amar_kamath

I was reviewing threads about increasing power on the p-car and as I read the threads, it seems to me that weight loss helps at all times while HP/torque gain is typically limited to their specific RPM range. Also, weight loss could potentially be acheived with less warranty issues than power mods?
Here's the question. I want to continue to use my car as a daily driver, so do not want to make track-style weight mods such as deleting AC, Stereo, etc. What else can I do to lose some weight? My doc says I am already at my ideal weight, so it all has to come from the car! Thanks in advance. -Amar

mglobe

996 Euro GT3 seats will save almost 60 lbs. I use them in my daily driver. They are really comfortable. Getting out of the car is a bit of a pain with them, and rear seat access, while possible is difficult. Still they are a great mod, not only save weight, but hold you in place MUCH better on the track.

Edgy01

I'm guessing that you're a bit new to Porsche. If you look in detail at an older Porsche 911, say from the mid-80s, you will see that they were made of entirely different materials. (Many claim those were the best Porsches ever,--but they were rather heavy, for the power they produced). Today's P-cars have really wrung out the weight issues considerably, but today's P-car driver is an entirely different character. Today's drivers are less enthusiasts, and more into features,--comfort features. They come at a weight penalty. I predict that Porsche will introduce another Club Sport version in a couple of years,--based upon the 997. For those who are looking for the ultimate machine, with none of the creature features.

looney2n

Ah, yes.................weight loss.................quit pointing out my big gut!!!

Amadeus

There is no doubt in it that we must have to lose weight of the car if any engineer is ready to enhance the speed of the car. This is the thing weight play the good role to maintain the balance of the car.

Mike in CA

Aside from removing the rear seats, which will save you about 25 lbs, there's not a lot you can do that doesn't also involve spending lots of money or stripping out important comfort bits. Going to lightweight front seats like the Euro 996 GT3 seats is a great weight saver as mentioned above (I did this mod on my 996) but you lose your 997's side airbags. The 997 GT2/GT3 seats solve that problem, as well as the rear access issue since they fold. They also look great, and really keep you in place, (I have them on my 997.2) but they are pricey. There are also lighter weight batteries without going to the very expensive lithium type. And you might consider lighter wheels which would also help ride and handling.

Some of this stuff can be very expensive, but as you point out, overall you might get more bang for your buck doing weight reduction than you would get with spending a comparable amount on power mods.

kosmo

well, frankly, you need to get a coupe instead of a cab. Save nearly 200lbs.

jumper5836

There was a thread here in these forums of a 997 that was gutted and I remember it still being heavy. Also taking out the weight in some areas will not help the over all balance of the car. Porsche designed it to be balanced the way it is +/- a few kg here and there as well as the suspension is designed for the weight it currently is.

equ

This. If you are concerned with weight loss, start with a 911 coupe or a cayman.

avader906

this is not technically correct. on 997 most of the weight that CAN be removed in trim and others is concentrated around rear and center subframes - and this is highly beneficial for the chassis - particularly the weight over the rear axle.

Rear: engine mounts, exhaust / mufflers bypass, aero, A/C compressor delete, relocation of power-steering pump to the front etc;,center section is trim/seats, floor pan, loom and most importantly the roof; front you have fenders etc.

You are partically right about suspension - but nothing prevents you from re-valving and using correct springs (+correct alignment and corner balance).

No HTwo O

Never fill you tank. 1/2 full. Saves about 60 pounds.

allegretto

While not cheap, a lithium battery will save you nearly 38 lbs (17kg ROW) from a particularly nasty space high up on the front firewall.

You can tell the difference on the track immediately... did I say immediately? Immediately!

Also, No H2O is right, less petrol too

The hard part is from the rear, where Lord knows it needs it. Eliminate the third can with a bypass, unfortunately that's down low, so doesn't work as well as it could. Lighter wheels all around help too, like good HRE's (not the bling crap with the shiny thick rims). Carbon body parts, but that's mega-bucks so pack your $$$-howitzer if you're thinking that stuff

Finally, if you just street it, fuggettabbouttit and save your $$$. Buy your woman a nice bauble with the dough or spend it on another hobby.

YMMV...

No HTwo O

Drain the windshield washer system. That's another 12 pounds.

simsgw

I'm not really clear on those changes, Avader. I'm not entirely sure I agree with the idea of focusing on the hindquarters for weight reduction, except of course that's where most it is when you begin looking. But for either reason, let's accept that. Also, I'll put down the a/c suggestion to culture conflict. (Less than 10% of North America can make a daily driver of a car without a/c, but I owned enough English cars to make me fully aware of that culture gap.) But skipping those two, I still feel a disconnect with the current British approach.

I admit I haven't looked, but isn't the power steering pump driven by a belt off the engine? How the devil do you relocate those? Install an electric pump? That will move the weight forward, but aside from my being unconvinced of that need, won't it also be heavier than the original engine-driven unit?

Adding aero adds weight surely? Also downforce of course, but at the cost of more weight. And the engine mounts... are the stock units really heavy enough to make a difference even if one replaced them with... well, even with weightless good thoughts? I suspect that draining the windshield washer fluid provides more weight loss than anything he could do to the engine mounts.

I admit to leaving off the roof of my MG while competing, but it surely is more difficult with a Porsche Cabriolet. On my MG, it was more like deciding not to pitch a tent, then about doing any actual work to omit the top. I could re-valve that MG, whether you mean the American expression or the British one, but I suspect complete replacement is far more practical with a current Porsche and probably not helpful anyway with a Cabriolet. Also, I'm pretty sure a 997 does not have the suspension bits to permit corner balancing. We'll have the poor man rebuilding his car when he could have bought one of the models so configured in the first place.

Gary

simsgw

If I can take my own shot at this, Amar, let me start by observing that you already own the daily driver you want, so you're up against the fact that Porsche are damned good at building a car of this type with very low weight. So good that they have only now begun to substitute exotic materials. Granted, your having a Cab adds at least 250 lb to the weight of my coupe, but that's 250 lb worth of a feature you want in a daily driver, not ugly fat.

You could substitute some of those exotic versions of various bits on your own car, but my God, they are expensive. It's true you can save at least a hundred pounds with a lighter battery and judicious management of fluids on track days. On the other hand, a lighter battery is a less effective one for daily driving, especially in a cold winter. And minimizing fluids can leave you cutting your last track session short to find a gas station, as I had to do at my last DE day. More fun=More gas when we get right down to it, so I suspect I'll go with at least three-quarters of a tank next time.

Let me suggest a third approach besides adding power or losing weight: racing lessons. The odds are good that I can put your Cab around any given track as fast as a GT3 driven by someone who hasn't had formal training. Out here, I'd suggest Skip Barber. On the East Coast, the Porsche Sport Driving School would be a terrible temptation for me even though I took my first racing school around 1965 and can't really claim to need another one.

No joking. Spend the same money on the driver as somebody else does on his Porsche and you'll cut twice as many seconds off the lap time. And have more fun to boot.

Gary