hadoq

Hi, I was wondering, the FC's gear ratios are very, very very long. I was wondering how people deal with em when they drive on small, technical circuits or mountain roads ?

is there any way to just make the ratios shorter at a reasonnable cost ? (i.e. I'm not buying a professionnal custom made complete gearbox here)

I'd appreciate if you could give me a few pointers here.

thanks alot.


Also, I'll be working on weight as well.

Since it's a turbo S5, it should now be around 1350kg

What would it take if I wanted to go down to, let's say 1200kg ?

- Stripped interior (fully ?)
- Fiber Seat(s) instead of the full leather interior
- Air con removal
- Vert hood
- Lighter exhaust (and also louder)

I've heard the leather interior, sound proofing removal, and a decent stripping (glovebox etc...) should shave off around 80kg
I guess aircon is about 20-30kg


eventually Fiberglass fenders


I do not want to spend that much $$$ doing it, I'm not after a proper race car, but I want something definately lighter and more reactive than the standard (with options) FC.

I'd rather spend my money in a full engine rebuild.



I'll start working on the car this winter (as for now I'm enjoying it too much) and I don't want to "do it wrong". So that's why I'm asking all of these questions.

Tofuman FC3S

iTrader: (1)

Easy way would be to change out the finale gear.

My German '91 FC was 1300kg when I started on it. It has steel hood, no leather, and a quarter tank of gas.

Not that much. I started taking out everything I don't need. I started at the interiour, and removed spare tire/jack, backseats, carpet metal brackets, windshield fan, AC stuff from interiour (under hood not removed yet) and some of the sound deadning. I then stopped, since I had to daily my FC so I couldn't work on it that much. Now I lost my driverslicence I will have plenty of time to work on it! Still to do on interiour: Heater core, replace seats, replace rear and sideglass for Lexan, remove sliding roof assembly.

Why not? Don't need that crap!
Good idea.
Agree. AC totally unneccairy.
Just get a fiber glas one, or maybe a good quality CF one. (Ricer CF ones don't way alot less that FRP.
Custom lighter exhaust is a good idea and could also free up some boost if designed correctly. Buying for loudness makes you a ricer!

Sounds very plausible. I wanted to weigh everything I took out, but was to lazy.

Doesn't actualy make much of a difference, get them when you need wider fenders for more rubber.

Everything you take out is free, some things to replace aren't that expensive, so start there. In the future you can always go for every gram with ex-pensive/otic materials.

Also important if you need one!

Most of these questions awnser themselves.

Riz.

funkjaw

iTrader: (3)

If you think the FC gear ratios are long than you must have came from a 240sx. As that is the first thing I thought when I switched from my 240sx to an Rx7. But in actuality the gear ratios aren't long at all. Very similar to SRT4s, Mustang GTs, and S2000s.

For touge/mountain racing most of the time the longer the ratio the better; and is one reason why 240sx's lack on the mountain because they constantly have to dance between second and third. I've been racing on the hills for 4+ years between 3 different cars of my own and dozens of other peoples cars, and can tell you having longer gear ratio's is like cheating.

Also if you are interested in shortening your gears, pick up a 4.3 final gear off the forums or at various sites on the internet like here: http://mazdatrix.com/g7.htm

However IMO I would stick with the 4.1.

hadoq

A couple of very useful answers here, I want to thank you for that.

I really think that weight is standing between me and my enjoyement.

I don't come from a 240sx, I used to have an mx5 and a civic (B16a2 engine)

here's my problem in my usual winding roads.

2nd gear seems too long for the slowest corners

with that 2nd gear being that long, I often end up with no other choice than shifting up to 3rd... like right before the braking point for the next corner !

I never have to go as far as 4th or 5th

the gearing looks great for medium/faster tracks, like the nurburgring for example, with alot of turns in the 100-150km/h range.

but if I manage to save as much weight as possible, I believe with increased acceleration, it shouldn't be that much of a problem since I might have to shift to 3rd earlier in between corners.


the S5 turbo is my dreamcar, now that I have one, i definately want to stick to "the right thing"

As for louder exhaust, well, I do love the rotary sound, I already do have a racing beat catback, but I do not want more power, I just want to enjoy the rotary sound a little more.

So does that make me a ricer in front of other people ? I stopped caring about what other people think a long while ago. anyway, the FC turbo are SO rare around here, I think I could virtually do anything to it without being considered as a ricer. most people don't even know what car it is anyway.

eage8

iTrader: (9)

there is going to be corners like that in every car no matter what, you have to shift somewhere. you can either not shift and bounce off the rev limiter a little bit or shift and have to brake right away...

but if your gears were shorter it would just happen more often not less because you have to shift more. It's not like there are only a few specific speeds that you go into corners with.

I decided to stay with the 4.1 for my turbo because the more you have to shift the more you loose boost and have to rebuild it...

for a louder exhaust you can always replace the down pipe (which I recommend) and get a race pipe / resonator / high flow cat depending on what you're emissions regulations are in germany.

nitronatefc

iTrader: (2)

Forget changing trans or rear end gear ratios. Just change to a smaller overall diameter rear wheel via new rims and tires, or lower profile tires on your existing rims.

Jimmy2222

iTrader: (3)

There's a LOT of weight in the doors, strip those out IMO.

wackaloo13

iTrader: (3)

ditch the ps. replace the glass with lexan. gut the doors. gut the interior. ditch the jack, windshield wipers, windshield wiper tank, emissions. get cf seats/hood. maybe fiberglass finders/bumpers. remove all sound deadening