What have you done to reduce weight on the car?
07-15-2010, 04:52 PM
#16
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
Pulled the trigger on the carpet and a few other items
ok, funny how the little stuff matters...like when I put the semi-solid tranny mounts and new 987 front motor mount on the car as the only change between two track events...wow...turn-in in particular.
so I had a great catalyst...excuse the punn...one of my cats got into the car as it sat in the garage and tore up some of the carpet...like a scratching post. Now, it certainly wasn't bad enough to consider tearing the carpet out...but as my thread indicates, I was heading in this direction already. I had some time off work last week and always like a good car or bicycle project, so I decided to pull the carpet out.
I'd already removed the rear storage area, and the two large pieces of carpeting that cover the engine...I took out everything else...about another 30 pounds worth...including the floor / hump carpet, the rear lower / back carpet, and the uprights behind the doors...along with a few plastic trim bits.
I then dug into the doors, pulling out the speakers and their weirdly-large enclosures, and took out the speakers in the dash. the dash speakers are pretty light, but my door speakers with enclosures were about 5.5 pounds each, dash speakers about 1.5 pounds each. so there goes another 14.
so after pulling another 44 pounds out of the car, I put it all back together and head out for a little drive up highway 9 out of Saratoga, CA up to Skyline Blvd overlooking the ocean. I grew up right at the base of that road...driven it countless hundreds of times...and my mind was not just playing tricks on me...the car is more willing, more eager, and in one mid speed 2nd gear corner where I've never come close to having any oversteer in the boxster, the car started happily stepping out on me. It was only a 1.6% improvement in power/weight ratio (assuming the car is now something like 2800 pounds)...but I'm telling you, it was easily 3% more fun to drive ;-)
actually, with the reduction in sound damping, the raw feel of an uncarpeted interior, and the p/w improvement, it was a LOT of fun.
Word of caution / warning: all the other weight saving things I've done have been easily reversible...removing that carpet is not. I think A/C and heating are next, and the convertible top will go once I find a reasonably prices hardtop. Anyone want to buy a near-new GAHH glass-windowed top?
so I had a great catalyst...excuse the punn...one of my cats got into the car as it sat in the garage and tore up some of the carpet...like a scratching post. Now, it certainly wasn't bad enough to consider tearing the carpet out...but as my thread indicates, I was heading in this direction already. I had some time off work last week and always like a good car or bicycle project, so I decided to pull the carpet out.
I'd already removed the rear storage area, and the two large pieces of carpeting that cover the engine...I took out everything else...about another 30 pounds worth...including the floor / hump carpet, the rear lower / back carpet, and the uprights behind the doors...along with a few plastic trim bits.
I then dug into the doors, pulling out the speakers and their weirdly-large enclosures, and took out the speakers in the dash. the dash speakers are pretty light, but my door speakers with enclosures were about 5.5 pounds each, dash speakers about 1.5 pounds each. so there goes another 14.
so after pulling another 44 pounds out of the car, I put it all back together and head out for a little drive up highway 9 out of Saratoga, CA up to Skyline Blvd overlooking the ocean. I grew up right at the base of that road...driven it countless hundreds of times...and my mind was not just playing tricks on me...the car is more willing, more eager, and in one mid speed 2nd gear corner where I've never come close to having any oversteer in the boxster, the car started happily stepping out on me. It was only a 1.6% improvement in power/weight ratio (assuming the car is now something like 2800 pounds)...but I'm telling you, it was easily 3% more fun to drive ;-)
actually, with the reduction in sound damping, the raw feel of an uncarpeted interior, and the p/w improvement, it was a LOT of fun.
Word of caution / warning: all the other weight saving things I've done have been easily reversible...removing that carpet is not. I think A/C and heating are next, and the convertible top will go once I find a reasonably prices hardtop. Anyone want to buy a near-new GAHH glass-windowed top?
