serious weight saving.

hey guys just trying to think what else is possible to save weight,

i know you can go replacing parts with lighter composites etc

but what else is there that isnt so common?

i saw a block getting cnc machined all over to lighten it, things like that...
(im a motorsport student so i've seen alot)

discuss


just thought i'd add please talk about road legal and track only modifications too

 

I'll make a start:

Shell dipping
Brackets out
Cutting off excessive threads
Lightweight bolts

 

Dynamic weight loss is more interesting, wheels and rotating parts etc.

 

lots of things to drill, like wiper arm links, a solid rod turns into a swiss cheese, on mine the front wings along the top are held on by two instead of four bolts, obviously sound deadening, underseal etc like chris said there are numerous brackets, fixings around the car that can be cut, alot of people remove the spare wheel well and have a sheet of metal to cover. You would be surprised how much weight you can loose from the doors, i know it differs on a race car to road car, but perspex instead of glass, all the internals of the doors removed, you could go on and on. Once you get started you will keep finding things to remove or grind or cut.

 

The driver could always do with losing a few pounds in most cases.

 

This one! Loose 20kgs and all your cars will feel quicker

Gurds

 

haha ill be honest i've not seen one i didn't know of yet

i think dipping a mk1 might be a bit costly for me in comparison to getting one of those stands (forgot the name) and spending the man power getting it down to bare metal?

 

Agreed unsprung weight

 

In the extreme case, ask your self "do you really need it". Next rally car I build from scratch will NOT have a dashboard. (in the conventional understanding of the term.). In my youth, (ha) I made the wiper motor assembly on my race mini quickly detachable, and removed it after scrutineering on a dry day...

 

Smaller brakes
....Smaller wheels
Titanium exhaust
Only fitting the minimal roll cage to meet the regs
Not fitting rubbers around the windows and doors
No instruments
Fit a plastic fuel tank from another car..?
Cut all the inner arches out an tub with aluminium... not sure how much that would save though. Might not be very safe either.
Do a 'number 2'

Most lightening has a negative side though - strength, reliability, safety.... Unless you have mega money and equipment to make bespoke pieces.

 

The removable wiper motor is a nice touch.
I always prefer some kind of dashboard though, it makes me feel as home

 

I'm looking at replacement components too, things like race alternator, starter, battery. The get cutting, but I'm not sure how much I should remove from the inside of the golf as its kinda getting on and the nice thing is the originality of it maybe too, or ability to become road worthy?

 

If you are serious about it being light, you will take everything out. Inner wings NO NO NO. Dash: You are with the majority who need it for 'comfort'. Saw the works mk1 in German museum: no dash
Titanium is heavier than stainless (i think), so that'll be a thinwall stainless exhaust then.
2CV alternator: done that. 239 non vented discs: done that.
More seriously: Aluminium is lovely material to work with, and not that dear to buy. Get wittling

 

Titanium is lighter than Stainless steel. But many times more expensive obviously. Titanium is also less likely to crack compared to stainless.

Do they teach how much 10kg will save from a lap time of a 'club' competitor on the Motorsport course?

Lots of people talk about saving weight, but not much is discussed concerning how much quicker it will actually make you.
I think you have to be a pretty competent (and consistent) driver to have to start worrying about drilling holes in your door frames to save weight and gain that extra 0.005 of a second. Most drivers loose many times more than that in the braking area alone - I am certainly one of them.
Although I have bought some plastic windows Ha.

If you are racing in a one-make championship where the top ten is split by half a second, it may be worth going to those extents (although they all have minimum weights)... but in my championship the top ten are split by many seconds, which makes that hole-saw a bit pointless.

If you are at the top of your game and those milliseconds are going to make the difference, then it is worth it.

 

Massively important in things like rallycross, but trackdays? Doubt 30kg will make that much difference

 

This!

Fair enough if chasing 1/10ths from a car if you have everywhere else covered.

Last time I was out on track I was so rusty that with my mistakes I lost way more time than I would ever gain from weight saving. Almost feel a bit silly for the amount of time I have spent on saving weight.

 

It is easy to get carried away. I was about to get stuck into my car when my dad pointed out the gains from removing bits of trim. It is the same when people run on the absolut weight limit with fuel ballast - it all looks very clever bringing a car back 1kg over the limit, until you get a safety car or restart. You may as well run with a few extra litres. It is not measurably going to slow me down.

 

one thing to consider as silly as it sounds is the little competition as to who has the lightest track car

 

Stats here:

http://www.clubgti.com/forum/showthread.php?t=83323

 

that's what i was referring too