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How to weight your car!!

  • Thread starter Thread starter MUSTANG J
  • Start date Start date Jun 22, 2007

MUSTANG J

Member
Dec 29, 2006
357
0
16
Guelph Ontario Canada
Jun 22, 2007
#1
  • Jun 22, 2007
  • #1
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/497205/can_you_weight_a_car/

Wow, I have to try this!!
 

3-0-II

Member
Oct 24, 2006
110
0
17
Redwood City, CA
Jun 23, 2007
#2
  • Jun 23, 2007
  • #2
That's awesome! I'll give it a go in the morning.
 
A

a351Must2

Windsor II
Founding Member
Mar 12, 1999
4,317
0
0
Snohomish, WA
Jun 23, 2007
#3
  • Jun 23, 2007
  • #3
Hate to poopoo this, but....

My brain keeps telling me that the fatter the tires are, the more my car will weigh if I used that method.

Find me a 2666lb minivan or station wagon, whatever that was.
 

3-0-II

Member
Oct 24, 2006
110
0
17
Redwood City, CA
Jun 23, 2007
#4
  • Jun 23, 2007
  • #4
a351Must2 said:
Hate to poopoo this, but....

My brain keeps telling me that the fatter the tires are, the more my car will weigh if I used that method.

Find me a 2666lb minivan or station wagon, whatever that was.
Click to expand...

I think not. Tire pressure being equal, the width of the tire should only change the dimensions of the rectangle footprint. instead of being more squarish, it would be a short length rectangle with a large width and still have roughly the same area

The point of the wider tires, I beleived, was just to have a wider contact patch.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong

Oh and its neither a minivan or a wagon, its a Puegot, a tiny french car. That means it has all the style of a minivan with none of the useable size
 
D

dmoody

Founding Member
Nov 4, 2002
789
0
17
Winston-Salem, NC
Jun 25, 2007
#5
  • Jun 25, 2007
  • #5
3-0-II said:
I think not. Tire pressure being equal, the width of the tire should only change the dimensions of the rectangle footprint. instead of being more squarish, it would be a short length rectangle with a large width and still have roughly the same area
Click to expand...

You're right. This is why a wider tire will hydroplane quicker. It is a common misconception that wider tires actually give you more surface area touching the ground.

That said, I'm still left pondering the accuracy of her method. I can imagine there are a lot of variables that could throw your calculation off.

d
 
A

a351Must2

Windsor II
Founding Member
Mar 12, 1999
4,317
0
0
Snohomish, WA
Jun 25, 2007
#6
  • Jun 25, 2007
  • #6
The diameter of the tire also affects the size of the contact patch...

Which car is heavier? 205/50/15 or 245/45/17

I can tell from experience which one has the larger contact patch, too bad I'm too lazy to go out and swap tires around and measure things.
 

MUSTANG J

Member
Dec 29, 2006
357
0
16
Guelph Ontario Canada
Jun 26, 2007
#7
  • Jun 26, 2007
  • #7
I need to weight my car as a an imput for the G-tech

http://www.gtechpro.com/

I will try the sexy voiced chick's way and then weight it for real just to see.

I have no clue how much my car weights now. I stripped out every piece of weight, but then I put a cage, bigger wheels, tires and brakes back on. I hope I am back where I started, but I dought it
 
D

dmoody

Founding Member
Nov 4, 2002
789
0
17
Winston-Salem, NC
Jun 26, 2007
#8
  • Jun 26, 2007
  • #8
a351Must2 said:
The diameter of the tire also affects the size of the contact patch...
Click to expand...

Not true. Think about it and do some research. Why do tractor trailers have so many tires? To distribute the weight, right? If your theory were true then they could simply run larger tires and distribute the weight across a larger contact patch.

The diameter of the tire affects the shape of the contact patch not the size.

d
 

beenstanged

New Member
Aug 11, 2006
41
0
0
taylor michigan
Jun 27, 2007
#9
  • Jun 27, 2007
  • #9
you can weight it any weight station along the high ways and by ways i think your state tax money covers this or you can go to a recycle place and the might weight it for you good luck
 
A

a351Must2

Windsor II
Founding Member
Mar 12, 1999
4,317
0
0
Snohomish, WA
Jun 27, 2007
#10
  • Jun 27, 2007
  • #10
grrr, since all my misconceptions have been poked at now, I had to do some research...

Surprisingly to me, it looks like the method in the video should be reasonably accurate.

I guess the width and diamter of tires is all about reducing deflection under a load and doesn't really affect the contact patch while static.
 
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