Weight loss - Kurt B

[expat]

Kurt B (and others who have thought or have done weight reduction),

Some time ago you posed a question to the board about losing weight in your car.

Did you end up removing the aircond.?

Now you have the fibreglass front and rear, you must of lost some serious pounds.

Have you thought anymore (or done anymore) about weight reduction and the issue some people posed about compromising the cab's 'integrity'.

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts/actions in this regard. Do you feel any of your mods have devalued your car or added value, or made the car more/less difficult to sell in the future?

My obvious interest is that I'm ordering the fibreglass front and rear same as you, and was looking today at removing the aircond. which seems useless (especially in a cab) anyway. I'm interested in a more 'race look' car and am currently detailing the luggage area with new paint, losing the spare wheel, jack etc, tidying up the wiring etc.. The carpets and all sound deadening I'm about to pull and replace with a lighter, simpler looking knit. I'm leaving some luxury items like electric windows as I'm not chasing lightness per se. Electric seats will go in favour of some semi race seats.

I should also declare here that since reading posts about the very sad deaths of a few people from driving, I've given up on the idea of more HP. The 3.2's got enough to get me into trouble so I'm more looking at aesthetics (sp?) now. (sorry Juan, I'd love to be a HP Junkie - think I still am at heart - but now I shall walk away with my head held low from the ranks of wanna-be HP Junkie)

Would like to hear from you and others of your experiences and opinions.

Thanks in advance.

Cheers
Mark

[Joeaksa]

Mark,

I have said in the past and will continue to insist that all work on the car is wasted until you can get every last HP from any engine on the ground at all times. Its really nice to have 500 horses under the hood, but until the driver can control the car exactly as desired, its overkill.

Spend your time and money on getting the suspension and brakes sorted out the best possible and then the 200 horses from the 3.2 will keep the smile on your face.

I am getting ready to retro my 85 model back to a 72 "long hood" model using factory fenders and hood then with fiberglass front and rear bumpers/spoilers. The weight savings alone will equate to a good increase in performance. Only thing I am giving away is a bit of protection in the event of a collision but with a 911 against a SUV or Surburban its a moot point anyway...

Joe

[Kurt B]

My car is light and fast. It doesn't have AC. But taking out the compressor is not enough. Only by taking the hoses, condenser, evaporaters, and everything out do you save 50 lbs or so..maybe 60?
I also took out the sound deading pads beneath the back seats and the seat backs: total weight 28 lbs.
I removed the front and rear bumpers = 72 lbs.

It will devalue the car for the most part. If you want the value of your Porsche to go up, set it in the garage and wax it, start it every day, have a service mechanic check it and drive the minimum miles per year that Porsche recommends. Its value will skyrocket someday, probably for one of your children. Otherwise, its value drops every year--but only a little, since it's a 911, and i think you can tell by the fact that 3.2 Carrera and 964s overlap in pricing that the 84-89 Motronic 911s may be the overall best normally aspirated mass production 911 you can get. And I'm not the only one who thinks that.

Finally, I wanted my car to look like a race car and it does. Does it turn heads? You bet. Anywhere I go--whether there's a 993 or 996 there or not. All eyes are on the one that looks like a racer, not the ones that looks like a Porsche Luxury 928 in disguise.

[pbs911]

Very well said Kurt.

[ErVikingo]

I have seen some cars where people have gone really crazy on the weightloss. One such car we refer to as the cheese grater since they punched holes on most structures (like the 911R but instead of having a calm german it looked like the guy was high on amphetamines).

The car (a 68 tub) weighed in at 1700 at the last race I saw it. Since it has a full rollcage (welded) integrity has not been compromised and the added factor is that they were penalized by having to add weight but now they can choose where to put it.

As to your idea of removing the spare, I would not. Specially since you are already replacing the steel bumper with fiber. The spare is part of the security in case of a frontal collision and helps maintain the integrity of the tank.

What you should do is, instead of using fiberglass, spend the extra $ and go with carbon fiber/kevlar. The additional weight savings are phenomenal. I would not replace doors unless you have good roll cage with "nascar bars" though. Also, when you get your bumpers opt for the ones without brackets and use dzuz fasteners.

FYI, the weight of the mounting bracket on a fiberglass front bumber for a long nose 911 is 12 pounds (GT Racing) when the bumper is only 3-4 pounds.

Hope this helps.

[wckrause]

And I'm not the only one who thinks that.

Yes, you and two others. Real Porsches don't have computers...

[Kurt B]

Oh, I forgot, I did remove the spare the first day I got it

P.S. Ha ha ha bill!

[PDACPA]

Someone asked the question about the spare acting as part of a safety component. Did anyone ever find out if thats true? I was thinking of tossing mine and strapping a can of fix o' flat in place of the jack and lug nut remover!

[jlui]

Have you received your front and rear bumpers yet? Can you tell me how much the shipping to HK was?

You know, its hard to survive the humidity and heat in HK without an aircon, so removing the aircon from the car might not be a good idea. Just my opinion. Have you considered replacing the stock seats for a lighter set? That might save more weight than removing aircon units.