944 Weight reduction

[esanmiguel]

If I remove:
AC, power steering, back seats, passenger seats, carpets, interior panels, center console, spare tire, and radio..how much weight would be taken out?? If so, is it enough to provide the car with noticeable power?

[plandy]

Originally posted by esanmiguel
If I remove:
AC, power steering, back seats, passenger seats, carpets, interior panels, center console, spare tire, and radio..how much weight would be taken out?? If so, is it enough to provide the car with noticeable power?

I wouldn't stop there. Remove the hood, two doors, rear hatch and entire dashboard. Now that should give you serious weight reduction.

[bryanthompson]

what if you remove the driver? you'd get rid of at least 150-200 lbs. That' got to be a dozen horsepower right there.

seriously, though, If you take out too much weight... carpet, panels, speakers, etc. wouldn't that mess up the weight distrobution?

[JRMock]

Weight Reduction...about 200 lb.

Noticeable power...not really.

Stock weight/horsepower ratio = 19.4
After you remove 200 lb you're down to 18.0
After you remove another 300 lb, (as plandy suggests) you're down to 15.5

Fast sports cars are down in single digits...

Good Luck

[CJFusco]

I think weight reduction is a wonderful way to make our cars quicker. The 944 is a pretty light car to begin with... no roadgoing Porsche made since 1983 has been lighter, not even the special-edition 911s!

I notice a HUGE difference with one passenger vs. driving alone, and even a difference between a full tank of gas and a half-tank. I don't know, maybe I'm just more attuned to my car's performance than the average bloke

Not only that, the car will feel nimble as well.

[Sabyre]

I also notice the difference between 1 occupant or 2 and full tank of half. Not sure that removing the radio would help weight reduction. Maybe sub systems

[Macfreak007]

i notice a difference without the spare tire, which seems crazy but i seriously do, maybe its jsut my all in my head but it seems like it

[UconnTim97]

Really? I was thnking about getting rid of the spare since I have no intentions of using it.. I can imagine it weighs more than 20lbs

[Dantilla]

My 944 has no A/C, radio, carpet, spare, back seat, etc, but I put some of the weight back in when the roll cage was installed. I am weighing it soon, and I'll get back to you....

[rammstein]

At Mid Ohio, the one time I drove without an instructor, my top speed at the end of the back straight was 5mph faster than it had been any other time (this was also the only point at which I had enough time to even see how fast I was going!). He was essentially 180lbs of ballast. He warned me that the car would behave differently. It certainly did.

I've heard a Lexan rear window removes 60+lbs. A fiberglass rear bumper takes off another big chunk (just don't expect any protection if you get hit).

I think weight removal is great. As for the balancing of the car, that could be a problem. I guess you could get it weighed on each corner and maybe fine tune it somehow to try and maintain the 50/50 balance we know and love.

[emwporsche]

you could also use carbon fiber / fiberglass body panels and lexan
that will save you 200 - 300 lbs
plus the other 200 from interior
and your at 400 to 500 pounds saved

you will feel that difference!

even if you didn't feel the 200 lb interior weight reduction you would still get better gas mileage

I would leave your spare tire in the back.
I have a full size spare that prob. weighs 25 lbs but it adds weight to the back for better balance and traction
just my opinion though.

[TheCooler]

After each interior part you take out of your car run 1 mile. You might not notice a big difference on the road but youll be a crazy man in the sack and your gf/wife will love it.

Speaking of which I need to start removing interior parts. Im getting round around the corners and Im not talking about drifting....

[eligunn]

I removed all the soundproofing material from my car as well as the upper part of the back seat and the spare tire.

I had 2 trash bags full of sp material when I was done and both together felt very heavy although I did not weigh them.
The bags were in danger of breaking

Weight reduction is the absolute best way to increase performance. you get better gas mileage faster acceleration better breaking and better handling.

[Wrecked944]

Unless I am mistaken, the formula goes like this...

1987 Porsche 944
Curb Weight = 2637 lbs
HP = 147
Weight/Horsepower Ratio = 2637/147 = 17.93

1987 Porsche 944 Minus 100 lbs
Curb Weight = 2537 lbs
HP = 147
Weight/Horsepower Ratio = 2537/147 = 17.26

In order to achieve this 17.26 ratio by increasing horsepower instead of weight savings, you'd have to bump up the ponies to (2637 * 147)/2537 = 152.78 hp.

152.78 - 147 = 5.78

So dropping 100 lbs is like adding around 6hp.

It is not uncommon for folks to blow $200+ on a chip to achieve 10-20hp. So 6hp for free seems like a deal.

[rammstein]

Not to mention it is unquestionable. Plus the handling benefits. Throw in the low cost.

[Macfreak007]

beleive me i know about weight reduction, when my car was totaled, i had taken out almost the entire interior then i had to drive it to my friends shop where it is stored, just about 2 miles away, it was so fast, pulled much better than before. That is without any kind of body stripping stricktley interior, it would be fun to one day have a stripped down one but my interior is just so nice that i cant stand to strip it out.

[ae1969]

... I love ratios...

So whats the lowest you could go? I don't think you could break 2000 lbs ? but I am not sure.

SO you can have....

1. a ~300 HP 944 weighing ~3000 lbs ~10 lbs/hp.

or

2. ~150 HP .... ~2000lb 944..... ~ 13.3 lbs/hp


Which one would be more fun?

[rammstein]

300 HP @ 2000lbs sounds like the fun car to me

[Wrecked944]

Originally posted by ae1969
... I love ratios...

So whats the lowest you could go? I don't think you could break 2000 lbs ? but I am not sure.

SO you can have....

1. a ~300 HP 944 weighing ~3000 lbs ~10 lbs/hp.

or

2. ~150 HP .... ~2000lb 944..... ~ 13.3 lbs/hp


Which one would be more fun?

It depends on how you define "fun". Option #1 will optimize acceleration while option #2 will optimize handling. And Rammstien's option will optimize both. For example: my 911 is heavy but has a superior hp/weight ratio and feels like a tidelwave hurtling me forward at lightspeed when she hits 4000 rpms. But my 944 feels far more nimble and responds to my commands with instant response - almost like she can read my mind and obeys before I give the command. Given the choice, I'll take BOTH !!

[Harpman]

If you take all the interior out, then how can you expext to get 108 pounds back in (petite blonde, blue eyes) if she has no seat, she cuts herself on the door interior, hears no tunes, is sweating with no A/C, and her feet are cold on the bare metal floor.

To me that's just not worth it unless it's a track car. But hey don't listen to me, I kept my interior and still didn't get a blonde (not a true blonde anyway, LOL )