whitefang

I purchased a low mile, 2276, 1 owner, private party, 2011 Spyder in Aug 2013. Carrera White, 6MT, Short Shift, CF Buckets, Black Wheels, Sport Chrono, Xenons, Black Steering Wheel (late build) and AC delete. I was very happy to find AC delete as I live at the beach and never need it. The weight saving is good too. I had it CPO inspected before the sale and it had zero ignition over-revs in zones 2 thru 6. Everything was good. The original owner had a .1 RS and kept the build light on the Spyder.

I have had the car for 8 months and just finished reducing 60 lbs of weight from the car. 40 lbs in the front and 20 in the rear.

The OEM battery is 45 lbs. I replaced it with a 5.5 lb Voltphreaks VPH750 Li battery and remote on/off switch. This is important because this weight was high in the chassis. Installation was easy and secure with a $20 Braille #6186 J-hook battery bracket.

The OEM, non PSE system (headers to tips) weighs 63 lbs. I replaced it with Fabspeed 200 Cell Sportcat Headers and race exhaust. There is drone between 2400 and 2900 rpm.

In addition, I flashed the ECU with a tuned Softronic file. The tuned file was made after the mods.

The money spent was well worth it and the car really pulls well in all gears, from 1st to freeway passing. I have not had any CEL's.

To put this weight reduction into perspective, a US gallon of 91 octane gas weighs 6.350 lbs per gallon. This represents about 9.5 gallons of the 14 gallon tank.

I can feel the weight reduction and performance gain. The sound of the exhaust is awesome, even the idle sounds good. I am 5' 10" and 165 lbs. I will have the car weighed soon. Less is more. This was a fun project.

terbiumactivated

Myself and the good doctor (orthojoe) were having this same discussion in another thread. He stated that a quality driver was not able to produce a tangible difference on a track with the battery replacement alone. My guess is the headers and reflash are what you feel in the butt dyno far more than the shed weight. I had headers and a Dansk sausage on my 986 and I thought it sounded awesome and it no doubt changed the performance along with an underpulley. If you had to drive top up it sucked though, I prefer the changeability of PSE in contrast. To each their own, it's your ride and if it makes you happy to personalize it nobody can say much as they don't make the payments. I've only driven mine once as we again have snow. I find that if it were any faster, I'd never legally get to hear any of the upper RPM engine whine.

Marine Blue

I personally do think that weight loss over 50 Lbs has an impact on the cars feel. For example, when I take my daughter for a drive I really don't notice the difference but if I take my wife who's petite I do notice it.

When the time comes to replace the battery and brakes I will pick lightweight alternatives which should take about 60 lbs off of the car in critical areas. I may also go with a lighter exhaust eventually. The three should have a nice effect on how the car drives.

blue44

Fang, any issues with using the remote switch ( presuming you put the switch in to protect the battery from parasitic drain ) ?

I'm thinking PCM wouldn't appreciate the deep sleep, but I guess you don't have PCM in your car...

Donn

extanker

before and after dyno numbers on exhaust/tune ?

extanker

some people like them [batt switch] for track use. emergency workers at the racetrack are supposed to kill the batt in the event of crash so the car will not burn. debatable how many cars they saved

terbiumactivated

A kill switch has the additional benefit of theft deterrent but it would also keep the car in a continual state of CPU re- learning.

cgt04115

I will embark on this with my car.

Going with Fabspeed sport headers on the PSE system to keep drone down to a minimum. Should save around 7lbs right there. The lithium ion from porsche is a ripoff but goes with the spyder so I will go with that battery. Saves another 30lbs+. Then we go with a LTW flywheel from AASCO and that drops another 15lbs or so of unsprung weight. The ltw flywheels make such a huge difference.

Then go with a more friendly airfilter, and larger TB from the GT3 and boom, you got more capacity for air in and air out with the added bonus of turning the volume down a bit on the car...... Finish it off with a good reflash.

Looking at the dynos with similar setups this would bring great power throughout the rev range and around 50lbs lighter where it counts. Should really liven it up and get back that lost 3.4 DFI power thats in there!

My cars got PCCB's and AC which is needed. I drove it the other day and it was just under 80 out. While going slower around town it is a must!!!

Radio delete would have been nice, but I bought the car second hand. O well.

Hoopumpers

CGT - I also have PSE and was considering Fabspeed headers mated up to the PSE mufflers. Hadn't heard of anyone doing this before. Please let me know if it works and if there is benefit (performance/sound).

I tried the race mufflers from Fabspeed, but the drone was too much for anything around town.

Marine Blue

I would also be interested in before/after sound clips of the Fabspeed with PSE combo. That sounds ideal.

terbiumactivated

Just to put this in perspective, if we were all in Vegas, and one Spyder had anyone of us and Spyder number two has 250 more lbs but is driven by Michael Andretti; I'm going to place my sports book bet on the heavier Andretti car....

cgt04115

I found a thread where someone did exactly this set up but on a 981. Please read as it is interesting.

There are significant gains to be had with these cars throughout the rev range IMHO.

http://www.planet-9.com/981-cayman-b...tallation.html

terbiumactivated

CGT, Do I believe tuning can produce results? Of course. The reason it was so tempting in a base 986 was that the car felt a little under powered. My experience in the Spyder has been that it's balance, power and feel are perfect. I respect your desire and right to tune more performance into it as you see fit. I was only making the point that driver excellence always seems to be overlooked, instruction is good.

John@Fabspeed

If you are on planet-9, take a look at some of BJR's threads. The combo of sport headers with PSE is one that has been VERY well received and everyone loves it ( Including me! )

For anyone who is looking to order headers, please shoot me a PM and I will provide forum pricing.

Evan

Hoopumpers

Cool. Thanks Evan. Will check it out