Ballast

George Klass · 08-18-1999, 08:22 AM

I can understand adding 200 lbs. of ballast in order to "make a class weight" such as S/R, however adding it in the hatch area will likely lead to an ill handling car. Interesting enough, the driver's butt is usually the center of the Mustang's mass. By that I mean that a 200 lbs. driver usuall adds 100 lbs. to the front tires and 100 lbs. to the rear tires. So, any ballast behind the driver will add weight to the rear tires, primarily. If it were me, I would add the 200 lbs. ballast just in front of the centerline of the rear axles, in the area near where your seat back was. Also, because of the large mass of weight, I would weld a crossmsmber between the rear subframes to anchor the weight. This crossmsmber could also be attached to the frame or roll cage area and be above the floor. Ballast can not be installed above the upper height of your rear tires. Ballast can also be installed effectively by bolting small amounts to various tubes of your roll cage in the same area. To do this, you have to drill a hole in the tubing and then weld in a sleeve, so that when you tighten up the bolt & nut, you don't crush the tubing. Another idea for adding weight is to increase the tubing in your roll bar/cage area. This may have the extra benefit of making your chassis stiffer.
Make the weight "work" for you.
Regards.

08-18-1999, 08:22 AM	#12
George Klass Registered Member Join Date: Dec 1998 Location: Torrance, California, USA Posts: 104	I can understand adding 200 lbs. of ballast in order to "make a class weight" such as S/R, however adding it in the hatch area will likely lead to an ill handling car. Interesting enough, the driver's butt is usually the center of the Mustang's mass. By that I mean that a 200 lbs. driver usuall adds 100 lbs. to the front tires and 100 lbs. to the rear tires. So, any ballast behind the driver will add weight to the rear tires, primarily. If it were me, I would add the 200 lbs. ballast just in front of the centerline of the rear axles, in the area near where your seat back was. Also, because of the large mass of weight, I would weld a crossmsmber between the rear subframes to anchor the weight. This crossmsmber could also be attached to the frame or roll cage area and be above the floor. Ballast can not be installed above the upper height of your rear tires. Ballast can also be installed effectively by bolting small amounts to various tubes of your roll cage in the same area. To do this, you have to drill a hole in the tubing and then weld in a sleeve, so that when you tighten up the bolt & nut, you don't crush the tubing. Another idea for adding weight is to increase the tubing in your roll bar/cage area. This may have the extra benefit of making your chassis stiffer. Make the weight "work" for you. Regards.