.....Edit: alhajoth's question a few posts ago, reminds me of a question I have been meaning to ask concerning the "Stock Car Rules".
"No tuning (stock car -> i.e. you can't buy any new parts, but you can change all settings possible except ballast)".
On the last part of that concerning ballast, do yall take that to mean "no adding ballast" as well as "no front-rear balance adjustments"?
I have interpreted it to mean both, but I was just wondering if everyone else is using the same interpretation.
Both "ballast" and "front-rear balance" are under "Weight Balance" and are technically two different adjustments. This is what has prompted my question.
I had always assummed that moving the weight balance slider would make a difference even if you had no ballast, however, last night I performed an admittedly brief study of this, and found that if you have no ballast, moving the slider makes no difference!
I took my Alpine A310 1600VE (a car sensitive to ballast) to Tsukuba in the practice mode and had B-spec Bob run some laps:
Weight slider .. 1st lap ... 2nd lap .. Ballast
------------ .. ------- ... -------- .. -------
+50 to rear ... 1.10.146 ... 1.10.178 ... 0 kg
-50 to front ... 1.10.146 ... 1.10.178 ... 0 kg
@ 0, even ... 1.10.146 ... 1.10.178 .... 0 kg
I then took my white Formula GT to Tsukuba as well and let Bob loose:
Weight slider .. 1st lap .. 2nd lap .. 3rd lap .. Ballast
----------- .. ------- .. -------- .. ------- .. ------
+50 to rear ... 45.688 ... 45.933 ... 45.926 ... 0 kg
-50 to front ... 45.688 ... 45.933 ... 45.926 ... 0 kg
@ 0, even ... 45.688 ... 45.933 ... 45.926 ..., 0 kg
From the above you can see that my B-spec Bob runs very consistent laps and that the weight slider makes absolutely no difference in lap times if you have no ballast on board!
I then put 100kg of ballast on board, and ran some laps with it moved to the front and then moved to the rear, and Bob's laps times changed by about half a second, so Bob is affected by the ballast.
I haven't tested any other cars, but I imagine that the results would be the same.
Updated:
I have gone back to Tsukuba and tested two more cars:
Hyundai Tiburon GT:
Weight slider .. 1st lap ... 2nd lap .. 3rd lap ... Ballast
------------ .. ------- ... -------- .. ------- ..-------
+50 to rear ... 1.12.589 ... 1.12.586 ... 1.12.610 ... 0 kg
-50 to front ... 1.12.589 ... 1.12.586 ... 1.12.610 ... 0 kg
@ 0, even ... 1.12.589 ... 1.12.586 .... 1.12.610 ... 0 kg
Chaparral 2J:
Weight slider .. 1st lap .. 2nd lap .. 3rd lap .. Ballast
----------- .. ------- .. -------- .. ------- .. ------
+50 to rear ... 51.097 ... 51.376 ... 51.266 ... 0 kg
-50 to front ... 51.105 ... 51.368 ... 51.308 ... 0 kg
@ 0, even ... 51.170 ... 51.439 ... 51.251 ..., 0 kg
I then added 100kg of ballast to the Chaparral 2J and ran again:
Weight slider .. 1st lap .. 2nd lap .. 3rd lap .. Ballast
----------- .. ------- .. -------- .. ------- .. ------
+50 to rear ... 51.433 ... 51.772 ... 51.674 ... 100 kg
-50 to front ... 52.417 ... 52.722 ... 52.647 ... 100 kg
@ 0, even ... 51.992 ... 52.192 ... 52.074 ..., 100 kg
I would say that the Chaparral 2J is a very strangley behaving car! Quite inconsistent lap times. But it does seem to me that overall, ballast movement is affecting the lap times even if it is zero, and that the 2J does not like too much ballast to the front. The reason could be either bad handling or reduced rear traction (ie. more wheel spin).
I will investigate further.
GTsail290