Looking to the guys who know. 50/50 Weight Distribution the Best?

[Iamtheonlyreal1]

Well I have some preliminary weight figures for Volvo X, and I wonder if anyone would have some experienced setup feedback to offer? Now is the time to get this thing setup properly, and any insight would be apprecitated.. As a comparison to stock, I also have some figures from a 39,000 mile original car, so we should get a great preliminary indication here.. I must say that I am very pleased with the outcome so far, I think this car is going to hit the mark I was shooting for..

With these weight figures, I have an all original car first, and it is as stock as you can get, so this is a great comparison car.. Volvo X has all its running gear in the car, simulated Fuel weight, seats, complete suspension, Steering Column, Guages, bumpers, ect.. It is really only missing the basic wiring, windshield/back glass, insulation and carpet, so we should be in 200-300 pound difference margin for the added accessories. We are figuring that, by the time we add the missing weight of the missing interior/insulation components, Windshield/Back Glass, HVAC to the central part of the car, that will actually get the Distribution ratio even closer to 50/50.

Here are the two cars in question.. Volvo X has the complete drivetrain and exhaust, unlike the pictures below, that were taken at an earlier date.














Original Car ________________________________Volvo X
Total Weight 2386lb_____________________________Total Weight 2465lb
Front Weight 1270lb________________________Front Weight 1275lb
Rear Weight 1116lb________________________Rear Weight 1190lb
Weight Distribution___________________________Weight Distribution
Front 53.2% Rear 46.8%_________________________Front 51.7% Rear 48.3%










I had a problem getting Volvo X totally level, and that is why you will see the variation in the cross weight, and that is cause by the floor affecting the contact points on the scales.. It was way to cold to switch the cars around, but I will definitely do that on the final weigh in..






Something to consider in all of these figures, is that I have added additional weight in areas like the wheels and tires, along with some heavy duty parts like the rear end assembly and other items, so I think a major achievement was made here.. Keep in mind we are at 540 horsepower, with a V8 and heavy duty trans/Rear end assembly.. Also I am running 14in Front and 13in Rear Brake assemblies, ect, so we are gaining alot, with minimal over all weight difference. On the next weigh in, I will probalby put some original style wheels on the car, along with a few other less bulky things, and I think we will find that there really isnt any notable overall gain in suspension and drivetrain.



I was trying to keep this car at about 2700 pounds, fully accessorized and loaded, and it appears I might meet that mark. I wanted to keep the stock body, and not do the drag racing drilling, insulation removal, ect, because I wanted it to be a fully functional daily driver, with even more insulation, accessories, and comfort. I think I am missing between 200-300 pounds of additional necessity to achieve that level of daily driver function, so it looks like it will happen.

With the horsepower here, I actually think that additional/proportional weight would be a positive in performance, so it might be that I voluntarily add more weight at a later date, but I wanted to showcase that it was possible to get all of the listed upgrades, in the same basic package. The additional weight is actually coming from items like the heavier wheels/tires, and a few other bulkier/strength items like the 31 Spline large Axles/9in rear end, and not the fact that there is V8 motor with 5 times the horsepower, or stronger components to hold up.

[214Chevy]

Don't know diddley squat about weight distribution. All's I do know is you car is so sick. I love what you have done to it. Something out of the norm. Been following your build thread. Keep up the good work.

[Iamtheonlyreal1]

Originally Posted by 214Chevelle

Don't know diddley squat about weight distribution. All's I do know is you car is so sick. I love what you have done to it. Something out of the norm. Been following your build thread. Keep up the good work.

Damn.. I appreciate the chime in though.

I have done some research, and I am sure that 50/50 is what people strive for in most cases. I am also sure there is nothing better than real experience, and I am sure the level of experience in here might offer just a bit more information to consider, and now is the time to make adjustments.

[GregWeld]

Why don't you ping David Pozzi if he doesn't chime in.... He's real good at this stuff.


L O V E the friggin' awesome Volvo!!! WOW!

[Ron in SoCal]

Herb Adams will tell ya...50/50 is what you want. Also in some cases you can actually increase available traction by adding weight to the rear.

Who'd a thunk?

[Che70velle]

I'm building my first "performance" street car build, so I'm not so sure about street cars, but I owned and drove NASCAR asphalt late models for many years, and I always wanted 50.5% rear weight. Those cars would turn better with a tad more rear weight. Seems unlogical, but its simple physics. I do know that Corvette engineers are striving for 50/50, so there must be something there for street cars also.

[Iamtheonlyreal1]

Originally Posted by Ron in SoCal

Herb Adams will tell ya...50/50 is what you want. Also in some cases you can actually increase available traction by adding weight to the rear.

Who'd a thunk?

I have actually run into that information, and am thinking that as light as the car will be, I will be able to add the necessary rearward weight that I wanted..

I am running the Fuel Tank right below the back window, and it is mounted Jaguar style, so it spans accross the car, and is about a 17 gallon tank.. I removed the Mustang Style trunk floor mounted fuel tank, and have a delete plate that centers the battery, in a sub-floor position, right behind the rear axle.. I will have minimal overhange weigth hanging off after the rear axle, which I think is a gain, but I guess that would be an assumption on my part?


Here is the first Mock Up setup, but the production tank will be stainless steel..

[Iamtheonlyreal1]

Originally Posted by GregWeld

Why don't you ping David Pozzi if he doesn't chime in.... He's real good at this stuff.


L O V E the friggin' awesome Volvo!!! WOW!

I am hoping he and a few others chime in, that is what I am nicely soliciting here.. LOL

Appreciate the love for the Volvo, because the Volvo's could use a bit of Real Car enthusiasm also, eventhough they arent Camaro/Mustang/Chevelle/ect. That way they arent the cute car in the back lot of the car show that no one really expects anything of.. LOL I am just hoping this thing will keep up with some of the other notable Pro-Touring cars out there, and I am sure there will be some potential obstacles with weight and wheel base.

[Matt@BOS]

What a cool car!

I follow along to what you're up to every so often, and man, it is looking good.

I'm no engineer but I did stay at a holiday in express, and while I was there I went to a Good Guys show and had a brief chat with the folks at DSE about the weight distribution of my Camaro which has all the go fast parts from their catalog. My takeaway from the conversation was that cross weight was far more important to them. This isn't to say that front and rear weight bias aren't important, rather a car's suspension setup must be built around that weight bias.

There are cars out there with near 60/40 and 40/60 splits that handle well.

[David Pozzi]

50/50 is a good number. I would up the rear percentage to 55 if it had a lot of horsepower.