weight in small car

[bristleposh]

does the weight of the driver effect the performance of smnall cars

[spaced]

even moreso in small cars, due to less power etc etc.

Any added weight in any vehicle will affect its performance in some way, why do you think sports cars are designed to so they weigh less?

[bristleposh]

thanks for your answer, I think I misphrased the question I am overweight (obese) I'm about 17stone and was thinking for economies sake of downgrading from a 1.1 Sport where the fuel consumption is terrible to a Kia Picanta 1.0. I realise that any car I buy will have lower pulling power, but will it be too much for the Kia to withstand.

[PhilBy]

No bristleposh, you will no notice no difference what so ever in the performance of the car. I am over 6 foot and weigh in at nearly 18 stone, often my wife ferries me about in her Nissan Micra with no discernable difference to the way the car performs.

If you wish additional proof then take the car for a test drive prior to purchase.

[bristleposh]

thankyou both for your answers they are both most helpful

[Toureman]

All small cars are designed to carry 4 people with no problems, so yours is just carrying 2 eight and a half stone people, no problem.

[Quoi]

Have you ever tried accelerating in a ford fiesta with 5 people in it?

[R1Man]

sod the car, get an R1, they are bloody awesome and you can do 180mph!

[Teddio]

Acceleration equals Force divided by Mass. Suppose a small car has a mass of 1000kg with a lightweight driver of mass 60kg, the total mass will be 1060kg.
For a heavyweight driver of mass 120kg the total mass will be 1120kg, an increase of only 6%. The effect on acceleration will be negligible.
Assuming your engine doesn't blow up, your tyres don't shred and your chain doesn't snap, how far could you get on a full tank of fuel travelling at a steady 180mph on an R1? It was possible to get less than 50 miles on a full tank of fuel on the old Suzuki 750 two strokes ("kettles")

[kwicky]

Being grossly overweight must have a bad effect on your front offside wheel bearing though.

[Brooksy]

Depends what you had for breakfast/lunch/ dinner/supper/snacks?

[R1Man]

Yes Teddio but it's a lot more fun than poncing around in a bleedin bubble car!

[annie0000]

I have a 0.8 litre car and I notice a difference in performance depending on how much petrol I have in it! I don't even attempt to go up steep hills with more than 1 passenger and a full tank! It is very nippy with only me and a nearly empty tank. Maybe it is psychological though.

I guess it depends on how much performance you are used to. I don't think it would make that much difference to you.

It's not what is under the engine, it's what you do with it that counts. I really impressed the AA guy that I was giving a lift to (don't ask!) when I left a Vectra standing at the traffic lights with my little 0.8 daewoo, containing 2 adults and 2 kids!

[spaced]

my answer was based on fuel performance. Yes, all small cars are designed to carry 5 people, but YOU WILL notice the difference when the car carries more weight, to say that you wont is ridiculous.