layton108

I read in the weight savings thread that people remove the plastic timing covers. Is this a bad thing to do? Couldn't road debree and water get up in there? I'm just curious because I was thinking about doing it.

Big Dave

What year is your 928? If it's 85 or later, you need the covers to mount the caps/rotors. You say yours are plastic, so I assume you've got a pre-85.

Lizard928

I run mine without covers right now, no ill effects.

the chances of any debree getting in there is nil imo.

hacker-pschorr

Do they even weigh a full pound?

PorKen

78-84 you can remove all the covers. 85-up, you can remove the center cover (if you make a bracket to hold the dipstick tube to the water pump).

I have all the covers off on my '81, and the center off on my '86. Lizard has an '86 engine, in an '81 euro body, with aftermarket fuel injection/injection, so he don't need no stinkin' covers.

You do need the underbody cover. Even with the cover, dust and grit do get onto the belt and it may wear the gears faster.

dr bob

Layton108--

Pop for membership and add a signature with year/model/etc details, or plug that info into your posts, please.


The few ounces you'll save removing the plastic covers is not, in my opinion, worth the risk of damage to the car if something decides to get into any one of the belt drive gears/pulleys. The belt will jump at the least, break at the worst. No matter, you'll be stranded.

Want to save about the same amount of weight? Take off the wipers and grind all the paint off the car. Should work out to about the same. Or put in half a gallon of gas less than you normally do. Or leave the Big Gulp cup on the workbench.

Serious weight savings starts at body insulation, the seats, the sunroof, the door panels and window mechanisms. Pull all the interior trim out and sub in some glued-in thin carpet sp you don't go deaf driving it on the street. gettin the idea?

Stan.Shaw@Excell.Net

I have them off my race car, but it isn't about weight savings, more about ease of access and ability to see what is going on (or wrong).

layton108

Mine is an 1980. Is there any after market pulleys? I know for my eclipse there are lightweight pulleys and timing gears etc.

Stan.Shaw@Excell.Net

There isn't as much of an after market for 928s, unlike your eclipse. In my opinion that is due to two reasons:
1. Porsche doesn't leave "much on the table" so improvement is not as simple as it may be for other makes and models
2. Porsche 928s are not abundant, nor current, so the number of vendors willing to invest in products with a slim ROI are rare.

928GT.com and 928Motorsports.com are two vendors that provide some after market products.

I am not aware of any lightweight pulleys. The early cars had steel timing gears while the later cars had aluminum but they are not interchangeable as far as I know (16v motor vs 32v motor).

Lizard928

I leave them off of my car for the exact same reason.

layton108

Yeah I liked the power it has stock and at 220k it still pulled hard until i blew the throw out bearing today leaving me stranded in rush hour traffic. I guess I'll add that to the list of repairs lol.

dr bob

Dump that throwout bearing! It's not just weight, but rotating weight to boot. Is a little harder to launch though...

layton108

lol yeah I found that out when I was stuck in place trying to figure out what was going on as cars lined up behind me. I knew it was going to go eventually because it kept making that jingling sound but figured I could make it home....guess not. But I guess I'm kind of thankful that it happend because i also have to replace the rear main seal and it will make it easier because then i can replace all the parts at once instead of one at a time./

RicerSchnitzzle

I believe the early gears are aluminium with a thin metal coating (Magnesium?) to protect them from wear. Based on how easy I snapped one of mine...I'd say aluminium for sure They are ultra light to begin with.

Stan.Shaw@Excell.Net

I have a set from an 86 US 32v in hand, they appear to be aluminum. A magnet doesn't stick to them. They have the rounded section between teeth.

I have a set from an 80 ROW 16v in hand, they are not aluminum. A magnet will stick to them (note: I corrected this). They have the flat section between teeth.

I would suggest the aluminum ones weight no more than half the non-aluminum ones.