I think that would only be a possibility if I ordered a quantity of the same prop :-(
Maybe, however, I could get myself a discount by recommending the supplier to others
weight shaving
- Thread starter MrB
- Start date
I think that would only be a possibility if I ordered a quantity of the same prop :-(
Maybe, however, I could get myself a discount by recommending the supplier to others
Or you could tell them that you belong to a great club and can you get a club discount. That way everyone benefits Plus I'm sure all those that benefit would buy you a drink.
Plus I'm sure all those that benefit would buy you a drink.Or you could tell them that you belong to a great club and can you get a club discount. That way everyone benefits
Good point, if only I belonged to a good club.
However, I will mention that I belong to TC and see what transpires.
OO You rotter!
Loz
Torque King
In a light weight container, possibly carbon fibre :amuse:
Diet coke is lighter!
hi iam in the same situation as the thread starter iam tryuing to loose all weigh pos on my track only car i was reading the reply about removeing the spare wheel well and putting in an ally sheet would i weld this in or rivet? if its rivet would it make the car loose strength?. any help would be great thanks ps how thick do i want the ally?
pgarner
TC ModFather
id weld the plate in place to give it more stable fixing.
rivits may break under the stress but remember welding actually makes the metal weaker
rivits may break under the stress but remember welding actually makes the metal weaker
Having a plastic car means that I know very little about welding, but I would guess that welding alloy to steel is not that easy.
If there is a risk of a riveted plate breaking loose due to stresses, I don't think that replacing steel with a weaker material would be a good idea. If the area isn't stressed, then rivets (properly spaced) would be fine.
Rule one of weight reduction - Don't do anything that compromises the integrity of the structure.
Rule two - See rule one.
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Loz
Torque King
Re: Welding.
I agree with (the) Old-git
Honda Preludes are steel I think, so welding an ally sheet in will not possible.
The cars I've seen with removed spare wheel wells, have a full roll cage fitted so any loss of rigidity will be compensated for. I think the sheet is only there to stop next doors cat getting in & doesn't supply any strength so as Old-git said, riveting should be fine. If however you don't have a cage, fitting a rear brace may help but then your adding weight back on, but it will stiffen up the body I suppose.
Welded joints are normally stronger than the parent metal, so if there is a failure it will be away from the joint giving the impression the parent metal is weaker. If a weld made to hot or too cold this can have a major affect on the parent metal & for example, a lack of fusion will result in the weld metal just sitting on top of the parent metal & the joint will just pull apart under stress.
Loz
I agree with (the) Old-git
Honda Preludes are steel I think, so welding an ally sheet in will not possible.
The cars I've seen with removed spare wheel wells, have a full roll cage fitted so any loss of rigidity will be compensated for. I think the sheet is only there to stop next doors cat getting in & doesn't supply any strength so as Old-git said, riveting should be fine. If however you don't have a cage, fitting a rear brace may help but then your adding weight back on, but it will stiffen up the body I suppose.
Welded joints are normally stronger than the parent metal, so if there is a failure it will be away from the joint giving the impression the parent metal is weaker. If a weld made to hot or too cold this can have a major affect on the parent metal & for example, a lack of fusion will result in the weld metal just sitting on top of the parent metal & the joint will just pull apart under stress.
Loz
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pgarner
TC ModFather
sorry i stand corrected
Loz
Torque King
I stand In custard :bigsmile:
Don't burn your feet Loz!Well, you are not completely wrong. Alluminium can be welded to steel using the friction weld process. This is used to fix steel propshaft ends to the alloy tube. However, turning the car quick enough to effect a friction weld would be tricky
Loz
Torque King
True Old-git, I'd forgotten that. :embarrest: I didn't know they used friction welding for propshafts either. I know where there's an enormous vertical lathe we could get the car on that... 
