Practical weight saving

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DRZ

DRZ

DRZ

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I thought it might be interesting to see how people go about saving weight in their cars and approximate weights of various things that can be lived without!

Removing the spare tyre etc is an obvious place to start but thats not a huge amount of mass removed, so what else have you lot done to save those valuable KGs?

MrSix whipped out his rear seats, parcel shelf and some other stuff to make his 0-60 a bit quicker (and it seemed to work) on one occasion :p
 
Spare wheel has gone / Jack / Tools - Replaced with a can of tyre weld.

Front bumper came off, center section of the plastic slow speed bump stops came out.

Front Tiedown hooks and bolts came out.

Stock Airbox - Mounting Brackets came out - Replaced with lighter induction kit.

Back box changed for something lighter.

Seats changed for lighter ones.

Wheels changed for the lightest ones i can find.

Wheels nuts changed for super light ones.

Disks picked for light weight.

Thats about it at the moment :)
 
How far do you want to go?

Carbon fibre bonnet/wings/boot lid/doors
Perspex windows
Remove all interior/sound deadening
Lightweight seat (only the one mind you - extra weight of a 2nd seat!)

+ some of the things Firestar_3x mentioned.
 
ConfusedTA said:
How far do you want to go?

Carbon fibre bonnet/wings/boot lid/doors
Perspex windows
Remove all interior/sound deadening
Lightweight seat (only the one mind you - extra weight of a 2nd seat!)

+ some of the things Firestar_3x mentioned.
Click to expand...

How far do you want to go depends on what you consider practical ;) Removing all of the interior will save you quite a lot but its a bit inrtusive driving about with all that noise!
 
There was a thread last year about some american guy taking his Miata to task about weight. I think he saved around 200kg, though he was left with a car that was only track worthy. Included:
- Seats (much heavier than you think, especially heated electrical ones in German barges)
- Lights
- Soft top
- Hinges for the boot (strapped down instead)
- Sound proofing
- Windows and their winding equipment
- Central locking
- Excess stuck on plastic tat that is trying to imitate an aerodynamic aid
- Centre console
- Stereo, speakers
- Most of the wiring loom. Once you've ditched most of the electrical items, don't need as much wiring and it weighs a surprisingly high amount
- Door mirrors (also rubbish for aerodynamics
 
Yup, it's true - By losing my rear seats (which were surprisingly heavy as others at that RR day can confirm) parcel shelf, spare wheel and scissor jack I managed to take about 0.5secs off my 0-60.

It was so good, that Fox HAD to go out and do one to beat me ;)

Practical weight saving doesn't exist really - because by practical, I would think "removing unneccessary parts", as opposed to buying lighter ones (not practical on the wallet) and really there aren't many parts of your everyday car that are there for no reason.

Track cars however, you just leave 2(?) seats and your controls - job done :)
 
Hi there

Best performance gains come from reducing unsprung mass:-
Wheels - Lighter and less diameter.
Tyres - Lower profile tyres generally weigh less
Brake Disc - Two piece lightweight versions help
Wheel nuts and bearing is possible to get lightweight versions too.
Driveshaft - This helps too.
Lightweight flywheel & clutch maybe too?

Other critical components to try and reduce weight on are:-
Springs, shock absorbers and other suspension links.

The above will have the most dramatic effect on performance and will greatly improve handling.

Then you can do things such lighter components in the engine bay like CAI, empty washer fluid out, replace heavy containers for lighter ones etc.

Also fitting lighter manifolds, exhaust, de-cats and cat backs all further adds to weight reducement. Then you can work on body panels, remove parts or all of the interior, spare wheel, jack tools etc. etc.

The result will be a much noticable quicker car, much improved handling but in general a lot more road noise and not as pleasant to do long journeys in.

Also with lighter wheels etc. you can hook the power up more easily too. :)
 
Acid dipped steel panels......Carcassed doors with ally reinforcment....lexan windows.....carbon fiber bonnet & bootlid

Not all things I have but somethings I might consider :)

Choosing the best components as well - found out that the later Triplex 10/20 windscreens for my car are 3kg lighter than the earlier ones...Quite a difference! (Of course, now I have a 10/20 :D)
 
Stock backbox weighs about 20kg on most cars I think, take that off for a quick saving. A lighter replacement could be had in the long term.

Electric sunroof represents a lot of weight in the worst place for a car, welding that up would be an improvement. Thats prehaps why those csl cars often have a lightweight roof - http://bmwworld.com/models/m3_csla.htm


How much does a hatch weigh on a hatchback ? Is that really even needed as part of the structure. I bet it would even be legal to remove and easy enough to do temporally for a qtr mile?
 
Gibbo said:
Hi there

Best performance gains come from reducing unsprung mass:-
Wheels - Lighter and less diameter.
Tyres - Lower profile tyres generally weigh less
Brake Disc - Two piece lightweight versions help
Wheel nuts and bearing is possible to get lightweight versions too.
Driveshaft - This helps too.
Lightweight flywheel & clutch maybe too?
Click to expand...

Dont forget the calipers, thats where i took out most my unsprung mass.

Smaller diamter wheels and brakes along with the flywheel all go to reduce rotational inertia too. Making the car response to throttle inputs faster aswell as aiding the brakes shed speed. They all cost money though/
 
On the Westfield (that I can remember off my head):
Wheels
Tyres
Disks
Windscreen replaced with Carbon Fibre Aeroscreen
Seats
Spare wheel / carrier removed
Battery - very small & lightweight (originally was a motorbike battery)
Lights replaced with small (more areodynamic) & lighter ones (1kg saving a pair!)
Flywheel - Well, it's whatever the engine builder did to it, and he did a lot! ;)

Wants: Carbon fibre propshaft :cool:
 
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