putting the car on a diet,, what suggestions?

[9dreizig]

So I'm thinking of starting to strip the car down on the winter diet. After the obvious,, back seats, spare tire, air conditioning.. what are the obvious things to pull out for most weight savings??

[widebody911]

What will be the car's intended purpose?

[9dreizig]

track and street,, but I've got another car for daily driver and actually have another 930 for date night ..

[Bill Verburg]

The most effective weight loss from the chassis is at the ends, i.e. front and rear bumpers

then working toward the middle and from the roof down

for the chassis obviously lighter wheels constrained by the necessary tires and brakes

In the transmission anything associated w/ first gear going to 5th as least effective, and in the engine any engine speed recipricating followed by rotatating mass

[9dreizig]

Thanks Bill, but don't I basically end up driving a Flintstones car following that advice??

[rfuerst911sc]

The sound insulation on the inside of the firewall is very heavy behind the rear seats. Then the rear seats,bumpers,bumper tits all add up quick.Then seats can be replaced with lighter,Fuchs wheels are very light. The OEM muffler on normally aspirated cars is heavy I saved about 16 lbs. going with the MB911 muffler alone plus the SSI heat exchangers over the OEM.Hope this helps.

[9dreizig]

it does. So what's reasonable weight for a street car to lose??

[DG624]

Bill, this looks like an interesting topic. I was reading about light weight brake disks (aluminum) and was wondering if you have experience with these and how much they save.

[hunter914]

Todd, you can remove the sound insulation material on all interior floor panels, you're good at that I've heard.

[Bill Verburg]

but don't I basically end up driving a Flintstones car following that advice??

Thats up to you, no one can tell ypu what compromises to live w/

there are 2 basictenets to go by

1) anything that makes it a better track car will make it a worse street car
2) anything that makes it a better street car will make it a worse track car

How serious are you/? Make a choice and live w/ it.

I have never had a concern w/ f/g bumpers. I keep the rugs and sound deadening for the street just because it's too much trouble to remove and for esthetics(the girls get uncomfortable w/o that stuff)

for a track car I leave as little as possible constrained by time and money and regs

[randywebb]

Bill is laying out a 2-dimensional spectrum for you. There is another possibility, you can explore along a third dimension by using large amounts of money. You would substitute lighter wt. technology to keep the same street car 'functions' but w/o all the wt.
some examples:
LED gauges vs. stock analog dials
electronic sensor and wire vs. stock (older) speedo cable
CF vs. steel is another
LED and FG light housings vs. stock
Kevlar seatbacks with a suspended fabric seat vs. stock steel backs and foam (just as the foam saved wt. over the old horsehair in the 1970s)
Ti in the exhaust vs. SS
Ceramics in the brakes and clutch (for now -- later you can buy some ceramic pistons, maybe)

obviously, I've covered a gamut from things you can do now (if sufficiently motivated) to things that only the factory or a high end race team can do now, to things no one can do right now...

[Bill Verburg]

Originally posted by DG624
Bill, this looks like an interesting topic. I was reading about light weight brake disks (aluminum) and was wondering if you have experience with these and how much they save.

They had, ummm..... duability issues and were withdrawn from the market.

[dd74]

Originally posted by 9dreizig
So I'm thinking of starting to strip the car down on the winter diet. After the obvious,, back seats, spare tire, air conditioning.. what are the obvious things to pull out for most weight savings??

930 911s are almost too pretty to strip.

As a Zevon fan, I must say ripping apart your car might leave you suffering from a lack of sentimental hygeine.

[DW SD]

Check out Thom's www.rennlight.com site for some ideas of how much stuff weighs. Keep in mind 1 HP is worth between 10 and 14 lbs on these cars (lower the weight goes the more it is worth relative to HP). You probably know how much it costs to add 50HP in the Porsche world. Removing 300 to 500 lbs = stripping out: AC, rear seats, and changing: bumpers for FG, seats for racing shells carpet and padding for lightweight RS carpet. You car can still have heat and be a little insulated. Planning is the key!

[Pele911]

Do RS style door panels and lose the electric window winders. Fiberglass rear deck. Carbon fiber front fenders. Carbon fiber front hood or "bonnet" if your proper. Also You could become anorexic and lose like 50 lbs (i dont know what you weigh by I could lose 50 too)

[randywebb]

I'll be updating that database soon... have some more interior and body parts wt. data for it.

the discs above were stated to be an Al metal matrix -- probably similar to the stuff used in some Mtn. bikes of that vintage. Anyway, keep waiting and you'll get some ceramic discs... Or your kids will.