Track car on scales

Summer is closing and track season is starting. This usually means also that first setups for the summer are around the corner. What should you take in to the consideration when setting up your car on scales?

So your car is all set and ready to go for it´s setup on the scales, but the scales are still in the box. What things will you need to consider and take in the count when setting them up so you will get the most accurate setup possible.

1: Choose a level or as close to a level surface as possible. As any possible unevenness of the surface can affect to your setup. Also make sure you have good working space all around your setup area.

2: The scales, make sure if they are battery powered. That they all have good batteries or replace them if needed. Nothing is more annoying than being halfway through a setup and to have one or two scales to die. Make sure all the needed parts are at hand. That the control unit is working and all cables look intact.

3: After these are taken care of. Have some tape and have the car where you will have the scales. Mark where all the wheels will be so you can more easily setup the scales. After marking wheel locations. Take the car away and bring the scales to the spots you previously marked. At this point take out a good level, and level each scale out by them selves. After this you will need a longer level the use on the leveling of the side to side and front to back.

4: All scales levelled? Good, now mark the location precisely of all the scales with tape. If you have ramps that can be used to drive the car on to the scales. Set these up also and mark their location. Bring the car back and lift it up on the air so you can set it down to the ramps.

5: Car on ramps. Make sure all scales fit back to their marked spots. You can also check side to side and front to back leveling again if feeling so.

6: Now you are ready to roll your car on to the scales. Roll it slowly and make sure car would be fully on center of each scale. Rolling the car on the scales is better as this allows suspension to be more in its natural stage. Compare to when lowering it to the scales this will cause tensions in the suspension and can affect to your read outs when doing corner weight setups.

Car now being on the scales your could see the total weight of your car. Depending the scales you could be also seeing each corner or front to back. If your scales are only showing front to back. Try to adjust them as close to each other as possible with similar setups on both front corners and vice versa on rear.

For scales showing each corner: FL, FR, RL and RR. You can choose to try to get the corner weights as close to each other as possible. Remember that putting more pressure on a corner gives it more corner weight and vice versa. Also take in the account that putting more weight on FL corner will take it away from RR. Last note is that you should make always sure to have all sway bars either disconnected or moving freely.