I am very keen on reducing mass as a way of improving the performance of my 300. This is very satisfying because unlike mods to increase power, reducing mass should make the car MORE reliable and MORE fuel efficient and FASTER!! WIN, WIN, WIN ! BUT I would never reduce mass if it meant losing comfort or useful accessories. A 300 is not designed to be a lightweight car, but extra mass is surely undesirable.

 

So far, all I have done is take the rear seats out and rear boot blind. They added up to 20kg ! But I am going to add a Stereo sytem which obviously will weigh something.

 

My question is...are there any other areas where weight savings can be made ? I intend to buy superlite wheels at some point so will save some there. I have been told the standard rear spoiler is heavy and will get rid of that at some point. Performance exhaust should be lighter than standard ?

The headlight glass? Looks really thick and heavy ? Is it? Can they be replaced with plastic lenses?

I think you're onto a winner there. I'm surprised other people dont do it.

 

I've thought of it but dont really want to loose any of the comforts either.

 

I'd have thought you could get rid of the HICAS - I will if mine breaks.

 

 

What about the spare tyre, compressor and jack. Losing the airbox and fitting an induction kit will net you a couple of lb's, what about fitting fiberglass or composite front wings.

What if I get a puncture ?

U dumped your spare tyre ?

Better still,geta SWB,9 inches shorter than a 2+2,80kg lighter,0.5 of a sec quicker= less mass. TonyC.

Do SWB's handle as well as 2+2's ?

Note that F1 cars have longer wheelbases than SWB's - must be a reason.

Must admit never driven a 2+2,would love to, just to see what difference there is, must admit bein in a SWB seems very much like a go-kart on steroids,seems to handle better than any car i've had even me old 4x4 ford was not this good,could be down to the AVON ZZ1's bein very grippy,who knows.TonyC

Usually, people who dump the spare tyre have a can of 'tyre slime' which you spray inside the tyre when punctured and it seals the tyre and i think...re inflates it, that last bit might be bollocks though.

Does as good a job as the spacesaver anyways!

Why is a Ferrari F40 only 478bhp but is close to 2 seconds faster 0-60. A 500bhp Z wont be that fast. Its becuase the the car had carbon panels and made from a tubing chassis (forgot the techinical term).

Glass weighs a lot and the Z has loads. Very big front windscreen and rear screen and we all know how much the T-Tops weigh. The only way to get that lighter is to buy thiner glass, and that will cost loads.

But reading TwinTurbo.net one night and I saw a good aticle that some one wrote about such a thing, and if you remove some weight from the rear of the car you should remove the same from the front to keep the balance which Nissan spend so much time getting as perfect as possible.

 

He also said through experience that making the rear lighter made the 0-60 go up because wheel spin occured too easly.

 

The ZX has 55%/45% weight distribution, which is actually very good and is one reason why the ZX handles like it does. If you take out the rear seats and get rid of all the HICAS from the rear, it will shift the weight distribution to maybe 60%/40% which isnt that good. Heavy front and light back will cause bad acceleration and oversteer.

 

But where do you stop or what becomes too expensive? Replacing windows with think glass, will be very expensive and may save a few KG. replacing body panels with carbon fiber ones, which really only means doors, front wings and tailgate, because the rest is fiberglass, and the bonnet is made of aluminim to keep the weight down. Take out the front seats and replace them. Leather is heavy and the front seat weighs a ton becuase of the electrics. Strip the paint and only apply one coat. Rally cars do and they reckon it takes about 5-7kg off too. Remove spare wheel and have to call out if you get a puncture. I've used my spare. Hell lets get rid of the heavy fat tyres and put some thin 14's on. Hehehe Going too far there

 

But what is going too far. We would be sacrificing comfort, common sence and sometimes maybe safty.

 

Personally taking rear seats out makes the car look horrid. I had mine out for a few days doing the ABS and I hated it.

 

Just my 2 pence

 

Stuart

Lose weight on yourself

Your talking about 20 kilos. you need to shift weight to the point of an entire person

Dump the front seats 45 kilos or something

get sparco roadsters they weigh 6 kilos each.

get rid of hicas about 15 kilos all in i think.

All your sound deadening, and you still are wasting your time as the chassis is very heavy.

ps according to the zbook the 2+2 is a better handeling car.

 

But what is the point unless your car is realyl modified as they are not really designed for this. They are grand touring cars.

the lightest ive heard of a zed is a 2seater with the works stripped out comming in at 3300lbs.

