Ok so..
The weight distribution of the car is 62%(Front) 38%(Back). +- 2%because it
depends of the fuel-driver and extras of the car(sunroof/navigation etc)
Questions:

1: What would be theoretically the best weight ratio(no matter if that is possible)
50-50?Thats the best balance for a FWD car? or maybe 55/45 so to have
more height in front where the power come out ??

2.I guess we all agree/know that a FWD car more than 300-320ps even with the
BEST possible setup(suspension/sway/semi tyres etc its impossible to handle
-have fast turn/cornering on a track(im not talking about straight line 0-400/ 0-1000)
So if you manage to have 300-320 ps then the next thing you start considering
is....weight reduction.So wouldnt be also beneficial to add some
weight on the tail(back) of the car? so you might have lets say +50/100kg but if all this
weight is on the back of the car the ration might be 55-45% so that will help you
cornering faster.Is that correct?Any ideas to catch that "sweet spot" of perfection on
a mini r56?

Thank you guys

 

Any thoughts?

 

Front engine, FWD configuration is always going to be roughly 65/35 front/rear. 50/50 is ideal for handling and performance but few cars achieve that, many of the ones that do are mid-engine. The only one I can think of that was front engine was the old Alfa Romeo GTV6, some modern performance cars come close.

Tires have a fixed traction "budget", if you use up all of a tire's grip in cornering then there's nothing left for acceleration/braking and vice versa. So FWD cars have an inherent performance disadvantage because the front tires have to both steer and get power to the road. Adding weight to the car just to change the F/R balance is never a good thing, but moving the weight that has to be there to shift the balance can be beneficial - moving the battery from the front to the trunk for example. But in a MINI there are limited opportunities for that, so overall weight reduction is the only realistic strategy.

 

Hello squaw and thank you for your reply.I know that fwd+front engine is something close to 65/35 thats why i mention the weight of mini in specific 62/38.
But i would like to know why adding weight is not a good thing?I dont claim it is a good a idea but i would like something "solid" so i can accept that.If you put things in "micro scale" with facts and then with solutions..
1.Whats the Maximum Power that a FWD car can handle??300-320
2.Whats the weight ratio?
How can we improve the time of the car in a track?

SOLUTIONS...?
1.More power?NO the car can handle 400-500ps infront wheels .
2.You can remove some wight and move the battery but you cant do much.. So the weight ratio wont be something better than 60/40 with all carbon parts and lightweight gear.
3.What if you put some aluminum sheets under the "carpet" of the back seats(already deleted seats)also put some under the carpet of the trunk.
Those sheets might be 20kg? So the center of gravity will be also lowered and the ration might be 55-59 in front!
????It does make sense ist it? So you will have the maximum power that car can handle with a ratio of 50/50! Why adding some wight is bad for the car when the problem isnt to do the car faster in str8 line but making it turn faster so the weight ratio/geometry of the car is far more important than the HP that you can even make them 350-400 if only that was the problem.
Please keep telling me why i am wrong i would be happy to hear why my thoughts are not correct. :D :D I am sure that there is an explanation if that is not correct.

Thank you!

PS:I am waiting for the next quote of yours.!!

 

In the words of Colin Chapman: "First simplify, then add lightness." In the words of Isaac Newton, F=mA. For cars, that means that your ability to speed up, slow down, or turn (all accelerations, just in different directions) depends on mass, and less mass means greater acceleration for a given force. Of course for cars, the force in any given direction comes from the tires, and the force that can be generated by the tires depends on how much weight is on each one. Overall though, reducing weight yields a net increase in performance - if you look at any race car, there's a reason why they are all built to be as light as possible.

I highly recommend this video:

 

Thank you very much for your reply.I really like your respond because everything seems to be under science and things that have been proved BUT here is the big BUT..
This theory(even more than a theory though) is when you have "no limits"?What i mean..

You wrote(as Newton)..ability to speed up, slow down, or turn (all accelerations, just in different directions) depends on mass, and less mass means greater acceleration for a given force

Lets suppose we have ANY POWER of the world you just set the HP you want..200?300?400?500?1000? with a single button switch..(magic !!) YOU CHOOSE the 300.
Then your goal is to make that car going fast on track so its not only the power you have to manage.IF you want more you can say im going to add some lightweight wheels so they can rotate faster..What if your stock wheels are 10kg each and the light one are 7.5...IF you put that power of 300in a 10kg wheel LETS SAY(example) the wheel will spin 1000times..If you put 7.5kg the wheel wheel will spin 1250times(because its lighter) so....WHAT IF rather than putting 7.5kg stay with 10kg and make it 330hp..The wheel will also run again with 1250 spins right?Its like "rule of three"
300hp + 10kgWheel = 1000spins
325hp + .5kgWheel = 1000spins
So with the same way of thinking if the car has "unlimited" power wouldnt be the same if you add some weight but

300hp + 1200kg(car) = 13sec for 1/4mile
330hp + 1300kg(car) = 13sec for 1/4mile

ALL the above numbers are just for you to understand and not some real numbers.

So if you add some weight in the rear of the car..YES the car will be more heavy.. so you must add some more power..
So if you add some weight in the rear of the car..YES the car will brake harder ...... so you must add some better calipers/pads etc
So if you add some weight in the rear of the car..When you press full brake all the weight of the track from the force goies in front so the rear of the car LACK of friction(rear) and you feel that"fishy" tale but with added weight in the back the rear part of the car will hold better/down the rear of the car.

So the final thoughts....
If i remove the carpet of the car and add some dynamat damping(the have some lightweight and some heavy one..) and put the heavy one in the back(maybe 3-4 layers ONLY in the trunk)and the light weight(1 layer) in frront seats(under the carpet) move the battery in the trunk with the tank of W/M make a custom(rear) cage with heavy pipes(only those who stay at the bottom) the other one will be with superlight pipe so to avoid to change the "center of gravity" to higher than it is.

With that mods i guess i might add something like 30-50kg in the back and delete the weight of the battery in front and moved it to back..
In conclusion if we can say that the car stock is 1250kg and if the ratio of weight is 62%in front and 38%back that means...775kg are in front and 475kg back. If we remove 15kg(battery average weight) and also add about 40kg in the back the car will be..
1290kg in total..760 in front and 530 back this means that... the front now is 59% and the back 41%. And the car weights +40kg. I guess thats pretty good?isnt it ?? :/
So we will need some more HP in order to have the same ratio kg/hp with that extra 40kg.

Can t wait for your reply mate and all of you.

Thank you all!!

 

You are asking for a simple answer to a very complicated question.
Never add weight to a race car......regardless of location. You can compensate some of the front/rear weight ratio with suspension tweaks.

Why not look at the WTCC or the BTCC or even the new TCR classes of race cars. All FWD high power setups. They seem to be running alright.

 

^ this.

Instead of adding mass and then power to compensate - just add power. Again, more mass means more force required to accelerate it in any direction (forward, braking, turning) so to make the engine, brakes, and tires you have work most effectively, "add lightness".