Ballast/Weight ?

J

jfeniello

New member
I need to add up to 200lbs to my car to make weight (99 ITA Integra). I'm trying to figure out the best way to do this. The two suggestions are weight lifting weights or lead.

The weight lifting weights i can find are about 14" diameter and only 45lbs each, and i don't think you're allowed to stack more than 2, so i'll be running out of room.

I've seen some nice lead bars bolted in cars, but not sure where to source them. Some old posts talk about melting old fishing sinkers, etc., but 200lbs would be a ton (well, 200 lbs) of them. Plus the tools to forge these myself. Is there anywhere where you could buy lead bars? i was thinking/hoping there are like the size of a 14" 2x4, and i could bolt 3 or 4 parallel to each other on the passenger floor.

Any thoughts or other ideas?

thanks,
-jim
 
Racecar Engineering in FL, and I'm usre many othe rlocal circle track places stock ballast.

from racecar's catalog, bottom right of the page:
http://www.racecareng.com/site/catalog-viewer?cat=57&loadord=36

There's no limit on how many sections of ballast can be co-bolted, so long as each piece is 50lbs or less. see GCR 9.1.3.D.9.l. (last page of the ITCS before speclines). I wouldn't bolt more than one setion together at a time, though, it's a hell of a lot to ask of the factory floorboards.

if you wanted to make your own, gather lead, melt it over a good hot fire (turkey fryer burners work well) and use cheap dollar store bread pans as your mold. remember that Pb is nasty stuff, wear a respirator.
 
If you don't have the rear of the cage fully triangulated, consider adding structure back there before you put lead in the floor. Remember that the wall thickness requirements are MINIMUMS. Building a bridge behind the seat has the benefit of making the car stiffer (for high rear spring and bar rates) and moving the CG aft.

K
 
What Kirk said! I've even seen people weld in a solid bar between the rear shock towers :D
 
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CRallo said:
What Kirk said! I've even seen people weld in a solid bar between the rear shock towers :D
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I don't need ballast but building it into the car while staying within the rules makes alot of sense! And the weight most likely can be shifted further to the rear then you can place the ballast!
 
Jim, where do you live?
If you don't choose to go the upgraded cage route, I have several sources in Houston area for lead.

Start by simply googling "lead in Timbuktu" and you'll be amazed what you come up with.

You might look for an X-ray equipment dealer/installer in your area, as they will usually line the walls of patient rooms with the stuff and keep assorted bricks on size.

Keep in mind the wholesale price of lead is about $2.25/lb right now, so 200lb of lead will cost you $450. the cost to ship that much mass is also extremely high, so there's a bonus to finding it locally.

As for sizing the bricks, you can buy them in rectangular bricks/blocks of 20-50lb ea, or in ingots of 70-100lb ea. All depends on what you want.
To help with your floor space considerations, a 2" x 4" x 8" brick is 25lb, and the large 85lb ingots we use are about 3" x 4" x 18".
Density of lead is roughly 0.4 lb/cu.in.

hope that helps.
 
One source for lead is your local tire shop. I know that they are phasing out lead for wheel weights but some shops tend to keep buckets of the old weights around. Some take it to a metal recycler for cash but it doesn't hurt to ask. Of course you will have to melt it down and pour it into molds and not everyone has the tools to do that.

I had a job years ago hauling used cars. Walking the different car lots when I was delivering or picking up cars, I seemed to always find loose wheel weights. After I started to pick them up and save them I think I accumulated over 15 lbs is a bit over a year!

Most of the lead I have (over 150 lbs) I purchased at local race car & parts auctions. With Ebay and such there arent' many of them anymore.
 
depending on where you need the weight to get your corner weights right you can keep a spare tire in the trunk, a steel wheel and appropriate sized tire probably is about 40lbs
 
pitbull113 said:
depending on where you need the weight to get your corner weights right you can keep a spare tire in the trunk, a steel wheel and appropriate sized tire probably is about 40lbs
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if the car came with a space saver you're looking at ~20 lbs. but yeah, you may run the spare, too. and don't forget the fire system bottle, accusump, cool suit cooler, and all of the other components (not just cage) open to location or material improvisation.

example: ST civics in grand-am's continental tires series use a VERY thick walled steel tube as the carrier for the rear swaybar, which is itself a big piece.
 
I somethimes bolt the weight lifting weights under the pas seat. Use the metal weights. One 10$# under the car and 2 inside the car. Double nut the bolt. Double nut the bolt..
 
Flyinglizard said:
I somethimes bolt the weight lifting weights under the pas seat. Use the metal weights. One 10$# under the car and 2 inside the car. Double nut the bolt. Double nut the bolt..
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i never thought of that.....you might want to rethink that as well as look up the GCR definition of ballast.

but you can brace the floorpan in that area. i think you perhaps meant you are using a 10 # weight as a brace under the car's floorpan....

and on the solid bar deal... honestly, i always thought of "tubing" as having a hole in the center.... also could not find any "DOM" solid rod. or is it a "tube element?"

btw, i just recently found a charcoal canister for my fuel tank vent....
 
pitbull113 said:
depending on where you need the weight to get your corner weights right you can keep a spare tire in the trunk, a steel wheel and appropriate sized tire probably is about 40lbs
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Or like at one race where I worked tech, about 100 lbs :happy204:. Not sure what was in it, but it sure wasn't air.
 
I was going to mention filling the spare with water instead of air..

AED Motorsports sells tube with 0.250" wall thickness if you want to go that way. Both mild-DOM and 4130 ChroMo tube.. 1.5" x 0.250" is 3.3lb per foot, but also costs about $20/ft.

As for solid bar, I don't see any reason that wouldn't be allowed if the bar was a non-required part of the roll cage structure. At that point it simply becomes a really heavy optional cage element. Just don't put it near the roof!
 
Someone, a long time ago, mentioned that some "guys" racing volvos in the southeast would fill their spares with.... concrete. yes concrete, well until they were sighted for it.
 
Kubota tractor tires are filled with antifreeze. They could crush you
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Pretty common w/ farm tractors, they are called 'loaded' tires. Sometimes use molases - doesn't freeze and the cow lick it up if there is a spill.

Some time ago there was a thread about cheating and a story of Firehawk enduro cars that would be fast until a 4 tire pit stop w/ one lap to go. Jeeze I wonder.

Lead shot, if you can get it, can be put inside most any shaped container (frame rail, roll cage bar, evap canister etc). Not hard to build a container you can add or subtract the amount of shot inside to give you what you need.

Lead is pretty toxic though, there's a reason kids get tested for it.
 
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