How much does fuel load influence road holding?

A can of beans and a spicy sausage will have more influence on road holding than a tank of petrol. As the reply says.
 
Odd question. Why do you care? A full tank obviously adds weight. On track, it's going to blunt acceleration a bit. But less than carrying a small passenger. Remove the spare seat and save a bit more weight, if it's important to you. I don't know if the tank on the E89 has any baffles in it.
 
I like a full tank of fuel.
In my car i can change gear easier.
Sounds odd.
But i think the extra weight means i rev the engine higher before gear change and changes smoother.
Same if i carry a passenger.
Just my observation.
 
on a track, i can notice the difference when i have a passenger in the car. slightly more reluctant to turn, can't carry quite as much speed through corners.

however, i can't tell the difference between a full tank and an empty tank of petrol. so, i'd say... negligible difference. there are other factors that have a far greater impact than the weight of petrol, and where that weight is. generally fuel tanks are mounted quite centrally, and quite low down, so already in an optimal place.
 
I’m a tank half full kinda guy for some reason unless going on a full days run out then I’ll brim it
 
Whilst none of us poses the racing acumen to tell the difference, nor the e89 is built to take advantage of such trivialities, the fuel does weigh 55kg if it’s full.

So, the less in the tank, the better the performance.
Can we tell or take advantage of it? Probably not.
 
40 kg of fuel in 1,700 kg of car and driver isn’t going to do much

But more weight rearward helps on the 35is as it’s too nose heavy

Best stow the roof to improve handling and reduce lift at speed
 
I don’t know if the same in an E89, but in the E85/6 they put the fuel tank on the right (allegedly) to offset the weight of the driver on the left. Obviously on the UK cars, the driver is on the right which is why UK zeds can look a bit lopsided sometimes.
 
Zedebee said:
I don’t know if the same in an E89, but in the E85/6 they put the fuel tank on the right (allegedly) to offset the weight of the driver on the left. Obviously on the UK cars, the driver is on the right which is why UK zeds can look a bit lopsided sometimes.
Click to expand...

No, the e85/6 uses a 'saddle' tank, so the weight is split l/r. The battery (and a bunch of other things) on the other hand is on the 'wrong' side for rhd cars :x
diag_38mf.png
 
TomK said:
Zedebee said:
I don’t know if the same in an E89, but in the E85/6 they put the fuel tank on the right (allegedly) to offset the weight of the driver on the left. Obviously on the UK cars, the driver is on the right which is why UK zeds can look a bit lopsided sometimes.
Click to expand...


No, the e85/6 uses a 'saddle' tank, so the weight is split l/r. The battery (and a bunch of other things) on the other hand is on the 'wrong' side for rhd cars :x
diag_38mf.png
Click to expand...
Myth busted! Thanks for clarifying.
 
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