Pinto powererd FC weight

[T540]

Just wondering what the empty weight of a typical '83-'84 Pinto powered FC car is.

Thanks.

[Purple Frog]

About 1000 lb. without ballast.

[CGOffroad]

I have a DB3 '85 with 2.0L Pinto that I put on the scales prior to last weekend. This is with engine oil level full, gear box oil full, fuel tank at 3/4. Basically, ready to race minus the weight of the driver.

Total weight 994 lbs.

[Skip Weld]

We need to get behind an appeal to the CRB about FC weights. I can remember them at 1150 or 1175 with driver. I would vote for 1240 for Zetec cars, 1200 for Pinto powered 1998 or newer cars, and 1165 for 91 through 97 pinto powered cars. That will get some cars on track as there are hundreds of the earlier pinto cars just sitting around. I would bet quite a lot of money that would make a huge difference in entries.

[Joe Henslee]

Just prior to full ground up rebuild last week ...... hope to get a few pounds out as well. ~ 2gal fuel in cell, driver adds ~ 180# with full gear. Currently would need a small amount of ballast. BTW, had a 20 year old spec flywheel, so another 5# is going away

[CGOffroad]

We need to get behind an appeal to the CRB about FC weights. I can remember them at 1150 or 1175 with driver. I would vote for 1240 for Zetec cars, 1200 for Pinto powered 1998 or newer cars, and 1165 for 91 through 97 pinto powered cars. That will get some cars on track as there are hundreds of the earlier pinto cars just sitting around. I would bet quite a lot of money that would make a huge difference in entries.

You have got to get people TO the track before they will start arguing about car weights or tires.

Add these up 994 lbs car, 175 lbs driver, 15 lbs of safety gear. That comes to 1,184 and that is very close to what it scaled prior to departing for track. At that weight it is already over what you are saying the 91-97 cars should run. My car is a 1985. What kind of weight allowance would you give it for the year model it is?

[a. pettipas]

I have a DB3 '85 with 2.0L Pinto that I put on the scales prior to last weekend. This is with engine oil level full, gear box oil full, fuel tank at 3/4. Basically, ready to race minus the weight of the driver.

Total weight 994 lbs.

Nice corner weights!

[kea]

We need to get behind an appeal to the CRB about FC weights. I can remember them at 1150 or 1175 with driver. I would vote for 1240 for Zetec cars, 1200 for Pinto powered 1998 or newer cars, and 1165 for 91 through 97 pinto powered cars. That will get some cars on track as there are hundreds of the earlier pinto cars just sitting around. I would bet quite a lot of money that would make a huge difference in entries.

1175 was hard to meet for many back in the day. Now, with many of the drivers older or just plain larger (and heavier), getting to 1200 can sometimes be an issue.
I believe that 1200 is the bottom number for the class and think the Zetec ( with all it's HP increases that have been done, legal or not) must be a minimum of 1250.
That's how we set up the GLC series around here, now in it's 11th year.

[Rick Kirchner]

I've got to be the upper end of the spectrum of what fits in the early VDs - 6', 230 naked, size 12 shoe. The limiting factor may not be my gut - I still have plenty of seat to carve away - but as I get older my feet keep getting bigger and complain more about getting tied into a size 10.5 shoe.

My 94 is one of the lighter I think - last summer it scaled at 980 without fuel. AP brakes added a couple of pounds from my previous ICPs and the Hoosiers are a bit heavier than my previous Avons.

Rolled across the scales at Roebling at 1230 with a couple of gallons left on Avons, a bit more at Charlotte on Hoosiers.

Despite a healthier diet since my wife retired and a decent fitness program while here with the Marines, not a single pound has come off my a$$.....

Approaching the end of the road on weight reduction on the car. Has 1/8" 7075 pan, single piece nose, aluminum head, aluminum radiators, a beam-mounted rear sway bar (shorter pushrods and smaller bar). could take a couple of pounds off with a LiPo battery, aluminum CV housings, and sanding all the old paint off before re-painting next, but that's all she wrote.

[BeerBudgetRacing]

I'm with Rick. Scaled at 1259 after a 30 min race last weekend. (haveb't calc'd remaining fuel)
I do have some things to remove (lead sheet from previous owner, swap to Lipo battery) but I'm only 10lbs up from my lightest self in 20 years. I'll probably get a lighter flywheel but an alum head is probably out of the question. Cost is just too high....

And even if I drop weight to my marrying weight (205) I'm still over the 1200....
I have heavy bones

But, I can accept change. It's much cheaper to add weight than remove it. If the masses want to call it 1175 and it'll get cars on track, then 1175 it is.....

I've got to be the upper end of the spectrum of what fits in the early VDs - 6', 230 naked, size 12 shoe. The limiting factor may not be my gut - I still have plenty of seat to carve away - but as I get older my feet keep getting bigger and complain more about getting tied into a size 10.5 shoe.

My 94 is one of the lighter I think - last summer it scaled at 980 without fuel. AP brakes added a couple of pounds from my previous ICPs and the Hoosiers are a bit heavier than my previous Avons.

Rolled across the scales at Roebling at 1230 with a couple of gallons left on Avons, a bit more at Charlotte on Hoosiers.

Despite a healthier diet since my wife retired and a decent fitness program while here with the Marines, not a single pound has come off my a$$.....

Approaching the end of the road on weight reduction on the car. Has 1/8" 7075 pan, single piece nose, aluminum head, aluminum radiators, a beam-mounted rear sway bar (shorter pushrods and smaller bar). could take a couple of pounds off with a LiPo battery, aluminum CV housings, and sanding all the old paint off before re-painting next, but that's all she wrote.

[Skip Weld]

I admit to a bias here. I have always been small boned and as I am getting older I am getting lighter also. Perhaps my weights are a little to far to my side but if we raised all the weights I used that might help.
I can't make every person fit the weights with every car. I think that some of the examples listed in previous posts could be much closer to min. weight in a Zetec. That at least gives an option for the bigger guys. For me I could use the older car. Or I could make an 1/8 steel floor protector for a Zetec.
I think that what will get people to the track is a chance to compete. I know that when I was running my 95 a couple of years ago if I looked on the entry sheet and saw nothing but Zetec cars I probably wouldn't go to that race. I don't have to win but I would like a chance to push as hard as I can and be close! I think that is all most racers ask.
As to the older cars, I had not thought about that but I can come up with something. That is a good question.
I see the earlier cars as a place for the younger drivers because young drivers are probably lighter on average and the cars are less expensive. Helps two problems.
Zetec 1250, 98 and up pinto 1210, 91/97 pinto 1180, Older than 91, 1250.
To my way of thinking it can't hurt and it might help. Nothing else is working, what do we have to lose???

[troyt]

Great to see folks talking about what it would take to get the older FCs to come out and play. Another option is more CFC classes. I'm not betting on SCCA changing its weights rules anytime soon, so I'm gonna try and see if we can get a CFC Class up and running in California...

[DanW]

CFC is a regional only class, so if you can convince them to offer the class, you can establish the weights.

[kea]

I see the earlier cars as a place for the younger drivers because young drivers are probably lighter on average and the cars are less expensive. Helps two problems.
Zetec 1250, 98 and up pinto 1210, 91/97 pinto 1180, Older than 91, 1250.
To my way of thinking it can't hurt and it might help. Nothing else is working, what do we have to lose???

Older the 91 1250 ?? Must be a typo.
I have a number of cars that fit that range which are driven by older drivers. We don't see many younger drivers (18-25) coming along, and to assume that they are small in size and going to buy an older car is not neccessarily true.
I feel a #1200 minimum is the bottom line. It's way too expensive to reduce the weight, yet somewhat easier to increase it.

[Skip Weld]

If most people feel that 1200 would be the minimum then the 91-97 pinto would be 1200, 98 and up pinto 1230, Zetec 1270 and the CFC older cars could run at 1175 just to help them keep up. I ran over 100 weekends in a 1984 Reynard FC car at that weight of 1275 when I weighed around 165 so I know it can be done.
The important thing is the spread between the different car/engine combos.
No it is not perfect, never will be. I wasn't big enough to be a high school athlete either. Nobody can make this perfect for everyone. The question is, would it make it better for most so more people will participate? Sometimes you just have to take the best available and go with it.