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Putting a 9KT on a diet....Ideas? Posted by bryan [Email]  (#542)  [Profile/Gallery]
(more from bryan) on Thu, 19 Apr 2001 13:34:14
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Hi gang,
Obviously on this board everybody is concerned with making more power...why? to go quicker, faster, i.e. raise performance. To that end I see a lot of great discussion on here, but one thing I've not seen is people discussing how to get more by taking away, i.e. shedding lbs from their cars. The old timey drag racing maxim was "shave a tenth of a second in the quarter for every 100 lbs you lose". Wheter the numbers add up or not, it's a good goal to shoot for. I've been looking and getting some ideas, thought I'd share them for either feedback or to turn the little light on over someone else's head.
Right now I already run my 92 9KT in lighweight mode, no spare, no tools, etc. This car never leaves the city, it's a calculated risk that I'm more than willing to make...with a cell phone and friends, who needs a jack and spare tire? 'Yo homie, i'm stuck on the freeway! break into my house, grab the spare key to my 9KS, and drive it over here!'
Some things that I've considered to reduce weight:
swapping power seats for manual: save about 40 lbs
manual steering rack: small HP gain, would guess that it will save 50-75 lbs
ditching A/C: not EVEN going to consider that one in Southern Cal, but it's fun to think what it would be like without all the weight of the compressor, condensor, lines, etc. etc....whew! prolly 100-125 lbs. easy. would also improve cooling and intercooler efficiency.
removing spoiler, replacing factory molding with 3/8 aftermarket molding: ever held a bare spoiler in your hand? they weigh 12-15 lbs easy. Downside is you'll have 5 holes to fill and paint, unless you can find a matching undrilled hatch. That molding is pretty chunky too, at least another 10-12 lbs.
Lexan rear hatch window: OK, this one is a little hard-core for a street car, but that would probably be an 80 lbs savings right there...that glass is HEAVY.
removing cargo floor, replacing cargo shelf with something lighter and stiff, even if just for appearance (black construction paper? carbon fiber sheet? :D) removing third brake light (improves appearance too IMO).
total wt. savings maybe 15 lbs.
on the subject of weight, i think relocating the battery to the rear is worthwhile. Even if you don't go with a an expensive lightweight battery, redistributing the weight lower and to the rear doesn't hurt on a front weight biased 9K.
some ideas are more achievable and real world than others, and these are just things that anybody can do. I'm sure we could all come up with stuff like 'magnesium control arms' but i'm trying to keep it real world :) I posted my query about the manual rack because I think it's the best combination of livability and performance improvement. Some of you might be saying 'so what'to a lot of these ideas, but making a car quick is lots of little things, after you've done the big things like exhaust and ECU's. If you can shed 200 lbs from your car, that is a difference that you will DEFINITELY feel in the seat of your pants. A few of these ideas are a little radical and will hurt the resale value of the car, use at your discretion, YMMV
, Thu, 19 Apr 2001 13:34:14 <-- Viewing This Message, Thu, 19 Apr 2001 20:18:22, Fri, 20 Apr 2001 12:06:47
, Thu, 19 Apr 2001 22:01:16, Thu, 19 Apr 2001 17:22:40
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