Etalons are pairs of parallel plate mirrors with wavelength-scale spacing that exhibit cavity modes, giving transmission maxima (fringes) due to constructive interference. Infrared transmission measurements as a function of angle were used to determine the effective mass of etalon cavity modes using a gap filled with air and then liquid carbon tetrachloride. The air-filled etalon gives results in agreement with pure photon expectations established herein. Liquids with vibrations having strong infrared transition intensity (vibrational strong coupling mode) can strongly perturb the pattern of transmission resonances, creating mixed states of infrared cavity modes and molecular vibrations, i.e., cavity-vibration polaritons. The effective mass of one cavity-vibration polariton close to the strong vibration of carbon tetrachloride is 4.36 times heavier than the pure photon cavity mode expectation, i.e., the mass factor vs pure light. The mass factors are largest when closest to the strong vibrational frequency, and they converge to the one far away from the strong vibration. This work gives quantitative values of the effective mass of cavity-vibration polariton states and is a diagnostic for the mixing of vibrations with etalon transmission.