Operation weight save - lets all have a crack at it!

[_leon_ 0]

difference with the fans changed is around 12kg

[bananawhip 0]

difference with the fans changed is around 12kg

 

No way!!!!

 

Thats massive, I know where I'm spending a bit of money then, I'm also getting a CF bonnet and a lightweight battery so that's a 40kg saving from the front end...sweet!

[dragon green 5]

replace standard rear calipers with mk4 alloy ones, must be a saving of 2kg per side !

Put some 4 pot alloys on the front and save another 2kg per side

Replace fuel tank with older smaller size, and only half fill it

Bypass heater and remove matrix,heater blower and all trunking (it will still look oe)

Take dust shields of brakes ,

[Kevin Bacon 5]

I think VW's quoted weight could be a tad optimistic. I put mine on a weighbridge a couple of years ago and it was 1320Kg, fuelly fuelled, with leather interior, space saver, the works....

 

TBH, I have done the weight stripping thing and it didn't really throw in any tangible differences in terms of initial acceleration and handling. If anything, it felt a bit skittish and unbalanced with all the rear weight removed (i.e. no interior at all). That is partly down to the suspension being tuned to a standard car weight, so would need softening up to account for the weight loss.

I find Corrados feel much better with some weight over the back wheels, but it's a personal thing :D

 

Weight distribution is also worth looking at. We all know VRs understeer and feel lazy to turn in, well, removing the battery and stock fans shifts 30Kg from the nose, which is the same weight saving you'd see by replacing the steel bonnet with a carbon one. A pair of GeneralCAB fans (Spals are schitt, avoid) aren't much over a kilo between them and draw a fraction of the current, so less work for the alternator too.

 

IMO, keep the interior standard. The only heavy items in there are the front seats and the rear back rest. Everything else is negligable in terms of weight loss.

 

Instead, improve the mechanicals. I know it's expensive, but trust me, the rewards are far better and keep you interested for longer :D

 

Just a light flywheel (Schimmel's cromoly one feels absolutely c0ck on), 3.68 final drive and 263 cams makes the car 'feel' like it's shed 100 kilos.... seriously.

 

Not trying to ruin your party and I defo agree with weight loss, but in my experience, some of the losses are futile and tbh, I soon got fed up looking at a gutted interior!!

[Toad 0]

Not trying to ruin your party and I defo agree with weight loss, but in my experience, some of the losses are futile and tbh, I soon got fed up looking at a gutted interior!!

 

Quite... I like my comforts. fair enough removing a few bits to save a little weight, but I wouldn't want a rattly car with no stereo for daily driving...

[boost monkey 0]

The (international) search is your friend guys! A pretty comprehensive weight saving list has been up on the 'tex since 2007.

 

It's in lbs, but it's not hard to convert it over... (2.2lbs to 1kg ish?)

 

Link for lazies

[g0ldf1ng3r 15]

ive managed to go the opposite way.......

sub, box & amp added; reinforced parcel shelf to hold kappa 6*9's

ha ha ha need more than a ally water bottle to displace that lot :nuts:

[rob1234 0]

Was amazed at how heavy my (fabric) front seat was when I replaced it with a Corbeau one.

 

Got to be minimum of 10kg saved I reckon.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

A pair of carbon fibre front seats would shift a goodly amount of dead weight..... but anything sporting the famous weaved material comes with a hefty tax :(

[boost monkey 0]

I still think it's worth bringing a little science into this whole fiasco: working out corner weights, and subsequently centre of gravity to see where things lie. Lose weight above the CoG and you're golden as far as handling is concerned (although I don't recommend cutting off the roof if you want to maintain structural rigidity...)

[bananawhip 0]

All extremely interesting stuff, good points raised especially with the stripped out thing. Easy to forget how much R&D goes into building a car and how every OEM component is matched to work together.

I went out in a friends MK1, had a big brake upgrade and a stripped interior, everytime he broke hard the back wheels came off the ground!! Good fun but absolutely useless for any proper action. Would hate to upset the balance of my car by sodding about with it.

 

Main thing that got me thinking was that the Integra Type R is regarded as one of the only front wheel drive cars to ever give the Rado a run for its money, and it weighs about 1100kg!

But the key is probably that it was designed to weigh that much from the start, not been attacked by someone like myself on a mission.

 

I think knocking a bit of weight off the front end of a VR seems to be the way to go then just to even it up, like the idea of those fans, lose all the crap out the boot and dont drive about with a full tank all day. Good thread put up by Boostmonkey though if you are going to go for it, those Americans really do love the tuner scene dont they :)

[f15h 0]

I have read this post with some interest as I have been looking into this for a number of reason - handling/performance and also "hopefully" reducing petrol consumption.

 

There certainly seems to be alot of weight over the front end - as mentioned the bonnet, battery and(which was a surprise to me) rad.

One thing that I noticed was the weight of the bumper - i have taken the front bumper off a few times now and it weighs alot. The main weight seems to be caused by the huge cross member which i would've thought could be reduced by quite alot. Has anybody worked on this before or looked into it?

