COG too aggressive? Add weight to nose?

[Christopher Casey]

Hello,

Learned a lot from this site, just need a little help. Currently, my COG is just inside 1/2". Tough to measure with a ruler as it it somewhere just inside the wheels. Running a straight car, no raised wheel, extended wheelbase of 5 3/8.

My question is that I can get COG at 5/8" if I add 0.05 oz of tungsten putty in the front of the car right behind the front axles. I've heard that you never add weight to the front of the car, so worried this will mess up my speed. Been 5th in district last two years, so was trying to be more aggressive with COG and went a little too far.

Race is on a wood track.

Any help or thoughts would be appreciated!

 

[HurriCrane Racing]

The wood track is a real wild card in this question. Generally, the transition on a wood track is not as abrupt as an Aluminum Best Track. If the wood track is very smooth and well maintained, you might be ok with your current COG. If the wood track is rough or has poor seams, you could have the nose of the car jumping off the track.

If you can get to a 5/8" COG with only .05 oz of putty, I would consider doing that.

Your setup might work at the league level. We are pretty spoiled by the quality of the tracks we get to race on.

Good luck!