So I was thinking since our cars don't have much weight in the rearend that a heavy spoiler would be sort of dual purpose, it would help provide much needed traction on launched because it sits at the very back of the car all the weight is on the rear tires, and also it would help at speed because well it's a spoiler. Any ideas on this? I was thinking something like maybe a CNC cut iron spoiler.

 

No. The rear is plenty heavy, no need to add weight. The rear is called 'light' from.people because of traction issues.which can be corrected with other suspension work, not adding tons or weight.

With a iron spoiler, you would most likely add enough weight to the hatch that it would break.

 

OMG I don't really think the hatch metal would support an iron spoiler.

 

I think the hatch would support at least 60 lbs, but at speed that would probably be doubled...It wouldn't have to be a whole lot of weight, but I think at least 35-40 lbs would help with low speed traction. Not everyone wants to back half and tub their cars just for traction, I was just thinking something similar to my idea might save some money and time.

 

I have to agree with everyone else on this matter. I have a T/A with the heavey wrap around spoiler. It doesn't help with traction. I my self want to lighten up the
rear of my car. Not add to it..
But if its something you want and are sure of go for it and let the rest of us know what you discover. Good luck.

 

ditto on 86 TA's comment. And if you really wanted to add weight for traction, I'd be putting it down low in the bottom of the trunk, not up high. Otherwise you'd be swaying like a drunk heading for the liquor store going around corners...

 

Maybe I just need upgraded rear suspension, it's all stock as far as I know. I don't have a problem with body roll really, I slide more than anything through corners and that's with brand new tires too! Hopefully someone will buy my a/c compressor and I can get LCA's and a panhard rod though. As far as fabrication goes I wouldn't be able to, I don't have any of the necessary tools for such a project.

 

Adding weight is a bad idea to improve traction especially mounting it higher than the car's center of gravity. It takes more energy to move more weight so it will also slow you down more than help. The factory spoiler provides more than enough downforce at higher speeds. Once you reach speeds high enough that you need a bigger spoiler, it's not for downforce but stability.

My car is still very nose heavy and I have no problems getting traction. Even without the huge tires, my suspension is designed to transfer weight to the tires to help with launch traction. I've installed a big wing off the back of the car and at 150 mph, the car is very stable.

The biggest problems with getting traction isn't the amount of weight on the tires but the actual condition of the tires. Just because there's still rubber on the tires doesn't mean they'll have good traction. Over time, the rubber gets hard. Hard rubber doesn't grip the road the same way soft rubber from new tires does. If you have tires older than 4 years old, chances are they need to be replaced no matter how much rubber is on them.

If you need traction at low speeds (winter time) throw a few sandbags in the back of the car.

 

What do you run for a street car suspension Alky? Also my tires are less than a month old.

 

Too much weight above the cars center of gravity, not to mention the struts would never come close to holding up that already heavy hatch, that's if they still work. You would definitely need a bigger stick to hold it open. Moving the battery would be more conducive to helping traction I would think.

 

Oh I'm quite positive my car would have some squat with that wing, it already bottoms out over speed bumps, I have some stiffer rear springs 5 hours away just haven't been able to afford the $120 round trip in gas to get them...

 

Street car suspension? I run a 4-link and it's not a street car however a factory style torque arm suspension can easily provide enough traction if you have adjustable parts.

You only need enough spring rate to hold the car up to ride height. Shocks control the spring movement. Too heavy a spring and there's no movement for the shock to control. Too light a spring and the shock gets compressed too much or you get coil bind. A good shock/spring/suspension setup needs to allow the shocks to easily extend when launching which helps plant the tires harder. Multi adjustable shocks are a great tuning aid. 12 way double adjustable is the best. The shock compression needs to be stiffer so it takes longer for them to compress and the shocks will keep the tires planted on the ground longer. Too much and the tires can go into tire shake. Too little and you get wheel spin. There is no perfect setting. How the shocks are adjusted on one track or on one day may not work the following week with something as simple as different track prep or weather condition.

With the proper suspension setup, an 8 or 9" wide tire can easily hook up like my big tires. The advantage of the big tires is that they'll hook up even on marginal track prep where a smaller tire fights to get traction.

Adding weight is a good way to slow the car down if you're running too fast but it's a poor way to try to improve traction on pavement. Suspension tuning is what you need to do.

 

just relocate your battery to the rear or the car

 

Alky based on what you said I think some adjustable coilovers and adj torque arm bar with Founder's LCAs and panhard rod would work, yes?

 

Don't forget the LCA relocation brackets. The more adjustability, the easier it is to tune the suspension. Just remember that one setting doesn't work for all applications and it's a learning curve to find out what works for you.

 

Would I really need the LCARB if I just got the adj LCAs instead?

 

yes the LCARBS allow you to adjust the angle of the LCA while the adjustable LCAs allow you to change the length of the LCAs

 

Alright so
adj LCAs
LCARBS
adj panhard
tokico whites
weight jacks

Does this sound like all I should ever need for a road race car?

 

No. Tires are your number one priority for a "road race car". You want the widest, stickiest tires that you can save up for.

Adding weight is generally never a good idea, and especially polar weight that is up high. If you want to improve weight balance you should be thinking about removing weight from the front of the car entirely or relocating it (battery) rearward. The trunk is actually not the best place for the battery either in a properly prepped handling car. Polar weight. That said, performance is all about compromises.

 

I've got good tires, they're less than a month old. It will probably be a while before I get new wheels though, I was thinking 18x9 front 19x10 rear. Suspension upgrades would be cheaper than new wheels and tires as well which is why I'd like to do that first.

 

Well there's part of your problem right there. Those tall rims offer no sidewalls for the tires unless you're running at least 28" tall tires. Good for corner carving. Bad for straight line acceleration.

 

No no no, I have stock wheels on the car right now, I was saying the wheels I would get would be 18x9 and 19x10.