Lightweight Mods

[andylaurel]

i used to have a AE86 that was under 900kg

its not that fun to drive a "race car" on the road. Trust me.

And that's effectively what your trying to do, make it a race car.

When you remove sound deadener, and install plexiglass, and rip out carpet, the car is no longer a pleasureable car, it becomes rude and uninviting.,

[Gts-t]

i used to have a AE86 that was under 900kg

its not that fun to drive a "race car" on the road. Trust me.

And that's effectively what your trying to do, make it a race car.

When you remove sound deadener, and install plexiglass, and rip out carpet, the car is no longer a pleasureable car, it becomes rude and uninviting.,

I dont drive the car daily or commute it to work etc. I sure dont need carpet to find the car inviting, and i enjoy the car being louder inside.

So each to their own really....

[ellie]

Useless tid bit = 1992 gtst 10th month. Removed my hi-cas and all up wieghed 11.3Kgs with only maybe 1lL of oil, maybe 2 to be on the safe side.

Just to put that speculation to rest (and thats lines, soloniod assemblies, brackets, bolts, banjos, washers - everything)

[Beer Baron]

i think you are a fair way off the mark.

if you want a lightweight car a GTST is not the right choice. ok, if you must have a GTST forget the sunroof model. They are not really any good for racing, and add more weight with less safety. two things you dont want.

also, if you are after lightweight and good handling, then turf those 18inch rims. there is no way your 18inch nismos with 18inch tyres would be lighter than the stock 16X6.5 combo. I would say you gained 10-15kgs there and even worse is it's un-sprung weight. also, GTR seats are not lighter than GTST seats. I'd say they are the same, perhaps even slightly heavier. your car is now probably heavier than a stock non-abs, non-sunroof GTST. The rear seats also dont weight 15kgs. maybe 4 kgs each piece.

my advice. forget it, and start witht a more suitable car. if that's not an option then I'd do this:

buy some R32 GTR or R33 GTR wheels

put some good tyres on them

remove the sunroof and it''s it's motors, switches etc and get it filled in. get a roof trim from a non-sunroof model too

get a lightweight titanium exhaust

get fibreglass bumpers and guards

get rid of all seats except the drivers

replace drivers seat with a lightweight seat

remove all the sound deadening and carpet

then sit back, admire your handiwork and realise it was a bad idea!

[ellie]

ouch!

[illusiVe]

you can also remove centre console, glove box, headunits, speakers, vents, gauges that arn't used.

lighter gear knob, carbon mirrors (my stock ones are like 3kg each), body pannels, body kits, carpets, mufflers, cats, exhaust, alot of the useless crap in engine bay, mud flaps, extra bolts, front diffuser

find what you need: pedals, seat, seatbelt, steeringwheel, windscreen wiper/s, gearknob, handbreak, gauges.. everything else must go (interior anyway)

as also mentioned carbon tailshaft, performance + weight reduction in one.

Edited December 30, 2006 by illusiVe

[nizmo_freek]

The real question is how far do you want to go with this??

The possibilities are endless and it all comes down to how far you want to open your chequebook.

[illusiVe]

CABON SHELL BABY!!!

[Devils_Advocate21]

get a bike its gunna be cheaper in the long run and very very light

[Gts-t]

i think you are a fair way off the mark.

if you want a lightweight car a GTST is not the right choice. ok, if you must have a GTST forget the sunroof model. They are not really any good for racing, and add more weight with less safety. two things you dont want.

also, if you are after lightweight and good handling, then turf those 18inch rims. there is no way your 18inch nismos with 18inch tyres would be lighter than the stock 16X6.5 combo. I would say you gained 10-15kgs there and even worse is it's un-sprung weight. also, GTR seats are not lighter than GTST seats. I'd say they are the same, perhaps even slightly heavier. your car is now probably heavier than a stock non-abs, non-sunroof GTST. The rear seats also dont weight 15kgs. maybe 4 kgs each piece.

Like i said im just hoping to get the car under 1300kgs. Im NOT as ive said before going all out trying to make it the lightest r32 ever! And as i said im not 100% on many of the weights.

Firstly GTR seats are lighter than the stock seats, i know this because i fitted them and they were much lighter. Secondly a sunroof is hardly going to add seconds to ur lap time lol.

Also as far as skylines go the r32 gtst is one of the lighter ones is it not? Furthermore i had a mate hold the back seats the crap under them, the seatbelts, the rear speakers and he had more trouble holding that up that 15kg of my weights.

I will weigh a stock rim and get back to this thread on the difference in wheel weight as im not sure there would be to much gained their either(lost), however suggesting i run gtr rims is riduculous.

Thanks for ur best attempt to cut down my efforts though, ill get the car to the weigh bridge soon and well see how i went.

Give me a number, ill go for 1300kgs and well see who is closer.....

Edited December 30, 2006 by 2630GTS

[AndrewD]

i think you are a fair way off the mark.

I would say you gained 10-15kgs there and even worse is it's un-sprung weight.

then sit back, admire your handiwork and realise it was a bad idea!

Wow Beer Baron,

Your certainly the hypcrit arent you now. For someone who came on and blasted me about not providing helpful advice without attitude you certainly have not fallen far from your own tree!

Give the dude a brake.

