He's right there bigmil. You don't need to be at the minimum weight to beat someone else at that weight. You can have a winning car with a heavier than minimum weight car. Some say that the minimum weight is not the optimal weight for a top performing car, so they add lead to get up to optimal weight. All kinds of schools of thought there.
For my money, I would try to reduce a little weight from the car so you can put it where you want it.
Here are some ideas to ponder.
-Unless you need the fuel for a long race, reduce the fuel load to just enough to run a race with about 10 laps extra. Use a dip stick to check your fuel level before and after a race to see how much you use.
-Check the weight of your battery. Change to a lighter battery if well above the minimum allowed.
-Check the weight of your rims with tires. Change rims if heavier than minimum.
-Check the weight of your brake drums, replace with better drums if heavier than minimum weight.
-Got gauges? You using them? You got time to look at 'em? You shouldn't! Take 'em out. If you're racing, you don't care if it's running too hot, you're going to go 'till it blows! The old gauges are heavy. Took all mine out and saved 5.5 lbs. Do I sometimes wish I knew how much oil pressure I was running? Not me, it gave me too much to think about that wasn't about being faster.
-Got the old fenders? They weigh as much as 3.5 lbs heavier than newer ones sometimes.
-The body is another thing that could be way heavier than current. Then again the newest bodies are made in China, and aren't all that light...
-Got lots of patches in your fibreglass work that is a bit heavy? Grind 'em down and do it right. If you patch it right, your finished patch will be no thicker than the original fibreglass work.
-What kind of fire extinguisher you running? Might be able to shave off 2 - 5 lbs there.
-Got the remote oil system? Might consider going with the texas style oil filter adapter and get rid of the remote oil filter. Shave a few more lbs there in hoses and adapter.
-What size oil cooler you running? Maybe you could get away with a smaller one and stay cool enough?
-All kinds of ways to lighten a car legally. If you think you've got the original lead sled like mine was when I first purchased it, there are lots of things you can look at. This is just a short quick list!
Hope it helps,
Mike the crazy Cannuck!
