fuhrius

wondering what people are finding works / doesn't work for taking weight out of the car.
I've got an 01 s dual duty street / track car - primary daily driver because I love to drive it but have another car I can use too. I live in the SF bay area and have a garage...so I have some flexibility...

this last year I:
- went to ccw track wheels (20.5lb rear, 20lb front)
- swapped factory 44lb battery for 22lb odyssey 925
- swapped factory manual seats (46lbs each) for cobra suzuka technology seats (26lb each with sliders / hardware)
- pulled out the stereo (mostly aftermarket stuff that the prior owner put in)...42 lbs
- pulled out rear storage shelf and the two big carpet chunks on top of and in front of the engine cover - about 25lbs
- pulled out trunk carpets - about 10 lbs
- when I go to the track I take out the spare and tools (about 30 lbs)
- lighter weight exhaust - not sure of the savings there
- I have yet to do the LWFW but will when my clutch starts to go

I'm considering removing the following as next steps:
- A/C condenser
- interior floor carpet
- some of the door panel stuff

After that it gets hard to drop weight...maybe take the whole top aparatus off and remove the windows and the motors for the spoiler? true spyder...but not very weatherproof!

anyone have accurate weights for their cars?

sjfehr

I lost 5lbs when I got the flu a month back, but then gained it back.

Oh, I vacuumed the floormats once, too!

Mostly, I just suck it up and accept that I'm not willing to give up my motorized heated seats and subwoofer for a few hundredths at the track. I'm way better off tightening the loose nut behind the wheel first

mooty

remove all muffler and cats
remove the soft top, big savings

RollingArt

Wow, you're really serious about this weight loss thing. Sounds like you're making a track only car. If you do up making a no compromises car, Mooty's suggestion of removing the soft top and all related components is a good one. You can run it with no top or get a fiberglass top that weighs like 15 lbs. Just make damn sure you are ready for a track only car. At some point you're no longer going to want to drive it on the street.

I'm curious what weight you'll be able to reach. We have a set of corner weight scales at the race shop in Mt. View, if you'd like to weigh the car when you're done. Just contact me and we can set up a time if you're interested.



Phil

Macster

Contemplating breast reduction surgery.

wharthog

Would you leave the spoiler up or down? If I recall the droopy butt look of the boxster and Audi TT create rear end lift at high speed. I thought the spoiler was a direct result of Autobahn accidents that resulted from that lift... just a thought.

Macster

Track car lightened to the extreme the OP's gone to already I'd think he fix the spoiler up and remove as much of the spoiler raising/lowering hardware as he could for further weight reduction.

Porsche went to the trouble of putting the spoiler there and raising it at 75mph. Must have had a good reason. (And Audi learned the hard way about lift with its new TT after it was first introduced.)

On the track with much higher speeds obtained I'd think common sense would have it present and up all the time.

Sincerely,

Macster.

mooty

my box was 2400 dry, no driver.

mooty

up for sure.

fuhrius

I'd leave the spoiler up. I set it in the up position manually for track days already...there is a noticeable difference at speed.

the soft top removal is certainly an option...I've been looking for a hardtop that I can take on / off. my objective, in the short run, is to keep it street-able (hence, leaving the airbags in). the goal would be to get the car into the 2600-2650 range.
I hear people about the dropping tenths at the track and the relative trade-offs...but that's really not the driving force here. The driving force is a desire to do without some stuff instead of always adding / modding...

Even after dropping the first 150 pounds or so...the car is so much more lively and crisp that it's really rewarding.

Not always fiddling with the radio is surprisingly freeing. It's actually amazing what I high percentage of the time I'm in any car that I have the radio going...like 99.999%...going without is nice.

better gas mileage is an upside but not the main point.

the main point is just loving the connectedness to the car and getting a lot out of this great chassis.

Phil, I'd like to get it weighed before / after / as we go...
can I grab a time to come up and get it weighed as is now so we can get a better bead on the difference and the relative value in dropping the weight?

John

racer

Grab the spec boxster racing class rules and start removing stuff.. remove heater core, AC, sound deadening under the carpets and door panels, etc. Ditch the roof and use a lightweight fiberglass top. Certainly leave the spoiler in the UP position, and ditch that motor and wiring as well. 2400lbs is quite likely. mmm and with 250hp makes for a nice lb/hp ratio.

RollingArt

I'm working and staying in San Diego for another 5 weeks or so.

Might not be able to offer any assistance till Aug.

If I'm in the area and have any time before that I'll drop you a pm.



Phil

eric523

Yeah I'm building myself a boxster spec car at the moment. Here are some weights that I wrote down at the beginning as I started removing stuff.

Window glass for the doors = 6lbs each side, for a total of 12lbs
window lifter mechanism and motor = 5.5lbs each side
door panel airbags = 2.5lbs each side
door speakers = 4.25 each side
radiator fans = 5lbs each side
HVAC/climate control with blowers = 15.75lbs ( does not include control unit)
Spoiler assembly = 5lbs (now fixed in up position)
passenger side dash airbag = 7.75lbs
door panel = 8 lbs each side
a/c compressor = 15lbs
windshield wiper assembly = 5.25lbs (does not include arms or blades)
stock steering wheel with airbag = 7.75lbs
stock battery = 38lbs (replaced with 15lb Odyssey pc680)

that stuff adds up to over 150lbs.

I started at about 2900 and am down to 2300.
On top of those weights above I:
removed the cab top and assembly
removed 20lbs from the wiring harness
removed all carpet
removed a/c system completely (condensors, lines, vents etc)
Removed radiator fans
removed rear crash protection bar
removed cats
cut out the door panels/frames, used cable latches
removed stock seatbelts
and some more I can't remember off the top of my head.

VERBOTN

Just weighed windshield on shipping scale 22lbs. GASP

fuhrius

it appears you have one highly-prepped boxster there...would mind telling me a bit more about what you've done to that car?

thanks!