weight saving

[steve09]

apart from taking out the seats an replacing the front two with low weight racing seats, the carpet, spare wheel, an changing the glass for plexiglass or equiverlent, what else can you do to save weight? just to let you know im going for the stripped out racer look

 

[HDi fun]

Different folks and all that, but - Why?

 

[steve09]

why, so i can get more accseleration out of it. plus, i have no one to get into the back an so i can put a roll cage in it. plus it handles better with all the weight loss

 

[HDi fun]

That's fair enough. I'm showing my age here. I like handling and acceleration too, but I've hit the point where I want comfort and silence as well. Which, I suppose, makes me greedy :-(

 

[steve09]

kinda said that a bit wrong lol. i will have no one getting in the back cos the car im going to be stripping out will be for racing. i will have a car for the road an comfort :]

 

[obi_waynne]

Alloys can be a lot lighter. Front wings, bonnet and boot can be replaced with fibreglass or carbon fibre (expensive though!). Take out engine bay junk like aircon etc...

You can also cut away the inner arches a bit but you should know what you are doing as this can reduce the integrity of the car.

The exhausts can be quite heavy - especially the cast iron downpipes. Replace with steel.

 

[old-git]

apart from taking out the seats an replacing the front two with low weight racing seats, the carpet, spare wheel, an changing the glass for plexiglass or equiverlent, what else can you do to save weight? just to let you know im going for the stripped out racer look

An old racer told me, many years ago, that once you have done all the standard, obvious things (carpets, wheels, seats, etc) the best eay to remove a further 10kg is to remove 100gm from a 100 places, or 10gm from a 1000 places. I have taken this to heart and the savings add up. It is then down to your determination and ingenuity. This can include alloy nuts and bolts in low stressed areas. Making sure bolts are only as long as they need to be. Replace heavy items with lighter equivalents where possible (alloy rads, brake calipers, fuel tank, etc). One mod that actually saves money is to look in the mirror. Are you carrying 10-20kg too much?

 

[steve09]

lol. nah im that area im lightweight n highpowered unlike the car i will be getting lol.

 

[HDi fun]

So the spare tyre isn't just the one in the boot then?

 

[obi_waynne]

WHY HAVE A SIX PACK WHEN YOU CAN HAVE A BARREL?

 

[pgarner]

make the passenger seat easily removable so you can ditch it before racing.
lightweight battery.
pully sets,

 

[obi_waynne]

Do they do light weight fuel? A tank is pretty heavy when it's full? Fill the tyres with Helium

 

[pgarner]

run it on hydrogen duh that was a hard one. the only thing is the car will get heavier as it runs out
just remember dont crash it on smoke in it :blink1:

 

[obi_waynne]

OK - I may concede a point there but surely the hydrogen tank would weight too much, surely!

 

[pgarner]

dunno. is there a restrictions on hydrogen tanks for safety ? i would have thought it would have been the same as a standard gas cylinder.

what weight does a racing fuel tank weigh ?

 

[WeeJock]

A bit late to the party, but thought I'd chime in.

The battery suggestion can be an absolute cracker, if you've got silly money to spend. Check out Voltfreaks or Odyssey Batteries to see what I mean.

There's also the chance - depending on the car model - that there's weightsaving to be made with a custom radiator. So, switching to an aluminium "racing" radiator, for example, can save you a few lbs...... Or if you calculate based on the increased efficiency, you can even get a smaller one than stock; lighter again and carrying less coolant inside it.

Something to save up for over the winter season, perhaps?

 

[HDi fun]

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