Lloyd Christmas

With all other things being equal, how noticeable would the difference in handling be between an iron block C5 and an aluminum block C5 (We can use 6.0 iron and 6.0 aluminum for reference). I don't mean anything about tire or brake wear, or fuel economy, just the difference in handling when cornering at speed. We can use a 1-10 scale, ex. if an aluminum block c5 rates a 6 how does an iron block c5 compare? Thanks, guys.

AU N EGL

what is the wight difference, 80lbs? more in the front ?

Lloyd Christmas

Yes, I've mostly seen figures of about an 80lb difference.

TriplBlk

In case I go boosted, Id like to know how it goes at the track

69427

FWIW, when I went the other direction (iron to aluminum block, lost 100#) on my C3, I couldn't feel any difference. (Hopefully I didn't waste the money, and the stopwatch notices the difference.)

Just my experience. YMMV

Lloyd Christmas

Yeah, I'm sure there is some impact from having +/-100lbs on the nose, but I'm just concerned about the way it feels. If you didn't notice it on the track, I doubt I would notice it on the street. Anyone else?

EyeMaster

You might understeer at 97% of the limit you had with the Al block. I'm guessing. Also, unless you're racing for money or to have the best time possible for pride reason, I don't think it would make a big difference.

Bill Dearborn

It matters when you are pushing the limits of the car. Slight changes in car characteristics can make a difference. Say a novice is cornering at 40 mph on a tight radius corner which if the car was being driven at the limit could be taken at 55 mph. Adding 100 lbs to the front of the car more than likely will not affect the novice at 40 mph and he may still be able to get to 50 mph without noticing anything but he will never get to 55. An expert might get to 53 or 54 but they will never attain what the lighter car could do without compensating changes to the car.

Bill

Lloyd Christmas

I see, that was a good explanation.

l98tpi

Couldn't the extra weight increase overall wheel rate like what happens by adding a splitter or wing? Increasing wheel rate could help with turn in traction on the front tires allowing for a faster entry speed. Of course the adverse affect is hauling around more weight so it uses up some power.

iV3

traction goes up with load, but with diminishing returns and always less than 1:1. Adding aerodynamic downforce increases wheel loads without adding any real weight that needs to be hauled around, thus increasing total traction. Adding vehicle weight also increases load, but less additional traction is gained than load and thus potential performance is negatively affected.

AU N EGL

Weight and downforce are the killers of speed.

long straightish tracts you want little down force
Sebring
Road America
VIR

tacks with long sweeping corners a moderate amount of down force
Mid-Ohio
Mosport
the Glen

short tight tracks high downfoce


Street circuits

iV3

Not to be so nitpicky, but I believe technically that's power/weight ratio and drag, not weight and downforce.

AU N EGL

Very true