[Erny 0]

hole saws! Everywere, bumper irons, behind door cards (half sensibly) were the rear seat sits, etc

[mort1414 0]

would replacing the fogs remove much weight ?

[Critical_Mass 10]

Steering wheel?... oh wait....

[samthegram 10]

Wahay! weight saving is my speciality, at least where bikes are concerned. Hence my username.

Right ,things i have done (not just for weight saving but it happed to be a positive side effect) are;

 

removed rear wiper and motor

removed abs pump

only half fill washer bottle

remove spare wheel, jack and sponge wedges in boot

lightened flywheel

remove rear floor mats (backseat passengers, you must be joking!)

remove rear tow eye

cut rear bump stops down 1cm (ok joking now)

 

Things that would make biggest difference , money no object;

 

carbon bonnet

carbon boot hatch + perspex window

fixed carbon bucket seats

carbon steering wheel

throttle bodies (think that would be lighter?)

[mort1414 0]

how do coilovers compare with the standard shock and spring has anyone weighed a set of kw v1s vs standard also brakes are the standard brakes lighter than something like brembo 4 pots or 312s

[D-Pete 0]

how do coilovers compare with the standard shock and spring has anyone weighed a set of kw v1s vs standard also brakes are the standard brakes lighter than something like brembo 4 pots or 312s

 

 

My 288mm calipers arrived yesterday, they are heavier than the 280s by a noticable margin plus the larger diameter discs will weigh more, 312mm have bigger carriers so will be heavier still . Not sure on the shock weights tho.

You have raised a very good point. If you decrease sprung weight, you must then decrease unsprung weight by the same percentage. A saving of 10% on the mass above the suspension should be accompanied by a 10% saving below it, ie wheels, brakes, tyres, wishbone and suspension unit. You will need suspension adjustable for rebound and compression in order to dial out any handling maladies from saving unsprung weight.

[jamin 0]

I always thought that rotating weight is a big enemy - I am looking to get some one-piece 16's to replace my heavy RH 2-piece 17's, plus there is the reduced rolling radius which will improve acceleration.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

removed abs pump

 

Did you find that improved the brake pedal? I've been considering removing the ABS from mine because in 6 years, I've called upon it twice and secondly, the VR6 pedal is truly dreadful and I'm hoping binning off the ABS would sort that!!

[mort1414 0]

so from reading through i got

-5 decat

-12 sports exhaust

-12 fans

-30 carbon bonnet

-1.8 rear wiper

-15.5 spare tyre + jack

[D-Pete 0]

always thought that rotating weight is a big enemy - I am looking to get some one-piece 16's to replace my heavy RH 2-piece 17's, plus there is the reduced rolling radius which will improve acceleration.

I always thought that rotating weight is a big enemy - I am looking to get some one-piece 16's to replace my heavy RH 2-piece 17's, plus there is the reduced rolling radius which will improve acceleration.

 

You are totally correct but recipriocating mass governs turn in, higher mass creates more gyroscopic force which requires greater energy to overcome that force. It will also adversely affect acceleration due to the torque being used to initially overcome the static mass of the wheel

Unsprung weight relates to how well the suspension can work, a sweet handling and quickly accelerating car requires the wheels to have good contact with the road. The wheels need to be pushed down onto the road by the spring recoiling from the mass of the car rather than the suspension pushing the car up from the mass of the wheel which reduces adhesion. Every action has a equal and opposite reaction and all that.

[big ben 10]

yeah thats what i was thinking to :lol:

 

all serious, well said, obviously loosing some weight is a good thing, but you can go to far, its finding the right equation :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

[mort1414 0]

how much weight will a light weight battery save?

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Not a huge amount. A typical 44ah battery is around 18Kg, growing to 25Kg for a 76ah battery (the biggest you can fit in a corrado).

 

One thing on the turning masses, agreed it affects the turn-in and acceleration, but only if the wheel is hugely heavier than standard and a 17x8 RH ZW1 is most definitely heavier than an original 15x6.5 wheel!. 10.5Kg versus 7.6kg.

 

Before getting too excited about small wheels weighing less and spinning up faster etc, remember that the combined wheel / tyre package can sometimes swing in the favour of the 17" wheel combo. Tyres are fast becoming the heaviest element of a wheel/tyre set due to advances in alloy wheel technology. For example my 17" wheels with Conti Sport 3s weigh less than my old 15" Speedline and tyre combination. 15.4Kg for the 17" set, versus 16.2Kg for the 15s.

 

And also, if you've increased the engine's power and torque and fitted a lightweight flywheel, then larger wheels pose less of a problem.

 

It's all preferences at the end of the day. I find the grip and turn-in from 8x17s with 40 profile tyres far sharper and more planted than squishy 50 profile tyres on 6.5J rims. In a few racing circles, they argue that tyre width should match rim width for optimum grip and a 205 on an 8J seems to support that argument in my experience :D In other words, what were VW thinking putting a 205 on a 6.5J?? :lol: