What does a 2017 Volkswagen Golf GTI actually weigh? The VW media kit lists the following curb weights:
But what did our four-door, automatic project car actually weigh? We just placed it upon our new Intercomp SW777RFX Wireless Professional Scale System–which took about …
So, way, way back, we had some Ruggles scales. They used levers and bathroom scales. Four scales and four levers.
Anything fancier was viewed as NASCAR-grade hardware.
Check it out: I just googled “Ruggles scales” and found an ad on our own forum.
I’ll wait while you look at them.
Yeah, you had to jack up the car and then lower it onto the scales.
Cross-weights? Get out your calculator.
Accuracy? I dunno. You were relying upon bathroom scales, and not even digital ones. Could it have worked with digital bathroom scales? I guess. Did they exist at the time? Maybe?
What happened to our setup? Well, a certain MR2 might have tried to roll away on us but, fortunately, two of the scales prevented the car from leaving the garage.
Those two scales were never the same afterward.
Fast forward to the other day when we weighed the GTI. Tom really did spend about 5 minutes opening the boxes and placing the pads on the floor. No wires, no issues.
The car was on the lift since we were changing the rear toe. We simply dropped the car onto the four pads and, ta da, instantly had our weights.
And some related reading from the back catalog: Understanding corner weights.
(And notice all of those wires–how far we’ve come.)
I bought a Ruggles scale system in 1988, have been using it more or less continuously since then, until a few months ago when our Lucky Dog team scored a used electronic system (cable type, not wireless). Electronic scales work great, but the Ruggles setup is simple, no electronic tech to go wrong, and very repeatable.
But, have I used the Ruggles setup since we got the electronic scales? No..........
True, they were simple and always there for you. Any idea when they stopped making them? (Or can you still buy them?)
Don't think they're made anymore, no idea when they stopped.
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