Not necessarily. The radiator being moved is only shifting around about 20 pounds 2" farther forward. It all depends on how they did the rear suspension/differential, where they put the fuel tank, how they did the roll cage, and where they put the battery. It is possible that it actually has better weight distribution than the stock car has.
Certified holder of useless car knowledge.
Once again, not necessarily so.
Let's say for arguments sake that the new engine/transmission combo weighs an extra about 200 pounds than the stock setup. This is just a guess.
So let's move the battery from under the hood to in the trunk area which is a very common thing to do in race cars. This moves around 40 pounds off of the front axle and to the rear. This means the weight difference is now 160 pounds.
The stock rear axle probably weighs around 50 pounds, but now we are adding a differential along with axles which should be an increase of around 20 pounds over the stock setup. This means the weight difference is now like 140 pounds due to more weight in the rear of the car.
But there are no mounting points or brackets for the rear suspension which more than likely, on a race car, is going to be independant rear suspension. So once you include the differential mount and lower control arms(basic setup) then you are looking at another 50 pounds at least in the rear which is the equivalent of now having 90 pounds more weight in the front of the car.
Now let's look at the roll cage. A good roll cage focuses most of it's weight in the passenger compartment. On the Mirage, the passenger compartment is in the middle of the car to the far back of the car over the rear axle. A good roll cage is not going to be light in order to protect the driver/passenger in case of a roll over or crash. However, the weight from the roll cage will be distributed over the front and rear axles, with most of the weight over the rear axle. So, figure an additional 40 pounds over the rear axle compared to the front axle so now there is only an additional 50 pounds on the front axle compared to the stock weight distribution.
I have never seen a full blown race car that used the stock fuel tank. Aftermarket race fuel tanks are made of thick aluminum and are filled with foam. Because of this, they typically weigh more than the stock small plastic fuel tanks. Not to mention that due to the car being a race car, the fuel tank will not be mounted under the car for safety. It will be mounted in the rear hatch area. This means on top of the extra weight of the fuel tank, you also have the extra weight of the mounts for the new fuel tank. This means about another 10 pounds over the stock setup.
So in the end, you are looking at maybe 40 pounds of more weight over the front axle than the back axle compared to the stock setup. You can very easily make up for that 40 pounds of weight difference by moving things around, adding ballast, or changing out heavy stock parts for lighter weight aftermarket parts. So in the end, it's not as bad as what you think it may be.
Certified holder of useless car knowledge.
RedRage (04-21-2016)
Is there any updates on this engine swap? would LOVE! to see a completed video of the modification.
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View my fuel log 2013 Mirage 1.2 automatic: 39.0 mpg (US) ... 16.6 km/L ... 6.0 L/100 km ... 46.8 mpg (Imp)
Donggie (02-15-2015)
Bumping again for updates.
Custom Mirage products: Cruise control kit, Glove box light, MAF sensor housing, Rear sway bar, Upper grill block
Current project: DIY Nitrous oxide setup for ~$100
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View my fuel log 2015 Mirage DE 1.2 manual: 47.2 mpg (US) ... 20.1 km/L ... 5.0 L/100 km ... 56.7 mpg (Imp)
Super bump... thinking about this in the future. Complete evo 4 engines and trannies are 2400 cad complete here...
That includes ecu and harness...