Erm, you've lost 20kg already? WOW thats 1%!!! Because the car is so heavy in the first place, you have to lose a hell of a lot to actually make any noticable difference percentage wise - now if you lost 20kg off a caterham or something then thats completely different... I think you'd get better performance just fitting an uprated air filter to be honest - and we all know how little they add in terms of performance

 

CheerZ,

 

Andy

Take the out the cats, replace the stock exhaust and fit lightweight front seats.

 

I would imagine that the lightweight wheels and tyres would make the most impression. Also lightening the flywheel if thats possible/desirable on a 300.

LMAO

 

Ahhhhh you guys kill me

 

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Z ya

 

Nico91TT

 

 

God is coming ...and he dont have stock turbos . . .

dont want to sound dumb, but why ask about reducing weight and then ask in the general forum about large sound systems? Sound is the biggest weight killer of all.

Because I'm going to build as light a sound system as I can (reduced mass without compromising sound quality by locking speaker enclosure to sides of car).

 

If you'd actually READ my notes, I said reducing weight WITHOUT compromising comfort/accessories (ie. sound system)

When I had my rear spoiler replaced, I was told by SE Nissan that there is a ballast weight in the tail to stop the boot raising up too quickly - they removed it. It really isn't necessary and I have lived without it now for over 6 months. This on it's own saves a few pounds - not sure how to get to it without removing the rear spoiler though!

 

Steve

Originally posted by Nelson MainFella:

Because I'm going to build as light a sound system as I can (reduced mass without compromising sound quality by locking speaker enclosure to sides of car).

 

If you'd actually READ my notes, I said reducing weight WITHOUT compromising comfort/accessories (ie. sound system)

im not being stroppy just want to clarify lol.

and in that case you ownt be able to do it i dont believe, as if you start using perspex ect on sub enclosures the way the sound resonates of it is not as good as using plywood for example. And any decent sub weighs in at 10 plus kilos so youd lose the point of getting rid of rear seats ect.

you cant have your cake and eat it im afraid.

 

 

I've taken rear seats out because they are not very useful AND it allows loads of room for nice stereo installation. The saving in weight is a bonus -even if it will be replaced by a stereo system which will weigh about the same or more. If I left the seats and put a pukka stereo in the boot, the car would weigh more than what I'm going to do AND the stereo would not be optimised for the car. Instead of compromise, compromise, I WIN, WIN.

 

Who mentioned perspex [you] ? I will use wood probably but only enough for stability and plenty of very light sound insulation.

 

Do your homework first mate because I doubt you would even notice a difference unless you really stripped the car to the bone like a proper race car which would mean losing the aircon, hicas, power windows etc etc. If you want 'free' horsepower then fit an ud pulley and ally flywheel, you will get a noticeable gain on acceleration.

Paul

What is an underdrive pulley as I asked the guy at the garage and he didn't know - he thought it might be a very tight belt ?

 

I know there's only so much weight (small amount) you can lose without either losing useful features/comforts, making the car unsafe or costing a fortune. But as Tesco say, every little helps !

 

Ferraris and Lambo's etc. are built for comfort AND (relative)lightweight - just want to get a bit closer to their ideal.

I agree wholeheartedly with the principle. Losing weight is the better way to go, but on a Z its not easy. I have replaced the rear spoiler, taken out the spare (30lbs), removed the EGR valve, AIVs and associated plumbing & solenoids, airbox, cats & std exhaust etc. My cooling system is modded so carries less coolant. If u were to put it all in a bag it would weigh quite a bit even if U add on the weight of replacement parts. Next is to replace the std front seats - drivers seat weighs a ton.

 

The performance difference is staggering - er - only kidding - it's marginal at best. But the spare is over 2 stone which is equivalent to a 2 year old sitting on your rearspoiler as u go round a corner. (don't try this at home!)

I'm only a little bloke and ony weigh about 8 stone so is my Z faster than all yours??!!!

 

Oh and you could try putting a fivers worth of petrol in at a time instead of £50 that will save shitloads of weight!

 

[This message has been edited by b19rks (edited 02-07-2002).]

I've often wondered this myself (weight loss).

 

To do it properly, will take some dedication and cash.

 

Doors are very heavy, when I took mine off (to paint car) I noticed this. They are also heavy in the worst possible location, the extreme sides of the car. This does your direction changes no good at all .

 

Solution? Carbon Fibre replacements. BUT.. how much money??? Not sure, but it's gonna be expensive. I can get the number to a C/F specialist if anybody wants???

 

Tailgate. Replace with C/F

 

Wings. Replace with C/F

 

Glass. This is all very high up in car, increasing height of centre of gravity. Replace all this with polycarbonate, all the touring cars/rally cars do.

