FAQ for FC sticky at the top of this section.

 

Me?

Photobucket album of the car so far.
http://s49.photobucket.com/albums/f268/rmikemcd/RX7/

 

my car? i think you mean supramike's

as for the weights, if you search you will find a pretty good list. look under 'faq' for the 2nd gen spec sheet.

no, same everything, just the gxl/gtu cam with a lot more options than base models. such as power windows/locks, powersteering, cruise control, SUNROOF (thats the only advantage of buying the base model), etc.

 

Sorry, I did mean Supramikerx7

I'm going to shoot for around 2300 without me. Manual Everything. 86 sport

Are there aftermarket sunroof delete options available?

 

no but if you find a nonsunroof car in a junkyard try to buy the roof or the shell and cut the roof (skin) off and cut off your sunroof roof skin, then weld the lighter sunroof-less roof skin onto your car.

Rxben had a bodyshop do that to his TII using a super rare FC model roof, lol but that FC was rusted to all hell so it was a good use of a lightweight roof skin!

 

the S5 dash and glovebox do indeed weigh noticable more than the S4 parts.

but the S5 parts have better build quality and less rattles and squeaks.

 

How much did that cost? Because I got quoted $2500 to have a metal fab shop do that to a Datsun 280zx, and there's no way in hell. Just welding the skin onto the car wouldn't do anything for rigidity unless you added extra supports I don't think, so I'm wondering if it would be cheaper/better to just suffice with a FG sunroof and remove the motor and other crap.

 

It would be a lot cheaper to do the welding yourself, or a friend who knows how to do it, just pay for the roof and materials. Im lucky that my car didnt come with a sunroof .

 

Since we're on the topic, did all S5 TII's come with sunroofs?

 

Yes, they all did.

 

I believe if you do the simple formula of curb weight/hp you get your power-to-weight ratio.
A 90 S5 GTU weighs: 2800 and has 160hp so 17.5 lbs/hp
A 91 S5 GTU weighs: 2787 and has 160hp so 17.4 lbs/hp
an 86 S4 SE weighs: 2625 and has 146hp so 17.9 lbs/hp

Am I missing something here? The S4 SE will have a better power-to-weight ratio IF you can make it more powerful then an S5 OR somehow lighten it beyond what you can with an S5.

Those facts aside on the same budget the cost-difference is enough that you could potentially make an s4 faster BUT with some sacrifice from the get-go. I guess its up to you to decide what your goal is with the car and what you can afford to do without.

 

I added weights from the FAQ to the weight-reduction list, but there is still a lot missing. One of you with a stripped down car: Do you have your old parts? A scale? We will all love you if you weigh the parts you took out and post it. If you have the weights of lightweight replacements too, that will be even better.

Okay, here's the new no-compromise list, based on comments, in no particular order:
Aluminum hood: 41.85# TII steel, 29.20 TII Al (12.65# saved)
Lightweight rims (e.g., 11lb. vert rims are cheap): 13.5# stock, 10# saved (but counts as ~20#)
Spare tire + jack removed, fix-a-flat in its place: 24.85# TII
Stainless single exhaust
Flywheel: 10.25# Al "MI", 27.5# TII
Replace sound deadening with more modern materials (remove w/ dry scraper and/or heat gun)
Lighter seats (Sparco 14lb.): 33.40#/32.20# stock, 37.60# saved
UNSCREW storage bins & support frame
Lighter hatch glass (in some later FC's): 10# saved
Fiber glass doors, $125 (carzy driver plz post site), mirrors, fenders
Lighter headlight units ("diamond glass"?)
Lighter steering wheel
Lighter suspension (it's not 100% aluminum, I checked)
Frame modifications (chamfer cuts & stitch welding)
Power steering (after car is light enough)

Maybe:
lighter/smaller battery
tire sump cut out
exhaust heat shielding: 10#

Other weight reduction, based on comments (compromises something):
Emissions equipment (air pump = 8.8#)
Power steering, A/C (compressor = 14.9#, core = 6.55#), A/C lines, cruise control, heater core, other power equipment (blower = 6.85#)
Washer fluid reservoir & pump
Carpet, upholstery, door panels, head liner, dash, plastic & storage bins, sound deadening
Hatch shocks & straps
Radio, stereo, speakers, speaker housing, antenna
Sunroof motor & harness
Cut off tire sump, door support bars
Lexan windows & hatch
Cold start assist
Carbon Fiber ($$$)
Passenger seat
Less bolts, clips

 

Once again, the 86 SE proves to be the best FC N/A made

 

No way, its just the lightest stock. You can recude an S5 to lower weights than that and have more power and a better p/w ratio.

 

It's the best FC N/A...

Sure, you can do all kinds of **** to the S5, S4, etc., but that doesn't change anything. Sure, you can take weight off an S5 and give it a better p/w ratio. Then again, I could put a S5 engine in my 86 SE and give it a better p/w ratio. Your argument is erroneous.

 

No, your argument is:

You claim the 86 N/A is the best FC based on Power to Weight without defining what is allowed to change its stock P/W ratio. As it stands, the 91 S5 GTU has the best stock power to weight ratio, with the 86 SE winning only on curb weight.

 

Nah, I just said it was the best. I said nothing about P/W ratio.

I did put my statement with a quote about P/W ratio... but my meaning was, stock, it's the best. It's also opinion. Don't get so bent out of shape.

 

Ah, didn't mean to sound bent out of shape, it's just that you accused someone of making a false argument when you misconstructed yours. Don't worry, I like S4s more than S5s anyway.

 

S4's win any day of the week.

 

BEST FC:

87 Sport frame+electrical systems, with S5 body conversion + powertrain. Best of both worlds! No completely shitty electronics, and super power, to boot!

 

Fixed.

 

But..I like the 87 Sport! ...


Wait...Isn't it 87 Sport? O.o


Sigh..now I'm all confused. I could've sworn it was 87 Sport, 88 GTU. FOR THE WIN.

 

My point was that unless you're able to afford swapping an s5 engine into an s4 your better off starting with an S5. However the s4 powertrain is stronger. I put an s4 TII tranny and GXL diff into my s5 GTU which is a very durable setup.

I am curious about why the s4 electronics are supposed to better though? Care to ellaborate on that?

 

I've had 2 s4's with everything running great but half the gauges/switches were out on both. One had 200k miles, my current one has 100k miles.

I thought all FCs suffer from lousy electronics. Or are you not talking about dashboard electronics?

 

Well I like the S4, for one because I hate automatic seatbelts. And I also like the S4 gauge cluster better. And I prefer the mechanical OMP (easier to remove). But then there are the S5 tails...

The seatbelts will make me keep coming back to S4's. Pretty much everything can be swapped over, but automatic seatbelts are tough to get rid of. Plus, everything I want besides the tail lights are already on the S4.

I'd rather start off with an S4 with LSD and swap a 20B with TII tranny into that car. That would be a nice project. Other than that, lower mileage is the only other attraction for an S5 for me...