shiners780

Are you sure it isn't the other way around?

Typically when you want to loosen up the car you add weight to the rear (or remove weight from the front) to reduce the slip angle of the front tires and/or increase the slip angle of the rear tires. Higher slip angles at the rear mean less rear grip = oversteer condition, a loose handling car. So adding rear weight 'should' cause a loose condition, opposite of what you are experiencing. Generally. At least that's the way I understand it.

Chipster

While driving in an enduro race with about 10 minutes left to go, my low fuel light came on - solid red. I had a car on my tail so I was pushing it hard and couldn't back off. I kept saying to myself "don't trust the light, don't trust the light." I expected the engine to quit at any minute. I made to the end of the race, around the track for a cool-down lap and back to my pit area without a problem.

Later, I went back and did the quick math. On the track I get about 8.3 MPG. So, if the light comes on at 2.1 gal remaining - as indicated in the manual - I should flame-out in roughly 17.4 miles. With my lap times, and about 10 minutes of racing to go, including a cool-down lap, I needed about 16 miles worth of fuel.

I think the system worked as indicated.

TheRealLefty

My experience has been less rear weight, less understeer, looser rear. Many ways to approach the terminology but my NA rotates better and pushes less when the rear is stiffer...rear bar setting shorter and/or shocks tighter. That said, however, I can induce the same looser rear in a pinch by lowering the rear tire pressures, which adheres to Shiner's slip angle theory.

Bottom line, handling is a 3-D dynamic transfer of various forces fighting against (or helping) the tires stay within their "grip budget". Thus, depending on the amount of lateral force involved and the exact nature of the course (tight, off camber, decreasing radius, etc) what works one place and on one day may or may not work somewhere else at some other time.

But, generally, but the biggest evil my NA fights is push and I have had good luck running as little weight and a stiff a rear set up as I can get away with. NA's are momentum racers and you must keep the fronts cool and gripping or your day can be miserable. I have had good luck conceptualizing my car's ideal state in terms of making sure it "rotates" in turns, otherwise you end up needing too much steering input to maintain your lines, if you can't be unwinding the wheel a little bit as you exit, you usually exit sloooooowly...and pay the price for that exit all the way into the next turn.

TheRealLefty

One more thought here. There is an old cliche that is right on the money and bears repeating. I think it was Fittipaldi who explained that you "need to slow down to go fast" and that 90% of struggling race drivers "go too fast in the slow parts and too slow in the fast parts."

Good example is the little pocket book Jefferson Course at Summit. Gained about 2 1/2 seconds when a sage CMod racer told be that the hot tip was to "throw away Turn 1." He said "Can't go fast through it, no good way out of it, so don't try." Works like a charm...just go as deep as you can, turn in slowly, scramble like hell straight toward the gator going into 2 and the just squirt gator to gator from 2 through 5." End result? You don't get behind in your steering in 2, 3 and 4 and you're flying into the carousel a full 500 rpm faster!

Similarly he taught me to treat 6 and 7 like two completely different turns and make sure to stay in the middle of track all the way through 7 so you don't track out into the crown coming on to the chute.

Bottom line, driving these two places (1 and 7) too hard results in identical problems that manifest themselves as nasty bad push. Do the right thing and don't overdrive them and your chassis adjustment is made in the driver's seat

MM951

My gas light is currently on :hidebehind: It's red

I've been able to get 35-40 miles on the gas light if I realllly baby it. I put $5 and the gas light turned on as soon as I left the gas station..

bearone

when the lite comes on you may be sucking a lot of garbage into the filter.

i don't much below a 1/4.

87951

Dal Heger

You know, I don't get why people think you'd be sucking in garbage into the filter with a low fuel level. It doesn't make sense. . . Does the fuel pick up float? No. Is it always at the absolute bottom of the tank? Yes. Does it make a bit of difference if the tank is full or only has 6 oz. left? NOPE.

Besides, the tank is plastic. There is nothing that will corrode/create "garbage" in the tank.

Besides the fuel filter is relatively huge on these cars.

ehall

absolute silliness! When it comes on you have much more than a gallon...and these aren't pinto's, as was mentioned above this post. (okay not exactly, but that's what Dal meant.)
Have you ever changed the fuel filter on a 951? It's probably, unless you are Juan, MUCH bigger than your wrist. You'd have to be buying some REALLY ****ty fuel to have that problem because it isn't coming from the tank.

bearone

i'll tell you how/why from 1st hand experience.

the lo fuel lite didn't come on in the 1st 84na/944 i owned for two reasons.
the bulb was burnt out and the wire by the sending unit wasn't connected.

as soon as the bulb was changed and wire connected i could ground the wire and the lite would come on.

i found this out after driving/sucking so much crap into the filter that it wouldn't run until i changed the fuel filter.

where the contamnants came from i don't know but do know what fixed it and that's why, now i don't go much below a 1/4 tank.

87951

Fishey

I can drive in my 944 almost 150miles below Empty (about 6-7 gallons) before my light comes on. When it comes on though I have like 20miles to get gas. Talk about useless fuel gauge the fuel light is all I ever use! In my 924S the light comes on with about 120miles till empty around the same time it hits the E Mark on the analog gauge.

GOBOGIE

I wouldn't let your wife hear you say that!

Got Me a Porsha

Im still hesitant on calling "BS" on this low fuel light you speak of...

Would my '87 951 have one as well? I have taken several road trips in this car, and have run nearly on fumes as far as my gauge (and wallet) were concerned, yet I have never seen a low fuel light. I have even had the cluster out several times, and have checked all the bulbs, yet have never seen this light.

Is there any photographic evidence of said "light"?

shiners780

On the fuel gauge, there's the orange/red line with the "R" (I'm assuming for 'reserve') right next to it. The light is just below that orange/red line and it does go on when the fuel is low. At least on my '88 it does. Maybe it's different for different MYs.

Dal Heger

It's the same for all 85.5+ MY cars.