Does all that fiberglass make a differance..??

[DF]

Many racer types have put fiberglass bumpers, spoilers, valances, deck lids, hoods, etc..on their cars I assume to lighten them. Does this make a noticable differance in car handling/performance. How much weight can you save? 50lbs...100lbs?

[David McLaughlin]

According to the GT Racing catalog their fiberglass front lid weighs in at 12 lbs, and rear lid at 11 lbs. When shippin a spare rear lid, I weighed it in at 41 lbs (give or take). So, those two alone will save about 60 pounds and from the all important top side. The front and rear bumpers weigh a lot too and I can only imagine at the weight savings there although you loose all crash protection.

Lighter weight will provide better acceleration, braking and cornering. It's easier and cheaper to better your performance through weight savings than through bolt on upgrades. IMHO.



------------------
Dave
1970 914/6
1995 Golf GTI-VR6
1996 Passat TDI
djm914-6@mediaone.net

[campbellcj]

My instructor at the last POC "Short Track" event -- Kjell Nelin, pronounced like "shell" -- owns the below 914-6 race car, which has been stripped to bare essentials and has a number of glass panels (lids, fenders, super thin targa top, etc.)

He says he got the weight down around 1900lbs, which is pretty significant. My "stock" 73 914/4 weighs 2142.

We are talking about an 11% reduction or so, which has gotta be significant to performance and handling!!!



------------------
Chris C.
73 914 2.0
70 911E Targa
campbell.chris@gte.net

[DF]

Isn't every 10lbs worth a h.p.?

[campbellcj]

Originally posted by DF:
Isn't every 10lbs worth a h.p.?

I have heard something like that too.

I know that pro race teams spend $$$megabucks$$$ to get weight out of anything possible on the cars.

To go faster you can either increase power, or decrease weight. And increasing power doesn't really improve the car's handling...

[DF]

Sounds as though I should go that route. By the way why does no one make front and rear upper strut braces for the 914? The only ones I have seen are custom welded jobies..

[campbellcj]

Originally posted by DF:
By the way why does no one make front and rear upper strut braces for the 914? The only ones I have seen are custom welded jobies..

There is at least one bolt-in rear strut brace available for the 914:



Here is the page link (Stable Energies):
http://www.stable-energies.com/stable/camber.html

There was a thread about this a while back, on the Rennlist I think, and the concensus was that the 914 doesn't really need this kind of bracing due to its chassis & suspension design.



------------------
Chris C.
73 914 2.0
70 911E Targa
campbell.chris@gte.net

[Conrad W Peden]

Dont need one for the front. There is already one there. That piece in front of the gas tank.

------------------
CWP/VIR
72 914 L20E in rusto.
73 914 L20E 2.0L in resto.
http://members.rennlist.com/a914lover

[campbellcj]

Originally posted by Conrad W Peden:
Dont need one for the front. There is already one there. That piece in front of the gas tank.

I think that essentially the same argument was made regarding the rear. Look at the fairly beefy firewall that is directly in front of the upper shock towers...

I could be wrong, of course. If anybody can prove to me a true benefit of the rear brace, I'll buy one in a second...

[bowlsby]

Well the math seems simple enough...

Weight:Power ratio

~2100 lbs/~100hp=21lbs per hp

So dropping 21 lbs is like gaining 1 hp.