Extreme Weight Removal

18th October 2008, 18:13

I have removed alot of weight from my car;

Carbon Bonnet, Fibreglass Boot, Polycarb rear set windows, Fibreglass front seats, lighter wheels, fully stripped of everything behind front seats. Im also pretty certain ill be going with carbon doors and roof in 2009.

How much further can i go?. I still want to keep the dash and centre console, but i really want to get more weight out from around that area. Also if possible move any heavy stuff from the front to the back, like the washer bottle & battery. I have no way of testing the weight so its the long haul of trial and error as far as handling goes.

Im pretty happy removing the air bags & wiring once the weld in cage goes in, is this ok?.

And more importantly i want to reduce the weight the engine has to spin up, like the driveshafts, pulleys etc. Can i get driveshafts from a different car that are lighter?. Can i get lighter 247mm disks that still perform and calipers?.

18th October 2008, 18:17

I would try and even it out about mind or it will flick all over at roundabouts with speed lol but asking the barber for that zero cut will sure help up front

18th October 2008, 18:20

why go carbon doors and roof tbh> espec from streamline, 2k+ for that lot would be better off spent elsewhere imo.

espec as you really need a cage with the roof.

lighter driveshafts are not really a great idea either unless you want to spend huge £££ or sacrafice strength of them.

why stay 247mm brakes, when a faster car can be had from increasing the stopping strength of the car at the sacrafice of small amounts of unsrpung weight.

18th October 2008, 18:24

go on a diet an drive naked lol

18th October 2008, 18:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryan

why go carbon doors and roof tbh> espec from streamline, 2k+ for that lot would be better off spent elsewhere imo.

espec as you really need a cage with the roof.

lighter driveshafts are not really a great idea either unless you want to spend huge £££ or sacrafice strength of them.

why stay 247mm brakes, when a faster car can be had from increasing the stopping strength of the car at the sacrafice of small amounts of unsrpung weight.

The carbon roof and doors i kinda just want to set the car apart from other stuff the weight reduction is just the tilting factor and i have a sunroof in a country with no sun. Although its alot of money im not in a hurry to get anything done so the car will get to where i want it in the long run but with little extras ontop.

As for the brakes, i know ill regret choosing a different path but im gonna see what i can do with the 247 setup for now. Im happy to get a bigger set when i realise ive fucked up lol.

What can i do in terms of dropping chasis weight, its not long till it gets a full weld in, not just up to the dash too, so id like to see if i can remove any of the weight from under the scuttle area.

Quote:

Originally Posted by westie-rossi

go on a diet an drive naked lol

I shave my head for a reason

18th October 2008, 18:38

going extreme on weight reduction can cause serious effects in the rigidity of the car, especially if you are wanting to cut bits from the chasis for example.

a car that flexes and bows isnt the greatest of ideas.

under dash just remove all the sound deadening and thats it tbh unless you want to cut loom and trim dash etc..

re 247s why try something that othewrs have tried and realised isnt the best set up and so moved on from> you cant really do much other than change discs and pads, you are not increasing the braking force from increasing the surface area or piston

18th October 2008, 18:42

kk cheers, basically im at the end when it comes to larger bits.

Do wilwood do a 'lighter' caliper, or is the wilwood caliper lighter than the hi-spec & brembo equivalent. - I seem to remember reading this somewhere.

18th October 2008, 18:48

dybalites are quite light iirc, can go 2piece discs to reduce unsprung weight using the alloy bell... although tbh unless you wanna spend big dollas the 206 gti 266 set up seem very respectable with good pads and discs and so does going gti-6..

im putting a car back to standard for my family to use and im using 266s so they fit under vt wheels, because i am not a fan of 247s atall after usong a few otrher set ups.

18th October 2008, 18:53

Ill be honest, although its a bit gay, the brakes will have to be new. Dont ask me why but i have a thing about tempting fate. And im gonna guess new from pug will be only a shade cheaper than new wilwoods.

18th October 2008, 18:57

lol pedantic, new brakes could have been machined wrong at the factory to etc...

easy to tell when they are working and not, and tbh theres not alot that can fuck up in most road brakes.

18th October 2008, 19:11

The weight difference between standard calipers and aftermarket (hi-spec etc) ones is quite a lot. Although that could be offset by the size and weight of the discs.

But i'm sure theres not much difference in weight between standard cliper+disc, and hispec 4 pot and 285mm disc.

Plenty you can do to 'extreme weightsave' - but depends weather you think its worth it. Replacing the battery with a lighter item and placing it behind the seat/in the boot could be worth it - but moving the washer bottle probably not. Just get a smaller one that doesn't hold as much liquid.

I've spent the last few weeks (and a few weeks earlier this year) stripping all unneeded wires from the cabin > engine bay, and all the ones behind the dash and going throughout the car. Carrier bag full of chopped wires.

Likewise, spent 2/3 days scrapping off the sound proofing in the footwells.

Carbon boot, carbon bonnet, lightweight battery. Dash is still in. No stereo. Two seats on rails instead of subframes. ECU/ engine fuseboxes relocated to glovebox. Sound proofing removed behind dash. OZ Superleggeras for track.

Short of taking a hole saw to it, theres only two things i'm really wanting to do - completely custom loom to gaurantee no extra wires (and to neaten things up), and replace the roofskin with a non-sunroof one.