How much difference does BB vs SB make to the handling?
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 1,231
Likes: 0
From: edmonton ab
How much difference does BB vs SB make to the handling?
Will the small blocks handle circles around the big block cars? Can a big block C3 be made to hang with, say a late C4 on the twisties?
Race Director
Joined: Apr 1999
Posts: 15,146
Likes: 477
From: NM
Originally Posted by nuck
Will the small blocks handle circles around the big block cars? Can a big block C3 be made to hang with, say a late C4 on the twisties?
tom...
Team Owner
Joined: Feb 1999
Posts: 34,454
Likes: 665
From: Republic of Texas
A BB C3 can be made to handle very well with the right setup. No doubt the SB is lighter, but it's not a night and day difference.
If there is any indication, almost ALL Chevy sponsoered race cars were Big Blocks. In fact it was a '68 L88 convertibile that won LeManns.
Having had a C4 for 10yrs they do handle well. To make a C3 perform as such would take some work, but it is doable. A lot has to do with the driver as well. I don't care how setup the car is a good driver will win over a poor driver anyday.
If there is any indication, almost ALL Chevy sponsoered race cars were Big Blocks. In fact it was a '68 L88 convertibile that won LeManns.
Having had a C4 for 10yrs they do handle well. To make a C3 perform as such would take some work, but it is doable. A lot has to do with the driver as well. I don't care how setup the car is a good driver will win over a poor driver anyday.
Last edited by Corey_68; Sep 3, 2004 at 03:02 PM.
Race Director
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 11,872
Likes: 12
From: Waterloo ontario Canada
Cast iron head to cast iron head the big block is 140 pounds heavier then the small block. This is from Hot Rod magazine. A set of big block aluminum heads drops about 80 pounds off the big block. That makes 60 pounds difference.
NO way a small block set of heads can breath like a big block so even a big small block can never put out the power of the big block.
Really how often do you push the car into a corner and have it understear?? You can tune rear sway bars to help it you do.
No way your small block will hang with my bigblock regardless of your weight advantage.
Needless to say I am a big block fan.
NO way a small block set of heads can breath like a big block so even a big small block can never put out the power of the big block.
Really how often do you push the car into a corner and have it understear?? You can tune rear sway bars to help it you do.
No way your small block will hang with my bigblock regardless of your weight advantage.
Needless to say I am a big block fan.
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 1999
Posts: 65,492
Likes: 230
From: Orange Park Florida
Yeh, I agree with Norval on the weight/handling thing...but I feel the BB makes for just about absolutely NO room to get at anything under there, and if you have a/c...forgetaboutit....20 lbs in a 5 lbs bag.....but then again if it's a 'hotrod' well, all bets are off, hell, if TT can do TTs and intercoolers, and cram all that under there, and acually change plugs....maybe all things ARE possible, just not by me.....
~100 lbs is less than a passenger weight anyway....
come think of it, with all the weight off my front end due to mods...I bet I could add a BB under there and still afford to gain...hummmmm.....
NOT
GENE
~100 lbs is less than a passenger weight anyway....
come think of it, with all the weight off my front end due to mods...I bet I could add a BB under there and still afford to gain...hummmmm.....
NOT
GENE
Race Director
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 11,872
Likes: 12
From: Waterloo ontario Canada
Originally Posted by lostpatrolman
That 100 pounds is right over the front wheels, though, definately not the same as having a passenger. But like everyone else said, with a well set up package, anything is possible.
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Race Director
Joined: Feb 1999
Posts: 16,978
Likes: 7
From: In Dreams There Is Truth Ohio
On a road course, the driver's skill has a greater impact than engine displacement. Another thing to take into consideration....the size of one's kahuna's when entering a corner.
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 2,508
Likes: 0
From: Wisconsin
Assuming you try to set the cars up for the best suspension configuration for the engines and the tires are the same, the small block will handle better because of the extra weight of the big block will remove some of the traction ability of the tires. The increased weight will increase the lateral force, therefore decreasing lateral traction. Of course the vehicles are going to be set up for the appropriate understeer for the engine output to get neutral steering in the corner. Then there is the issue with getting the traction for the increased power there. In theory the small block, even if it had less power, could apply more of its power than the big block because it has less weight to transfer, therefore it can transfer it quicker, applying more of that power. More weight to the rear means more power can be applied. The big block would have more weight to transfer, and the frame is a lever for transferring it, so that 60lbs is going to be. It'll have a more difficult time. Now after the turn the higher powered vehicle is going to be able to out accelerate the other, but that isn't handling. The big block being able to make more power is another arguement though.
And an L88 was used because LeMans was practically a drag race with something like a 4 mile straight away on it.
And an L88 was used because LeMans was practically a drag race with something like a 4 mile straight away on it.