Dieting our Ride


B16A2R

B16A2R

Member
Joined
Mar 2, 2008
Messages
46
Dear All,
Reducing the car overall weight is one of the cheapest way "increasing" the hp of the car.. :nice: i would like to share some ideas with you guys on justifying the lightening mods done. I m pretty sure an overall dieting like no a/c & p/s, CF hood& bonnet (maybe CF doors+fenders),plastic mirror,lightweight rims,stripped interiors (no back seats,spare tyre&tools) and what not could bring the car 'faster' due to less load.. but just out of curiosity, if the 'dieting' to be done "partially" how significant is the mods.

I saw a 9 in 'stock' condition taking out the rear seat+spare tyre&tools,carpets to shave some kgs. I was wondering how significant the improvement by doing this. Is it really justified or it is just not practical :shocked:

cheers!!!
 
I would never start stripping my daily car for performance. You never know what will happen
 
i lost 45kgs out of mine and its only rear seats out boot. inc lighter wheels exhaust ect ect. All panels/ door cards still there and carpet. All good. It improves braking handling acceleration top speed and fuel econmy. Although minor think of it this way the average person ways say 80kgs? Lose that out the car and you notice it big time.

HTH
 
ive taken rear seats out and spare wheels leaving the panels in. Bought cloth/velvet to cover the bare metal :)
i dont like rear passengers :p
 
However minor the weight savings of taking small things out, every little bit counts. Enough weight saved through the small stuff and you start noticing the weight you have saved.

Even though you can't feel it, the car is faster when you remove the spare or cargo shelf, ect.
 
its a waste of time takin out the back seats and all they wee things as they hardly weight anything. fair enough the spare wheel. alot of people go on about stripping out there car to gain a tenth on the 1/4 mile then they pop the bonnet and all you can see is nuthin but big strut braces that all adds weight 2. also weight gives you traction so you dont want to go to light
 
lumek4 said:
its a waste of time takin out the back seats and all they wee things as they hardly weight anything. fair enough the spare wheel. alot of people go on about stripping out there car to gain a tenth on the 1/4 mile then they pop the bonnet and all you can see is nuthin but big strut braces that all adds weight 2. also weight gives you traction so you dont want to go to light
Click to expand...

Its your choice how much work you want to do to remove weight from the car. I don't feel that saving 20lbs taking out a spare tire vs. saving 20lbs taking out sound deadening tar as being any more a waste of my time. It's not like the work was actually a waste of time, some people enjoy working on cars and going to lengths to make them better. The little things can add up to hundreds of pounds that make a noticeable performance difference.

The statement that weight gives you traction is true, but the relationship between weight gained and traction gained is not linear, so lightening the vehicle from any point will lead to a faster car, not just in the 1/4 mile.

Look at it this way. 2 cars are running 205/50/15's, 1 car weighs 2000lbs and 1 car weighs 6000 pounds. Both cars have to go around a hairpin turn at speed. Which one is going to break traction first? Obviously the 6000lb car is going to max out the tires first and fly off the road, because the weight of the car simply doesn't add an equivalent amount of traction.
 
Dino-Spumoni said:
Its your choice how much work you want to do to remove weight from the car. I don't feel that saving 20lbs taking out a spare tire vs. saving 20lbs taking out sound deadening tar as being any more a waste of my time. It's not like the work was actually a waste of time, some people enjoy working on cars and going to lengths to make them better. The little things can add up to hundreds of pounds that make a noticeable performance difference.

The statement that weight gives you traction is true, but the relationship between weight gained and traction gained is not linear, so lightening the vehicle from any point will lead to a faster car, not just in the 1/4 mile.

