I heard that the GXL model FC is the heaviest. Does someone have some easy suggestions on some ways to make it lighter.

I have already taken out the rear carpets and storage boxes. Any more ideas? Thanks.


Tim

 

Got emmisions laws in your area? If not, rip out all 3 cats and replace with a straight pipe. Why not tear out any carpet under the seats(who needs it there anyway?). Do you really need a spare? Take all the crap out of your glovebox except insurance and regristration. Speakers? That's all I can really think of without getting into heat shields and going on a diet.

 

theres some sound insulation under the front carpet, and the AC crap weighs about 50 lbs. its too bad that 'dynamat' stuff is such a PITA to get off though, i bet its heavy.

 

actually i have a friend that removed all of that under carpet insulation .... took him 50 hours and he says it prolly weighed about 20 lbs total. on his turbo race car.. he says it wasnt even worth the time to remove that stuff.... you could go with the aluminum hood(assuming that u havent already).. might be costly though.... then theres like lightweight wheels and stuff like that ... but costly stuff well good luck

 

Rip out all of the interior including the passenger seat, remove all of the passenger windows and associated hardware, remove all of the power mirror and door lock wiring and components, install an aluminum hood if you don't already have one, remove the AAS, and replace the wheels with lighter aftermarket wheels.

If legal in your area, also rip out the dash and re-mount the gauge cluster, replace the rear hatch glass with lexan, and replace the gas tank with a 3 gallon fuel cell.

 

It all depends on how crazy you want to go.

Is this a street driven car?
Does this car have to follow any class rules for racing?

For a street driven car you can do things like:
Ditch the power windows for manual windows.
Change out the rear hatch for one that does not have a rear wiper.
Etc. Etc.

For a race car you can remove the front and rear bumper supports, remove all interior, ditch the passenger seat and replace the drivers seat with a pure racing seat, etc. etc.

 

With the seat thing,
If you want two seats you can buy some 5lbs fiberglass race seats. 5lbs isn't going to affect a thing.

 

The power windows weigh less than the manuals.

Put S4 doors on it (they don't have the door brace)
Put in a S4 gas tank (16.6 vs 18.5 )
Remove the A/C, P/S, Emissions, Air Pump, Spare Tire, Jack, Tools, etc.
Skip the Big Macs, fatty

That's about all I can think of.

 

Lots of miss information there Liquid.

Since when did the manual crank weigh less than the electric motor?

What door brace are you talking about? The side impact bar? Maybe a few pounds less but not worth messing with. They are there for a reason(safety)

Gas tank will only weigh more if you put more gas in it. The tanks are suprisingly light weight to start with.

A/C, emissions, PS, etc..... Definetly can loose some weight with these parts.

I'll skip the food comment.

 

well, it is already an s4, and i just ordered a RB down pipe, pre-silencer and cat-back. I just don't know if i want to go manual windows or even no window at all because it is a street car.

 

Do a search for my username and read the thread my FC is sooo light. Mine is a daily driver and I did everything you can do to make it lighter without making any huge sacrifices. The only things I could have but didnt ditch is my power windows(hate cranking the up and down), pass seat(but its a racing seat about 15lbs)and atleast a litlle bit of stereo equipment. My car may look a lil silly with a full metal interior with a carbon dash, roll cage and a " out of its element" subwoofer in the back! BUT wait....let me explain it will be a square solabaric requiring very little airspace(small box) and I will make the box from Carbon not MDF, so there I justified the oddly placed audio equipment!

 

emissions + stock exhaust + insulation + spare + A/C + PS = one light FC! All these things can be removed and still have a comftorable street car. WEIGHT IS THE ENEMY IN HANDLING, ACCELERATION, BRAKING! GET RID OF IT!

 

You said GXL so it probably has pwr. sunroof. Rip that out. Put in lexan sunroof (that is what I am doing to mine). Saves 30# or so from highest point. It does not take 50 hours to remove insulation. I am almost finished and I have spent 3 hours tops. It is below 25 degrees up here and the stuff is just shattering when I hit it with a hammer. Also single exhaust instead of duels.

 

Just a note.

FPrep, be a good poster, and don't go around saying every persons post is "spreading misinformation" if you don't believe it.

As hard as it is to believe, the power windows actually DO weigh less than the manuals. Look it up, do a search.

As per the "lots" comment, meaning I was spreading A LOT wrong info; upon looking back, everything is true.

The impact bar (thanks for that, I couldn't remember what it was called) weighs more than you'd think. I'm not exactally sure on the weight, but a local guy in my club is weighing things out, figuring what makes the S5 lighter than the S4; and the impact bars acount for 20+ of those pounds.

