PorscheG96

Yesterday I installed a custom cutback exhaust that was purchased a couple months ago from a former local 968 owner for $140 on craiglist and it's the best sounding 968 exhaust I've ever heard. Perfect volume, no resonance, and 20.4 lbs lighter than the stock catback which I weighed this morning at 43.4 lbs.

I also removed the rear wiper assembly which weighed 4 lbs, so...

2984 less 24.4 more lbs has my 968 just shy of 2960 lbs. I'm gonna remove the front bumper next to take the tiptronic oil cooler out and there's the 6 disc cd changer in the back that po installed which should bring the car under 2950.

rgs944

Does anyone make a good carbon fiber hood and fenders

PorscheG96

I don't know of any but I plan to try making some cf hood and fenders later this year.

RajDatta

Trevor, I have a factory 968 turbo RS front splitter. Its made of carbon fiber/Kevlar and works as 1 piece to take place of the splitter and the belly pans. Let me know if that interests you. Not sure if you will save more than a few lbs but worth a shot.

sm

Great project, and awesome car. Please post pictures of how you mount the lightweight battery and which model you use. I've heard great things about the DEKA ETX30L.

Also, can you move your hardback seats forward enough to let small passengers into the back? I enjoy taking my kids out with me.

Thanks

Arominus

If someone is ditching the rear of the engine bay metal belly pan section for weight i'll take it off their hands! I'm skipping the splitter on my S2 and would like to add all of the under car aero goodies i can.

PorscheG96

Thanks. I'm leaning toward the VPH750 battery here:

http://www.voltphreaks.com/products_street.php

It should save 35 lbs! Looks like 15 lbs lighter than the DEKA model you mentioned.

I'm not sure if hard backs move forward enough to fit into back seats - I'm just glad 968 is hatchback.

Cloud9...68

Oof... 900 bucks. Wow, saving weight must be really important to you. Are you planning to track the car, or is it strictly a street car?

PorscheG96

Yes, I know But it's been a long time in the making. I want a car that can do everything...20 autocross per year, 10 track days, road trips, and be so much fun to drive. Seems like the 968 was always too heavy of a car for its chassis so the response is dramatic and exciting each time I remove more weight.

Cloud9...68

I can't find anything about it on their web site, but the local Batteries Plus carries a line of lithium ion car batteries that are a fraction of the price of the Volkphreaks. I don't remember the brand, and I didn't compare specs side by side, so I may have gotten a false impression, but you might want to stop into you local Batteries Plus and ask them about their availability of lithium ion car batteries. Let us know what you find.

Yes, the 968 is definitely a versatile car, and I agree that it responds well to shedding weight. Mine is also a dual purpose car, but it's much more at home on the track than on the street.

alxdgr8

Could definitely shed some weight with lighter wheels

PorscheG96

I've done a lot of research on wheels and I'm not convinced of this. 17" cup 2 are pretty lightweight (19lbs front and 21lbs rear iirc), especially for the money. What's a set of allegerita or enkei cost, $400/wheel + heavier/more expensive 18" tires? For maybe 2 lbs per wheel savings? Makes the $900 battery which saves 35 lbs look cheap!

Those forgeline wheels look pretty nice but what, $6k to save 16 lbs? Nope! All the others like fikse, ccw, don't really publish weights and still cost $3k for a set. Not convinced these are any lighter than cup 2...

BikePilot

Awesome project. Saving weight is always a great way to improve performance.

Saving unsprung, rotating mass will have a much more pronounced effect per pound than will sprung mass like the battery. So a few lbs off the wheels may actually improve performance more than many more lbs off the battery.

For a less expensive battery option I wonder if a Shorai motorcycle battery would start the 968? They'll turn over big inch, high compression twins, so my guess would be yes. Their biggest battery is 5lbs. http://shoraipower.com/lfx36a3-bs12-p126

I noticed that the porsche alternator is astoundingly heavy. I suspect that adapting something more modern and lighter could save several lbs.

PorscheG96

Totally agree and that'll be part of phase 2, definitely. I wanna do a couple phases...ie. CF roof, fenders, hood, lexan rear hatch next year, so maybe 2800 lbs or even 2750. This year though, 2900 sounds like a nice way to get started. To be honest, I've not done enough battery research but did read glowing reviews for VoltPhreaks on other Rennlist forums. They don't seem to discharge and leave people stranded in street cars which is my biggest theme along with saving weight - not making too many compromises in reliability, annoyance, etc.

alxdgr8

Ah, I wasn't sure of the weight of the 17" cup2's so I assumed they were the weight of a usual OEM wheel.