Look at it this way. 2 cars are running 205/50/15's, 1 car weighs 2000lbs and 1 car weighs 6000 pounds. Both cars have to go around a hairpin turn at speed. Which one is going to break traction first? Obviously the 6000lb car is going to max out the tires first and fly off the road, because the weight of the car simply doesn't add an equivalent amount of traction.
Click to expand...

this is all true thats why i stated 1/4 and not track cos thats a different ball game and to different set ups. track you want to be as light as posible. going back to 1/4 mile you aint going to notice any difference with a run with back seats and a run with out.

going back to track. there are corners witch means weight transfer witch can unsettle the car loosing time. there is braking and constaint high speeds and a lighter car will let the engine rev more freely getting the most out the car. but for that you will need to do more than just take back seats out
 
lumek4 said:
this is all true thats why i stated 1/4 and not track cos thats a different ball game and to different set ups. track you want to be as light as posible. going back to 1/4 mile you aint going to notice any difference with a run with back seats and a run with out.

going back to track. there are corners witch means weight transfer witch can unsettle the car loosing time. there is braking and constaint high speeds and a lighter car will let the engine rev more freely getting the most out the car. but for that you will need to do more than just take back seats out
Click to expand...

Just because you can't notice a difference in performance from taking out back seats ect, doesn't mean it isn't there. I would never encourage people to not take small measures in weight savings because even though you can't notice it 1 thing at a time, you will notice it after you save enough weight through the "small stuff".
I don't get your 1/4 mile reasoning, it doesn't matter if its at a course or drag strip, a lighter car will be faster.
 
Back seats and spare wheel come to arround 35kg. times that by 2 and that is a person. AND I DEFINITLY NOTICE WHEN I'M CARRYING A PASSENGER! Every lil helps. Small changes add up. And what you take out allows you to add extra with braces for stiffer chassis. I think its a good idea but suits some and not others. ALSO i hate passengers don't like playing taxi and my car is low and don't want it lower by taking passengers. So suits me to strip rear out. Plus makes it feel racy and it sound sweet! I like
 
Dino-Spumoni said:
Just because you can't notice a difference in performance from taking out back seats ect, doesn't mean it isn't there. I would never encourage people to not take small measures in weight savings because even though you can't notice it 1 thing at a time, you will notice it after you save enough weight through the "small stuff".
I don't get your 1/4 mile reasoning, it doesn't matter if its at a course or drag strip, a lighter car will be faster.
Click to expand...

1/4 mile comes into it cause its timed and by the timming you can notice that your weight reductions are workin. now what im trying to say is on the 1/4 mile when i run a passenger my times are faster and thats putting weight on iv seen this with many cars so on a simple drag having your car to light could also hamper performance 2 as you dont have enough weight to put the power into the road. so strippin out cars to make them light aint always the key to make your car faster. cause alot of people strip there car to make them faster and really its not always workin
 
Some people would be better off be better going on a diet than taking their rear seats out.
 
Dunsy said:
Some people would be better off be better going on a diet than taking their rear seats out.
Click to expand...

im one of those people :angry: im 30lbs over my normal weight :angry2: i like food too much :angry2::angry2:, but im almost back down to my normal weight of 190lb :win:
 
blinx9900 said:
im one of those people :angry: im 30lbs over my normal weight :angry2: i like food too much :angry2::angry2:, but im almost back down to my normal weight of 190lb :win:
Click to expand...

I like food as well, some times I cannot control my self :mad:
I weight 90 kgs and my height is 1.80 meters so I'm 10 kgs above the normal. Just to understand now I'm writing this comment holding a Snickers! :angry2:
 
blinx,
thanks for the info!

btw, anyone got some info on EK4 sunroof? thinking of taking it out, but just to probe whether the 'sacrificing' is worth. some says that bloody system weigh +-60kgs in total :shocked:
my ride is a daily driven ride which ocassionally go to track / 'mild' street racing. so far i've taken out the spare tyre+tools & a cf hood for the dieting. can't live w/o a/c & p/s.. maybe thinking to take out the abs system though :blinx:
 
B16A2R said:
Yes sunroof weighs a lot replace it with some perspex!

I would not remove something that could potentially save your life or some1 elses. I agree its nice having air con. But remove powersteering after a week you really win't remember and also i found more feedback through the steering wheel with no powersteering. But don't take the abs out. IT COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE.
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top