Ballast Location and types

[Ed Funk]

^^^^Nice! There goes my appetite.

[MMiskoe]

Over on the brown board someone would have said 'dead hookers' in the trunk.

Since ballast is supposed to be in the passenger's area, best way I have found to secure it is to utilize the seat mounts. The Miata has a pair of 1/2" plates each about 40#, one bolts to the seat mounts, the other bolts to the first plate w/ tapped holes (because its easier to undo 4 more bolts than lift all 80 pounds at once). Way back I needed 50# in my nissan, so I used a pc of 4x4x1/2 square tubing, welded end plates on and threaded port and pored in lead shot to the desired weight. Both of these methods were the easy button since all the parts were free to me from work and other home projects.

What kind of car are you brainstorming for?

[raffaelli]

Seems to me some old bar bell weights are the easy button bolted to the floor of the car. I habe recently dropped a pile of weight from the drivers seat and will need to add back into ballast. Some reason my idea is no good?

[Matt93SE]

Seems to me some old bar bell weights are the easy button bolted to the floor of the car. I habe recently dropped a pile of weight from the drivers seat and will need to add back into ballast. Some reason my idea is no good?

That's the common way to do it. cheap and works. just make sure whatever you bolt it to the floor with (and the floor itself) is stout enough to take an impact. there are some specific regulations on that in the GCR now. brain is too tired to quote chapter and verse, but it's in there. possibly in IT rules, possibly the general safety section- I don't remember now.

But yeah, lots of guys I know have a pile of plates in the pass side floor.

[Ed Funk]

Steel flywheels work.

We use 2x3 steel filled with melted wheel weights. Local circle track guy makes 'em, they slide into the frame rails of their cars. Mount with 2 bolts each (1/2 inch). If you use really thick back up washers, you get even more ballast, even lower. These "tubes" weigh 35 lbs each.

[tom91ita]

Google "mayco industrial noise control with lead" and then follow their recommendations for sound control?

Xian had a very well built ITA 4door civic and had interesting rear bar mounts for his speedway bar in the back. Not absurd in size but quite stout.

This is where it gets iffy. Gran's example of the bulkhead is a good one. Aluminum foil may meet the letter of the rule (don't recall a min/max thickness for it) and surely 2" thick we would agree is for other than intended purposes.

But what thickness in between is the cross over from too little to too much? Is it defined in the GCR? My personal opinion is the max thicknesses would be something like 2x the metal I am welding to.

But that is because if I get too much difference then I burn holes in the thinner material.

[gran racing]

Mine was what I considered to be a reasonsable thickness but that's subjective as there is no max / min thickness (at least when I had the car). Was no more than 1/4" thick (think less). Material to be used? Again, subjective, right? Does one need to use aluminum? Does using another material really go against the GCR of having a bulkhead? I had bolted mine in and it could have been easily be removed and inspected if it came down to it.

I also had the spare (donut) and the associated twist jack in the trunk. I've seen people have a full size spare when it only came with the sonut.

Add back little things that were removed. Mine had rear seat belts - not much but still a few pounds here and there. Rear trim pannels. All adds up.

[Greg Amy]

This is where it gets iffy. Gran's example of the bulkhead is a good one. Aluminum foil may meet the letter of the rule (don't recall a min/max thickness for it) and surely 2" thick we would agree is for other than intended purposes.

Many moons ago, there was a case that passed through the Court of Appeals. A Spec Miata driver, trying to increase ballast in an advantageous (?) area, used 2" thick steel for the plate holding his kill switch. The Court agree with Scrutineering that the 2" thick steel was excessive and represented an unintended function.

The competitor's appeal was denied.

[Matt93SE]

There's always the trick of using 1.5" solid steel bar on some of the non-essential cage tubes. that's some heavy crap! since it's non-essential parts of the cage, it doesn't have to meet the same diameter and wall thickness specs as the rest of the cage. (then again, the GCR lists minimum all thickness. this is just tubing with a wall thickness of 1/2 the tube diameter! )

[ajmr2]

Seems to me some old bar bell weights are the easy button bolted to the floor of the car. I habe recently dropped a pile of weight from the drivers seat and will need to add back into ballast. Some reason my idea is no good?

Not sure if this will work, but I tried to attach 2 photos to this response. It's what 255 lbs looks like for the privelege of going from ITA to ITB back in 2009. A bit imposing, ya know? Huge bolt down the middle and strapped in big time. Fotunately it's all gone now. And no huge jump in lap times.
OK it worked. To clarify, my car was already about 75 lbs over ITA weight, so this is about 150 lbs added including the strapping.

[Chip42]

allowed components that may be freely added or removed are good ballast - cool suit coolers, fire systems, oil accumulators (accusump), mufflers, sway bar brackets, strut tower bars... just keep it tolerable and most of the time you will be found compliant. exploit hard and you can get dinged. actual ballast, as in material added specifically to meet minimum race weight must meet ballast rules in the ITCS, 9.1.3.D.9.l - 50lb sections max, removable, 2, 1/2 in grade 5 bolts, big washers, lock nuts, etc... usually this will be gym weights in some sort of containment system, plates of metal, lead bricks, shot-filled boxes, etc... google ballast box for some good ideas but remember the IT rules when you implement them, they are specific and unique.

unfortunately, AJ's ballast stack was illegal as ballast must be retained by 2 or more 1/2in grade 5 or higher bolts in IT (9.1.3.D.9.l.2)

I run a 3Qt accusump in the "frunk" of my MR2, slight weight shift. big oil cooler, steel radiator over Al (not overheating, weighs more), cool suit cooler in the frunk, etc... move legal weight forward. I have a ~33# lead brick bolted just forward of the forward seat mount cross brace up against the rocker.

[ajmr2]

unfortunately, AJ's ballast stack was illegal as ballast must be retained by 2 or more 1/2in grade 5 or higher bolts in IT (9.1.3.D.9.l.2)

Actually, what you don't see is the fore/aft steel strap was bolted to the floor with 4 bolts and nuts, 2 on each end, which did meet the requirement. Believe me, I didn't want to see that thing come loose!

[tom91ita]

Solid "tubing" is illegal IMHO.

Tubing is required to be manufactured by drawn over mandrel as I understand it.

That's why I installed a 2" long section of tubing with an inspection hole to prove I used tubing.

[Chip42]

Actually, what you don't see is the fore/aft steel strap was bolted to the floor with 4 bolts and nuts, 2 on each end, which did meet the requirement. Believe me, I didn't want to see that thing come loose!

I inherited a similar weight stack from Mike's car which came out of the DC region. single strap made of 1" box section, the strap secured on both ends by 1/2" bolts. the floor had a thick steel plate with a pipe in the center of the steel barbell weight stack, and that plate was welded to the floor. insane contraption, and was questioned by tech on multiple occasions. glad it's now just a tripping hazard in my garage.

Since the weight drop I know just have the one "loaf" of lead. we melted a bunch of tire weights into loaf pans to make blocks of 25-33 lbs. each. stamped each with some fun acronyms that need not be share din public but reflected our sentiments toward the political origins of the weight.

anyone want ~200# of barbell weights and a rig to mount them?