And as far as your comment goes about 'unsprung weight' id be more worried about the increased rotational inertia and how this is seen at the engine, given the gearbox reduction. You of all people should know (given your large and knowledgable head) that rotation inertia, for a given cross sectional area and material density, increases by the square of the radius. All of course assuming the c.g location (of the wheel) moves radially outward.

So i say to him, admire his work, its his, hes putting in the effort, while you can talk crap and blow sunshine up your own arse.

[r33_racer]

8-10kg = 1/10th of a second off your laptime...assuming you can drive consistently. So roughly every 80-100kgs removed is equal to 1 second off your consistent laptimes. So if lowdnes was racing my skyline weighing 1300kg and i pulled 80-100kgs out of it his times should automatically drop about 1 second. I dont know about other states...but in qld thats about the average known scale. But weight has always been speeds worst enemy.

[Gts-t]

r33 racer,

thanks for the input man, great to hear from someone with a serious car who track races it alot, might see you out at QR in the future.

[rev210]

one of these will drop a few kgs off the rotational mass and it's cheap too.

http://www.nismo.com.au/pricelists/General...cetailshaft.jpg

[Gts-t]

Heh nice find, ill be getting a single piece made up when i convert the box to z32/r33. May even go the carbon route if it can be done for 2k or under.

I think i will sell my car though, get a car more like beer barons. I mean id love to have a skyline over 1500kgs, with an extra 150kg over the front wheels, and then only have 2.6 litres to move it all around :S

im off to get my sunroof filled in so i can gain .1 second a lap

Edited December 31, 2006 by 2630GTS

[rev210]

carbon $2.1k delivered from ACPT (same guys who do Mines etc.)

[Denver]

i think you are a fair way off the mark.

also, if you are after lightweight and good handling, then turf those 18inch rims. there is no way your 18inch nismos with 18inch tyres would be lighter than the stock 16X6.5 combo. I would say you gained 10-15kgs there and even worse is it's un-sprung weight. also, GTR seats are not lighter than GTST seats. I'd say they are the same, perhaps even slightly heavier. your car is now probably heavier than a stock non-abs, non-sunroof GTST. The rear seats also dont weight 15kgs. maybe 4 kgs each piece.

buy some R32 GTR or R33 GTR wheels

put some good tyres on them

I actually think you right off the mark here..

Stock rims by nature, 99% of the time, are heavy as buggery, stock gt-r and gts wheels are no different here, they weigh a lot, compared to a big buck lightweight rim, say an advan RG, which even in 18x9 form comes in at around 19 pounds/8kg, given a stock wheels weight will be very simular to this, i don't see it as as a loss..

add to that you get a much wider tyre onto the rim, and a lot more lateral grip, the slight bit of extra rotational mass, is a pittance given the much faster lap tims you will get on a circut..

[andylaurel]

if you can afford a GTR face, do it.

alloy guards and alloy bonnet are feather weight... moreso than fibreglass

[Remix-]

Hey mate, Just to give you an idea, I have removed and replaced the following from my RB26DETT R32 GTS-4 Skyline..

All sound deadening

A/C condensor/Compressor and associated plumbing

HICAS solenoid and lines

ABS control unit and lines

All interior carpet

Rear seats, rear seatbelts, rear trimming, rear parcel shelf and rear speakers

Stripped boot out bare, no tools, no spare, no trim, no sound deadening

Fibreglass body kit (skirts/rear bumper)

Fibreglass bonnet

Bride fibreglass drivers seat

The verdict?

It's pretty loud but far from irritating as I enjoy listening to the 26 and being able to hear almost every sound the car makes brings the driving experience a little closer, having the carpet removed doesn't bother me at all - easier to clean and I have nice floor mats! Rear seats? Omg I can't do fully sick bog laps with mates, damn Maybe the half cage in the rear might assist in saving my life one day...

So how does it drive? Like a fricken go-kart and makes the 3 normal (unstripped) GT-R's that I have driven feel very toned down (read: overweight slugs) in terms of response, handling and braking.

At the end of the day, it's your car. Stripping a car will always be a sacrifice in some areas of practicality but with substantial performance orientated gains to be made I am more than happy with my car and wouldn't have it any other way. You just have to weigh up what the car means to you and how serious you are with your driving.

At the end of the day the beast does not exist in the factory trim.

Edited December 31, 2006 by Remix-

[predator]

Any verdict yet? I think you'll get under 1300kg.. If it's a later model and u don't want to remove the extra sound deadening, etc you might struggle to get it too much lower without going those extra steps.

I am pretty sure I remember reading a guy that stripped his 32 out, without the insane panel mods and got it down to low 1200's.. Eventually I'd like to get to close to that level myself. I've just got silly heavy rims at the moment

Low 1200 kg would be pretty damn good for a car that can support engines that can push out 300-400rwhp internally stock. The r32 gts-t (I reckon anyhow) is the best rwd platform there is for the price, without having serious deficiencies in too many areas.. so I think it's a worthy goal to work on the weight aspect.

The S13 can get close to 1000kg stripped, but then again the brakes and getting an rb engine in there is a fiddle. I guess if you had more money to spend to get it right, that's what you'd go for - but they're a different type of car really.

I think it's time some serious r32 & r33 gts were put out there to give a good fight to the 4wd boys on the track that havent spent a gazillion.

Beer baron's just jealous as there is less vital things you can rip out of a GTR