Shedding weight

[Cleggy the Spyder Man]

Ok - so I am sitting here with a fairly standard car and want to know where I can shed some weight off my Westy - I am on a limited budget and are looking to do some fairly low cost upgrades - and most importantly without p*****g about too much

So far since owning my motor

1. Removed spare wheel (saved 15kg) COST NOTHING

2. Changed to CXR wheels (saved 13-14kg) sold my set of five wheels so only had to part with additional £50 to get some good second hand ones

From here on it gets a bit trickier for me

I would be happy to get rid of the heater but not sure how much it weighs?

The screen shall be kept but I guess that is a good chunk of weight (you wont swing me on this one - it's staying)

It is a standard 2000 sport (duratec) with no upgrades although I think it has alloy hubs as standard

So what should be next folks - it would make sense for me to try to tackle the cheapest/biggest difference jobs first

[stephenh]

Go on a diet? Plenty of fresh fruit, and fibre. Cut out the beer or lager.

I've been trying for years.    I'm hopeless when I see rich food, or get my hands on a nice pint of real ale, or a bottle of red wine!!  

[peterg]

Heater including the water in it and pipes etc weighs about 7kg    

You have comfy seats -  swapping comfy for GRP or carbon    seats will save another 20kgs  

Change that horrible standard rollbar for a proper braced one, won't save any weight but will stiffen the chassis and might just save your life    

[Hank]

1.  Do you currently have a muffler with an integral catalytic converter?  Is it required by law for racing or road use, or did you build it into your car because Westfield provided it?  I got rid of mine because the Hayabusa engine in my Megabusa does not require it by law.  Although I don't remember the weight of the muffler/cat combo I suspect I removed 10-15 kg when I installed a carbon fiber motorcycle muffler in its place.  I'm not running a heat shield either.

2.  Aluminum lug nuts.

3.  Lightweight battery (15 kg or so lighter).

4.  Fiberglass seats (not recommended for extended length driving sessions, maybe race only)

5.  CF dash?  

[Leon B]

Have you got carpet still?  Get rid of that.

Do you know how much your car weighs at the moment?

[Cleggy the Spyder Man]

Thanks Peter - a RAC roll bar is one of the next jobs to be done    

I could do without the heater but for 7kg I dont know if I will do it - thinking about it the screen will be staying so guess the heater should too

Seats - will think about this one and get some prices - anyone know what the difference is between my standard padded seats and the fibreglass ones that have the padding on?

Battery is defo a good option depending upon price

I have a built in cat convertor

[DickieB]

In my 2nd season of the Speed Series I got the NHS to remove my appendix for free.  Every little helps.

[peterg]

Titanium Raceco silencer    will be much lighter than standard one and will be quieter from track days as well  

[Scottish Bloke]

Ditch the screen, aero all the way      

[Steven (WE51STE)]

You could ditch the number plate for a sticker one on the bonnet not only saves weight but also cuts down on the drag which will improve acceleration / top speed and be more economical on the petrol ;-)

Remember cutting 1KG of unsprung weight is worth 4KG of sprung weight.

So light weight calipers all round ( Westfield had them on offer) they weigh in below 1Kg a corner which will save you a couple of KG a corner ( 8 to 10Kg overall for £300  and its unsprung so worth 4 x the weight saving.)

Steve

[RedditchJay]

why ?  if only using on road...why ?   Duratec should punch out enough horses.... {sorry, just askin}

[DickieB]

Don't remove the number plate.  It massively helps reduce front end lift. I have a mate at MIRA who did a lot of work for a "similar" manufacturer.  Racing Locosts all have front numberplates for that reason - and we don't go as fast as a Duratec!

[dombanks]

i would go for JK composite fibre glas seats if you want to change them. ive been in the car for about 4-5hrs straight with a set of these and found them very comfy.

to put it in perspective 2 1/2 hrs in the clio on the M6 and i couldnt walk when i got out.

[Cleggy the Spyder Man]

Not sure on weight of the car - I guess was at 700kg ish when I purchased it - anybody know what the standard weight is for a sport 2000?

Less the 30kg I have shed so far

Carpet set - how much does a carpet set weigh?

Whats the difference in weight between a standard westfield box with cat and a leightweight legal one?

Brake callipers sounds like it might be one of the next jobs, especially considering the much improved looks over the standard ones ...

And as the the reason why try to save weight - well I took a member of the family out the other day (about 90kilos I guess) and I could not believe how much it took the edge off the performance - so the points is -  If I could shed 90 kilos think what it would do for the performance - fairly logical me thinks  

[Steven (WE51STE)]

Hi,

My Duratec was weighed recently when I had all the suspension set up.

I know talking about the weight of duratec cars has caused some heated discussions in the past but here goes.

575KG Full of fluids.

That is with a full carpets, heater, contoured dash, Westfield seats, internal ali panels and a spare wheel.

Although I've tried to save weight on all the other parts: light weight flywheel, Raceline Sump and Water Rail, freelander diff, light weight brakes, Alloy hubs, 15" Oz Supperlegera wheels etc etc.

Regards,

Steve