it's legal , front wheel drive and as much of existing weight as possible (engine location) on the front wheels is best for acceleration and directional stability . Front wheel drive and front down force is very good with blown engines .

[sabat]

The neat thing about shot is that it conforms to irregular shapes on the bottom sides on a finished vehicle.  More bottom is more better.

I plan to melt it on an outdoor gas stove and fill the pan to the brim. It's not quick, but worked pretty well on the first one.

Until I run out of aero to improve (and I have lots of room there), I'll leave the engine alone. If I run out of ideas, I'll add a small shot of nitrous

[Stainless1]

Yep, poured lead is better than shot and easier to hold in... you gonna try to melt and dip the lead out of the old one? Or cut off a corner and let it pour out when you start melting it?  Turkey/fish fryer burner works great

[SPARKY]

I rigged up a 6x6" piece 1/4 angle  on a 45 deg angle with respirator and a strong blow fan away from me and my rose bud to melt chunks and wheel weights  it just rand down into my  shaped container to attach to the car where I wished to put it

[manta22]

Yep, poured lead is better than shot and easier to hold in... you gonna try to melt and dip the lead out of the old one? Or cut off a corner and let it pour out when you start melting it?  Turkey/fish fryer burner works great

On the other hand, lead shot flying around in an accident is far less dangerous than a big chunk of lead.

[tallguy]

It looks to me like the big issue here is not mass, but aerodynamics.  Your ballast box looks like a brick, and is likely
slowing you down by at least several mph due to the brick-like shape.  The box should be shaped like a streamliner,
with a pointy front and a pointy rear, in order to smoothly open and close the airflow around it.

[Stan Back]

We used shot from a local shooting range.  It was encapsulated in the 1/4-inch segmented frame rails.  Poured it in, sealed it off, it found its bottom back locations in front of and behind the rear axle assembly.  It helped in our Street Roadster as the set-back in the class doesn't allow much engine setback.

[Stainless1]

Dean, put a couple of long flathead 5/16 screws through each side of the box before you pour the lead, it will retain it.
Tall... you need to read from the front before commenting.... the box fills the space between the wheels, essentially filling that space and streamlining the wheels and the ballast...