Need more weight savings ideas...

[drl911]

I've got my '86 Carrera done to 2330lbs by generally doing the following, but I need some more ideas to go lower:

headers+m&K
no AC or air handling components of any kind, including dash controls
fiberglass whale tail
fiberglass front bumper
fiberglass rear bumper
fiberglass hood
lexan rear window
carbon rear shelf (self made)
carbon door panels (self made)
carbon smuggler box cover (self made)
no carpet
no center console
aftermarket seats
some wire dieting
no windshield washer system
driver wiper only (modified linkage for full sweep)
no side rockers
lightweight mirrors
hollow 29/22 torsion bars
lightweight battery
no cruise control components
no carbon canister

My target is another 100lbs or so, but I'm afraid I've reached the 1lb at a time area.

I would like to convert the sunroof to manual, but I haven't figured out an acceptable way to latch it closed. Anyone know the weight savings potential here?

High torque, light weight starter.... savings?

Are fuel cells lighter than stock fuel tank?

Not opposed to swiss cheese where structure is not compromised....

Thanks,
Dan

[zippy_gg]

Jenny Craig may be another suggestion.

Seriously, losing 30lbs (if you look like me) would be the easiest and cheapest way to lighten the car up. . It just might take some time...

[drl911]

Originally Posted by zippy_gg

Jenny Craig may be another suggestion.

Seriously, losing 30lbs (if you look like me) would be the easiest and cheapest way to lighten the car up. . It just might take some time...

Already only 5'8" 150lbs.... and I like to eat way too much!

[na2ub]

Stereo?
Engine sound matt and black gunk on floors
Black gunk from under the car
Lighter aftermarket seats (these are not all light).

[914efi]

Manual sunroof would be neat, maybe take out the motor and put in a hand operated cable?

Sunroof motor and lighter starter might be good for 8-10lbs.

Those look like 16" wheels, go with 15" and narrow tires.

Mag case 915? 901 if you really want to be obsessive.

Rollup windows? Only good for a few lb, but part of the overall vibe.

Plain engine lid, carbon for best effect.

Keep the tank below 1/4.

[DG624]

Removing the rear seats and the rubber mats under the rear interior section saves 40 lbs. I replaced the sound deadening with Quiet Car liquid sound proofing (paint on) and saved another 10 lbs. Replace the hood shocks with the Siene light weight hood props and save about 5 lbs. Light weight battery saves another 25lbs. You can also save 15-20 lbs by removing the sunroof.

[drl911]

Originally Posted by na2ub

Stereo?
Engine sound matt and black gunk on floors
Black gunk from under the car
Lighter aftermarket seats (these are not all light).

I do still have the stereo head unit and a pair of door speakers.

Engine sound matt removed and replaced with fiber insulation from THD.
Black gunk on floors and engine bay has been removed.

I think my Corbeau seats are 26lbs each (they recline). I will do some more research in this area.

[drl911]

Originally Posted by DG624

Removing the rear seats and the rubber mats under the rear interior section saves 40 lbs. I replaced the sound deadening with Quiet Car liquid sound proofing (paint on) and saved another 10 lbs. Replace the hood shocks with the Siene light weight hood props and save about 5 lbs. Light weight battery saves another 25lbs. You can also save 15-20 lbs by removing the sunroof.

I was thinking about the rear seats. My boys are 17 and 20 and haven't fit back there in years anyway!

No trunk or hood shocks now.

I forgot to mention I already have the lightweight Odyssey battery.

15~20 lbs savings by removing the sunroof power stuff or by removing all the slide hardware as well? I still want to open and close it occassionally.

[KTL]

2330? Not bad for a 915 Carrera! I got my '87 down to 2450 w/out me in it (1/2 tank of gas) and around 2650 all equipped to go on the track.

There's more you can do. MUCH more..............

That rear seat area rubber mat backed with fiber insulation is quite heavy. Ditch that sucker.

Fiberglass front fenders

Ditch the sunroof altogether if you don't use it. I personally hate them. When you pull the entire sunroof structure (not just the tiny motor) and weld in the roof panel, you save around 35 lbs. if I recall correctly. Do a search for GaryR and see what he did. He and a few others have a nice thread that documents the removal and reinstall of a clean panel installation.

