Indianopolis 500 Car Weight Requirements

Indy cars are open wheel, single seat, open-cockpit cars with large wings on the front and rear. They weigh a thousand pound less than a sub-compact, can go from zero to a hundred miles an hour in four seconds and support downforces of 5,000 lbs. at top speed.

  1. The Basics

    • Indy cars weigh 1,525 lbs without any fluids or a driver, and 280 lbs of that is engine. The rest is monocoque body, fuel cells, suspension, electronics and tires

    Weight Defines the Car

    • The weight of an Indy car is the defining factor in the battle between handling and acceleration. The car has to be light enough sustain speeds high enough to pump fans full of adrenaline. The car has to be sturdy enough to withstand the crushing downforce caused by the aerodynamics which can more than quintuple the weight of the car at high speed. The car is built with carbon fiber and Kevlar, which are strong and light and by using the engine as part of the stiffening of the car. The engine isn't simply lowered into the car and bolted in. It forms a stressed, integral member of the cars frame. The rear suspension is bolted to the back of the engine and the drivers compartment and front suspension to the front of the engine.

    Downforce Adds Weight

    • Downforce changes the weight of an Indy car from 1,525 lbs at rest to 6,525 lbs at top speed. The car acts like an upside-down airplane wing. The Bournelli principle of airflow says that air loses pressure as it speeds up. Airplanes stay in the air because their wings are curved along the top and flat on the bottom. Air rushing across the top has farther to go than air sliding along the bottom so it loses pressure. The air on the bottom pushes the wing up. Indy cars turn that over by using upside-down wings at the front and rear of the car. Downforce increases traction which is vital on the four corners of the Indianapolis 500.