Hi hrnts69,

Cardboard template looks like a good start. Smart laying out everything before you cutout the real chassis.

I'll pass along what works for me. You will adjust and alter the info you are gathering anyway once you begin bracket racing your own car.

40/60 static is what I run. 40percent weight front; 60percent weight rear-static, e.g., not under acceleration or braking. I have raced both a Rustler conversion bracket truck and my bracket rail at 40/60. My new bracket car sits at 37/63. My new Top Fuel electric rail will come in around 40/60. With 40/60 I don't need a wheelie bar and still get the traction I need for acceleration. The instant my car leaves the line it transfers some percentage of the weight to the rear. So dynamically, I'm guessing its 38/62, or maybe as high as 36/64.

Battery mounting and location. I use transverse (across the chassis) rather than inline. Transverse allows me to concentrate the weight along a narrower battery centerline relative to the chassis. That allows me more F/R weight balance. BUT. BUT. That was using the mass of older round NiMh cells. The newer LiPo/LiMn battery packs are much lighter, so moving them within the limited range I had on my chassis doesn't make that big a difference. So I would say, first off, battery location for a round cell pack is much more critical to weight balance that the new generation polymer family.

As far as not liking to talk. Yeah, I do. I want to pass along as much useful information as I can. But I am finding the more I RC drag race, the less it seems I know! Make sense? Doesn't to me either. But what I am learning is that there many variables in RC drag racing to take into account. You'll still have to work out a lot for your particular application. That's what makes it so much fun.

Hope this helps. Have fun.

AC