Now, the one that REALLY gets me. "The gas tank is only heavier with gas in it"... are you dumb? Does a fuel cell w/ 3 gallons of gas weigh as much as a 18.8 gallon tank w/ 3 gallons of gas in it? No. Just like a few other posts in here, that was the "kindof laughable, yet true" section of MY post.

Nothing I said was misinformation, you just didn't know any better.

 

actually the fuel cell will way more since its designed to hold up better in "racing" accidents. fuel cells are not light. since it is smaller you can psoition where the weight is located better though.

 

I saw a guy at the track with plastic headlightse.Seems like a good pound or two. Point is, save enough penies and eventually you have a buck...

 

LoL thanks for lightening my mood Jeremy. I was just trying to get my point across that just because someone isn't sure of something, doesn't mean they have to call me on it. I usually try to spread only true information; and if it's not, I let everyone know (see Higgi's thread on putting an FD 5th gear into his TII)

 

How many of the parts you say are lighter have you ever had in your hands?

I guess it depends on whay part of the window crank mechanism you weigh. Induvidual pieces may wiegh less. I could be wrong but I don't think I am.

I do realize the side impact bars are heavy, but they don't really weigh less from one car to the next. If anything the S5 will weigh more as the government requires more crash protection in newer cars. I suspect they are the same thou.

No I'm not dumb. I recently had to remove the factory fuel tank from my racecar. I was going to replace it with a fuel cell but decided against it due to the fact the fuel cell wieghed more. You can laugh all you want.

The "lots" I was refering to was only directed at the 4 or 5 items you mentioned in your post above mine of which only three I questioned. If I had meant everything you post on the forum I would have said that.

As for telling me to be a good poster, I am. I saw what I believed to be some wrong data and nicely corrected it. I was not rude nor did I call you dumb. I stand by what I know to be correct and I do know better.

 

I'll quickly go through this, as to get it resolved.

The S4 whose doors I looked at DIDN'T HAVE impact bars. I would think this is a trend, as it would've been a huge pain to remove them and keep the door looking 100% stock (as it did)

As per the Power vs. Manual. I've removed both from cars, as they are VERY close to the same weight, I didn't even bother to measure. However there have been a couple of threads over JUST that subject. As a SYSTEM the power windows are lighter than the manual windows.

About the gas tank, yeah; I've had those down before. The S4 weighed more, but once again, not by much. I got ignorant when I didn't think about fuel cells being made for safety in mind, and being re-enforced.

Once again, EVERYTHING you called me on, was true. There was no reason for you to doso. The weight savings MAY be slight; but they are still savings.

 

This is such a waste of time. I'll be nice and let you think you have resolved it.

Do you feel better now?

 

sorry, just thought i'd explain why instead of saying so. i'll put more smilies in next time.

 

Can't admit when you're wrong FPrep? That's ok. I remember when I was so much lesser of a man...

 

calm down guys. damn. put the measuring sticks away.

 

Measuring stick? Hell! I'm beating this dead horse with a ball bat.

Sorry to let your thread go on such a pissing-contest NA; just do a search for weight redux, and you'll find most people just take out the A/C, P/S, Emissions, Airpump, Spare, Tools, and that's about all. You must realize your N/A also has some heavier things that make it better. 4piston calipers on the front and such.

Just take out the usual things (if you feel the need) or just relax in the extra comfort the GXL trim package gives you.

 

RE: No impact beams in the S4 doors?

Side impact beams have been mandated by the US Government since (some date in the 70's, possibly around 1978?) I have an '86 Base and a '91 GXL in my garage both with the door panels removed. Both have door beams. They are different in design but both have them. (Want photos?)

RE: Manual windows lighter than power windows?

When building my current race car I went through the trouble of comparing the weight of a '87 T2 door (with power windows) and the doors from the '86 base (with manual windows). I don't have the exact numbers because it has been so long ago.. but the car has manual windows now.

RE: Fuel Cell weight

A properly mounted racing fuel cell with any amount of capacity is going to weigh MORE than the stock fuel tank. About the smallest you want to go for a road race car is 8 gal. (that should last through a 30 minute race). For a street driven car anything less than 12 gallons would be annoying to drive with. The higher priced fuel cells that are made of aluminum are still going to be heavier because of their heavy duty and thick walled design. Then you have to worry about how to mount it. I believe it is FuelSafe that recomends cold rolled steel straps and a metal frame for mounting. And in the case of mounting a cell to SCCA GCR standards they require a bulkhead to cover the entire cell. Race cars have these cells for safety.. not for weight reduction.