I should know better because a company I used to work for started to look into friction welding as they used al ot of aluminium to st/steel tansition joints for high pressure heat exchangers. These were produced using 'Explosive Welding' which was a interesting but very expensive process. Although I'd have to admit, not very practical for joining propshafts or an ally sheet to a boot floor. Fun though. :bigsmile:
One thing I was wondering, won't a aluminium prop shaft slowly 'twist up' from the torque load over time? I don't know much about prop shafts so forgive me if it's a stupid question :amuse:
I should know better because a company I used to work for started to look into friction welding as they used al ot of aluminium to st/steel tansition joints for high pressure heat exchangers. These were produced using 'Explosive Welding' which was a interesting but very expensive process. Although I'd have to admit, not very practical for joining propshafts or an ally sheet to a boot floor. Fun though. :bigsmile:
One thing I was wondering, won't a aluminium prop shaft slowly 'twist up' from the torque load over time? I don't know much about prop shafts so forgive me if it's a stupid question :amuse:
Just as a steel one would, if not designed for the proposed torque. Alluminium propshafts are usually bigger in diameter than the equivalent steel item, but weight a lot less. Carbon fibre ones are even lighter and have the added advantage of flexing more, reducing shock loads to the transmission. However, the cost is such that I have had to settle for alloy :-(
Propshafts have a lifespan, like all other components. In a standard car, the joints will wear out before the shaft gives out. However, on highly tuned motors shaft twisting becomes a consideration. For ultimate lightness you would design for just enough strength to get you through a season, carry spares and replace it every year as a precaution. For us in the real world, we have to go for reliability so sacrifice lightness for longevity.
Loz
Torque King
ive been spending this week working on the skyline the basis being get as much weight out of the car as physicaly possible...
the windows were all removed ready for the lightweight lexan windows all deadeing has been removed the old loom is gone ready for the new lightweight loom, heres a few pics of how i left it tomight...
next step remove the heavy hicas system and lock the rear stear in place. then the new full touring car spec roll cage gets welded in the parts of the rear steele firewall is being cut out and being replaced witha pre preg carbon sheet and then the car is resprayed inside and out and the windows go in, the engine goes in and we rag the life out of it down the strip lol
the windows were all removed ready for the lightweight lexan windows all deadeing has been removed the old loom is gone ready for the new lightweight loom, heres a few pics of how i left it tomight...
next step remove the heavy hicas system and lock the rear stear in place. then the new full touring car spec roll cage gets welded in the parts of the rear steele firewall is being cut out and being replaced witha pre preg carbon sheet and then the car is resprayed inside and out and the windows go in, the engine goes in and we rag the life out of it down the strip lol
Hang on! You've only just put the thing together! Now it's in bits again
Looks to me like you've over done it a bit - no seats, steering wheel, engine etc...
Looks to me like you've over done it a bit - no seats, steering wheel, engine etc...
I dunno, wouldnt say its almost usless, could come in handy in high speed cornering.
and am I right In saying that some skylines are AWS aswell as some preludes?
if so, does the rear steering array weigh some? would think it would
purely for road use ( looks pretty lol ), would come off on the strip.... but we are talking bout swapping the bonnet and boot for pre preg carbon items pinned in place so it wouldnt have the spoiler then anyway
the rear stear is off, being replaced with a lighterweight locking bar the rear stearing rack weighs a lot so its quite a big saving once all the electrics and pipes are out as well... once u go over a certain bhp its pretty usless anyway it doesnt react quick enough so u have to correct then the ecu tells the car too rear stear and your going across a field minus a bumper lol ( trust me ive been there )
Agreed, Steve, except for:
Mr B is interested in weight saving and 1/4 mile times.
Most 'off the shelf' wings are pretty inefficient so will only have a (minimal) noticeable affect on grip at very high cornering speeds on race tracks. Their main effects are to increase drag (due to their bad design) and to 'look good' (matter of opinion).
The drag of these wings is sufficient for the likes of Rocket Ronnie to remove them when attempting high speed runs at events such as TOTB.
If you like the look of shop wings, then fine, but don't kid yourself that they produce any real downforce. Some of them aren't even aerofoil shaped! Compare them with what is fitted to actual race cars.
was looking at the rear firewall today and obviously it cant have any holes for race regs but it seems we can drill the spot welds out and remove the metal thats there then re weld in a new one wth half the amount of metal in so instead of trying to seal the holes with carbon it will look better to replace the whole firewall.took delivery of the 56mtrs of roll cage metal today also
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pgarner
TC ModFather
can you use thinner glass then ? its not going to be as light as the perspex but will help a bit
Loz
Torque King
Oh bum.
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im going to do a season with glass, get some experience and then move up to factory modified in 2010 i reckon, should have a bit more cash by then to gt some serious rear end mods done then too
jdmlude, take a look back at steves past posts m8 some good tips there but sound deadening removal is a good start lift the carpets and get those horrible pads out, heat gun and a scraper and patience, i had loads were i dyno matted the car a few years ago but theres still a fair bit in a car anyway, remove the interior and take a look round for spot welded parts that dont look like they have much of a use and drill them out, the interior is a good weight saving too so drop that down the tipp, spare wheel swap for tyre weld remove jack tool kit and brackets etc. bonnets boots etc can be replaced for carbon pre preg is best. basicaly if its not needed and its not liable to kill u if its not there then it can come out
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