Capable of Weight Savings

5 Lug Nuts
35 Rims
Tires
10 Brake Rotors
Front Strut Bar
Suspension
10 Driveshaft

Hood
Trunk
15 Battery
Intake
5 Engine Pulleys
10 Downpipe
20 Cat-Back Exhuast

15 FlyWHeel & Clutch

125 Total

25 Spare and Jack and Assorted plastic trimming and such???

150 Total

 

Stock Enkei rim weights 24lbs

 

It's interesting to see where the different cars saved weight .. for instance the stock STi wheels are 17 lbs each .. but the trunk and wing are heavy.

 

On the Lancer end. One could just call Rob from Road Race and ask him about the weight reduction on his drag Lancer.

 

Has anyone here actually weighed their car. Mine in autocross trim with the stock wheels and 3/8 tank of gas is 3070lbs . And yes, I actually weighed it.

 

Ok, I fully understand the realities of weight vs HP....but with all that money you've spent on exotic Titanium coilovers (was the stock handling that bad?) and removing functional aerodynamics, spending thousands on rims when the stockers are at 18lbs (could save 5 lbs each by going with Volk CE28N and retain strength)....etc, etc

What is this going to yield at the track? What will a 200lb lighter EVO do over an EVO that has simply upped boost, or changed ECU or even exhaust?

I can see the spare removal (keep a can of fix flat around), but everything else on this car is a bit silly unless you're gonna be a trailer queen.

Those are my heavy opinions =)

 

At the track ( real track ) not a small strip of concrete, much better handling! better gas mileage, less strain on the car, especially the clutch, and tires.

Light weight is so much more beneficial than power. Next would be to find some carbon fiber pieces to improve the aero of the car.

Ever notice how most race cars make near stock horse power, but are much much lighter and have changed aero packages?

WRC cars are limited to 300hp and have the worst conditions to race in, but manage to be blindingly fast..

 

one of the lightest exhaust is the Fujitsubo Super Ti. One piece full titanium cat back exhaust (unlike many exhausts which are two piece) and weighs only 5kg (11-12 lbs). It's JASMA certified meaning it's quiet (less than 96db) and designed for high end power. Fujitsubo makes a few exhausts for low end, mid end and high end power. If I save enough, I'll definately get this unit. I'm still waiting for a price quote from godspeed and gruppe-s.

 

Coming from my Camaro background (and having done no EVO racing yet) I'll throw out a few things that might work.

is the stock exaust manifold cast iron? if so, toss it for a lightweight tubular header.

How about the A/C, you don't need that on a racecar! Yank it

Same goes for ABS, who needs that stuff. Pull it!

Just have enough washer fluid in the tank to mist the intercooler before each run, a gallon of fluid will weigh about what water does, almost 9 pounds per gallon. Same goes for gas, don't drag with a full tank.

If you are drag racing only, maybe you should pull off the swaybars too, that works great for RWD cars - don't know about AWD though.

 

I figured out a while back that my car in autocross trim is probably about 125 pounds lighter than the standard curb weight, and I'm not doing much... I'm autocrossing in Stock class, so there's not a lot of weight reduction techniques I can actually get away with.

I broke this down as follows:

Enkei 17x8 RPF1 wheels with Hoosier 245/40ZR17 tires, secured with Zenki forged aluminum lug nuts. About 10 pounds at each corner. 40 pounds total reduction.

Removal of spare tire, jack, related tools, and floor mats. About 25 pounds total reduction.

Running with just over 1/4 tank of fuel. About 60 pounds total reduction.

 

a 10% reduction in weight yields the following:

11% more stopping power per lb
11% more contact patch per lb
11% more hp per lb

in addition the ride will be comparably stiffer b/c you have the same spring rate with fewer lbs riding on it

You will get better gas mileage ... etc ... etc

so my 300lb lighter STi will stop harder, accelerate faster, corner harder, and be easier on parts ... see the benefit?

it actually yields less benefit per dollar at the drag strip .. but at the road course there is no way to get better bang for the buck ... try getting all those gains without reducing the weight and see how much it costs you ... plus the fact that I WILL be increasing the power as well ... and the braking power .. etc etc

I find ABS incredibly useful

 

According to shiv:
Rear wiper w/ motor: 3lbs
Rear bumper beam: 17lb
Front bumper beam: 13lbs

That's not the things I will lighten up on though.

BTW I'm amazed by the size of that battery compared to the one I had in the 6 evertime I open the hood...

 

HAHAHAHA!

 

who makes a rear battery kit? i know that a couple pf vendors are interested, but i haven't seen one yet?

 

The stock hood is 22 or 23 lbs. I read where someone went to put on a carbon fiber hood and actually gained a pound because the stock one is already aluminum.