 

Bonnet. Already aluminium, so not much weight to be saved here. C/F if you still have money left

 

Engine. As somebody said earlier, lots of weight to be saved here. I have skimmed 1KG off my flywheel already, now down to 9KG, proper chromoly flywheels are about 6KG.

Crank, I'm sure a couple of KG could be saved off this, by machining the webs a small amount.

Pistons. Nice lightweight pistons x6.

Con-rods. Did anyone say forged titanium???

Underdrive pulleys. Stock front pulley assembly weighs 10KG, underdrive aluminum has got to be 2-3KG max.

Block. What's going on with a cast iron block??? Nobody heard of aluminium?? The heads are.

 

Wheels. Rays Engineering/Volk Racing do some sexy hollow spoke, forged magnesium wheels, £££££ though.

 

If this little lot does nothing else, it should make your wallet lighter LOL!!

 

Why can't it all be as simple as Gran Tourismo 3???

 

As Colin Chapman once said "For speed, add lightness" RIP.

 

Robert.

 

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I only use the brakes so I can accelerate all over again.

 

[This message has been edited by dunk300zxtt (edited 05-07-2002).]

It's nice to eavesdrop on so many people so keen on their Zeds (must be love) but there are times I do wonder a little why go to such extremes?

 

As Warren said, they're grand touring cars - not bare bones sports cars. If you want a Westfield, great - buy one. And a little bit of suitable modding will help your Z get closer to your ideal.

 

But IMHO trying to make the car into something it isn't is like trying to push butter up a porcupine's back passage with a red-hot needle. Or, as I genuinely once heard in Jury's in Dublin - if you want to go there, I wouldn't start from here, Sorr.

 

If you want a rip snorting Z, try starting from a 240Z or 260Z. Anyone who has seen Big Sam knows it's a full-on sports car (actually it's a race car) in a way that a 300ZX will never be unless you have Steve Millen's skills and budget!

 

As far as replacing panels goes, remember the factory already did this with the aid of a Cray (yes their work is nearly 15 years old but I would rather trust a factory development programme that old than "lets belt this bit of carbon fibre until it looks the same"). Here's a list (damn, must get a scanner sometime....)

Cowl panel - polyphenylene oxide

Bonnet - aluminium

Front finisher panel - SMC

Bumper outer - GRP

Front bumper armature - aluminium

Splash shields - polypropylene

Wing liner - polyethelene

Cat insulator - aluminium

Fuel Filler Lid - Nylon

Rear bumper outer - polyurethane

Bumper armature - aluminium

 

Also, please don't forget the car is a welded steel unitary body/chassis - so replacing any structural component panel with something less strong is not good!

 

To quote the bible again (300ZX - The Enthusiast's Companion. Source for the above also. Buy a copy - it's a great source.)

 

"A very rigid structure was important not only for a feeling of solidity and the reductsion of shakes, rattles and vibrations but also to give a firm basis for the new multi-link suspension. There would little point in having a complex suspension set-up which required precise alignment of its various elements if the bodyshell itself was flexible."

 

The result of their fiddling with the Crays was that "compared with its predecessor, the new 300ZX turned out to have a 35% increase in bending rigidity and 20% in torsional rigidity. The T-bar version of the 300ZX is better than the previous hardtop."

 

When I was interested in MGs and similar stuff, true enough that an enthusiast with a bit of engineering knowledge could improve the factort car by all the usual stuff - lightening here, upgrading there, tuning somewhere else. My old Midget had a Lenham fibreglass front like the Le Mans cars to keep weight down etc etc etc.

 

Cars like Westfields (and I am sure many others as well) also benefit from this sort of attention.

 

But I would be very wary of making big changes to a Z and expecting to make it a "better" car without having access to serious budget like the race car preparers or the factory itself.

 

But hey - it's your car so do whatever makes you feel good. Just please don't have over high expectations that a few weekends throwing things out of the car will make a noticeable difference.

 

(Blimey - that went on for a bit didn't it. Oops - better go down the pub then. )

Thanx 4 the info.

 

How much would polycarbonate windows cost? Would they have different effects to glass with regard to light reflection etc.[spectral properties] ?

Originally posted by Nelson MainFella:

Thanx 4 the info.

 

How much would polycarbonate windows cost? Would they have different effects to glass with regard to light reflection etc.[spectral properties] ?

 

 

Polycarbonate isn't really that expensive (don't go to B&Q though ) for flat sheets, the cost comes in making compound curves, I.E windscreen. Another issue is that polycarbonate is quite soft in comparison to glass. It scratches quite easily but the upside is thieving bar stewards will find it extremely difficult to break your windows

 

HTH

 

Robert.

 

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I only use the brakes so I can accelerate all over again.