Fuel cell is definitely lighter if you get a smaller capacity. Factory tank is ~22 gal. I believe? My ATL 15 gal. SportCell is extremely light. It has a thin gauge steel case and plastic "bladder" with steel fill plate. I could have gone lighter with an aluminum case and fill plate, but didn't want to spend the extra money unnecessarily. It would take some work to plumb the cell to use a high pressure pump and hoses to mate back up with the factory 3.2 fuel lines, but it could be done fairly easily.

Switch to carbs. Quite a bit lighter than the big 'ol alloy intake manifold on a 3.2. That's extreme. I like my carbs on the racecar, but I also like the crank-it-up-and-drive ability of the 3.2 in my '87.

Switch from the Carrera front calipers (wide A calipers) and rotors (24mm) to SC front rotors and alloy S calipers. Install SC rear rotors and calipers. If you drive your car on the street, you'll never notice the difference. Probably wouldn't notice the difference on the track either.

Replace the front belly pan beneath the suspension crossmember with a fiberglass or carbon fiber substitute

How about hollow torsion bars? Aftermarket sway bars made of high strength alloy are much lighter than the heavy factory sway bars.

Replace your rear light housings with the LED lights that mimic the 911R lights.

Swiss cheese the engine mount crossbar. Install fiberglass engine cooling "tin" surrounds

Install a single pulley crankshaft pulley and fan pulley. Rothsport makes some nice alloy ones.

Welcome to Rothsport Racing - Engine Products

Did you remove the engine heat exchanger merge tube and engine mounted assist fan? Can also remove the footwell blowers in the front floor kick panels.

Cruise control unit under dash and in engine bay?

Charcoal cannister in right rear wheel well?

Convert to manual windows? This is a challenge to get rid of the power window lifts/regulators and install suitable manual units.

[Rodsrsr]

Your door weigh 65lbs each vs FG @ 11lbs each. It all depends how far you want to take it. Regulators are another 5-7 lbs each.

[giovanni86]

fibrglass front hood?

replace all the windows with the lexan one?

replace some components of the engine (airbox ... engine cover) with a fiberglass copy...

[Flieger]

fiberglass/carbon fiber fenders,

fiberglss/carbon fiber quarter panels,

fiberglass/carbon fiber doors,

fiberglass/carbon fiber sunroof delete

[drl911]

Great feedback guys. Currently only doing a few DE's a year and probably won't go much beyond that so not looking for total extreme track car.

So far I am inspired to investigate further the...
sunroof delete options
rear seat removal
fuel cell
fiberglass front fenders (what's the total savings here?)
swiss cheese engine cross bar
rear side lexan windows

Thanks,
Dan

[79 Euro]

Rear bumpers? American, Euro or none?
Do you really need that heavy wing?

[nesslar]

Lose the DE passenger; big weight loss.

[RWebb]

sunroof delete options ~ 30 lbs.
rear seat removal ~ 30 lbs.
swiss cheese engine cross bar - looks only
rear side lexan windows - a few lbs.

focus on the rear, not the front - do a search for the other 200 wt. reduction threads.

did you remove all the a/c - not just the heating stuff?

get rid of that heavy tail

[drl911]

Originally Posted by RWebb

sunroof delete options ~ 30 lbs.
rear seat removal ~ 30 lbs.
swiss cheese engine cross bar - looks only
rear side lexan windows - a few lbs.

focus on the rear, not the front - do a search for the other 200 wt. reduction threads.

did you remove all the a/c - not just the heating stuff?

get rid of that heavy tail

Every nut and bolt of air handling is completely gone.
I even replaced the dash vents with carbon blank covers.
The tail is fiberglass and makes a difference on the back straight at Road Atlanta.

Wow, it took 11 replies for someone to say "do a search"... that must be record

[schumicat]

replace all nuts and bolts with titanium ones.

[Eric Hahl]

remove knee pads, glove box door, light weight door panels.

[RWebb]

all the sound deadener stripped off?

you are sure there is no lighter tail that is equally effective aerodynamically??