newto350z

Did anyone here try to serious reduce the weight on the Z instead or in adition to buy upgrades? I wonder how much you could save with taking things like Radio, carpets, AC unit and such out and replace the seats with lightweight race seats. I mean who needs a radio in a car like this?
I am thinking about lowering the car, put some nice big wheels on and reduce weight where ever possible. I wonder how much faster 0-60 will be like this.

Vamos_Rafael

iTrader: (18)

Why would u remove AC?!?!?!? Boston has a summer period too lol
Radio? maybe kill all speakers ~30lbs
Spare donut ~40 lbs
Carpets 5 lbs
Install carbon fiber race seats (expensive) saving of ~20-25 lbs per if ya have the power leather less if clothe seats
Expensive forged rims ~10 lbs per rim
Carbon Fiber hood ~30-40lbs?
If ya like weight saving... buy Lotus Elise... cant afford it? buy s2000!

tekk

i think there's a *very* large thread on this someplace...
personally, a cf hood and hatch would be good. also saving weight in the flywheel/clutch/wheels would be good. removing the spare + misc parts from the back should get a little....and a titanium exhaust may save some too but thats expensive.

ideally you want to remove weight from the top of the car and from moving parts in the engine/transmission/wheels/suspension. nismo may even make better suspension arms and what not. i dont know that the gains are that great, but a 3000lb Z would be nice. imo it doesnt make sense to remove things like A/C because then you may as well get another car... but thats me. have fun

bascelik

You can take out about 200lbs without sacrificing radio and AC. But it entails changing clutch (-20), exhaust (-20), headers (-5), cats (-12), brake parts, wheels (-20), battery (-25), plenum (-5), seats (-40), dropping the spare & parts (-36), and a few more minor things.

mojo powered

iTrader: (2)

I'm at 3140 with a quarter tank of gas and I have a touring model.

nismo rims, CF bucket seats, spare tire removed and that is it.

The Z can be lightened quite a bit without sacrificing its comfort. Those leather heated/power seats weigh 47 for driver, 41 for passenger. My seats weigh 11lbs each plus brackets.

davidv

iTrader: (2)

If the car is for racing only, reducing weight makes sense. Weight and performance go hand-and-hand. But for a street legal car, I’m sure that you want some creature comforts.

King Tut

iTrader: (1)

Nope. We have an aluminum hood and some of the carbon fiber hoods are actually heavier. Best way to reduce weight would be remove spare tire, remove passenger seat, replace OEM rotors with lighter rotor hats, and replace the wheels with lighter wheels.

g_torphins

There's a large weight in the boot(trunk) lid
it's there to ease the lowering of the trunk lid.
A few weight concious people in the UK have pulled them off.
Wouldn't larger wheels hurt your 0-60 time by the way?

Clapton9286

Well where is all of this weight in the car? It seems to be rather hefty for a 2 seater..

ActionJackson

iTrader: (1)

The heavily reinforced chasis, suspension is what causes all the weight.

bio911

forget stripping the car apart.. pointless for having a nice car... go buy a crx or something and do it to that. unless ur z was an all out track car then that would be cool

ZlleH

iTrader: (7)

A couple of questions:

1. How much does the touring 18" stock wheel weigh? Compared to the nismo 18"?
2. Wouldn't you want some weight in the back like the spare tire so you have traction when launching?

MY350Z.COM

iTrader: (2)

No, that's when an adjustable supension comes into play.

ZlleH

iTrader: (7)

How about for people that don't have adjustable suspension? Wouldn't we want more weight on the rear wheel? Some people keep 50 pounds of cat litter on purpose to get traction.

rockinbboy

iTrader: (1)

i hope that 1/4 time in your signature is before your mods...

azjimbo

I wish Nissan would have made the Track model a lightweight version of the Z with more HP than the other models. Similar to the Porsche GT3. Maybe a 310-325 hp at about 3000-3100 lbs.

The Brickyard Rat

iTrader: (1)

If your trying to reduce weight why would you add larger wheels?

sentry65

iTrader: (11)

just want to make some points

touring/performance model wheels are about 25-26 lbs each

base/enthusiast wheels are around 24-25 lbs each, but have slightly heavier tires



there's some errors here - know you're just guessing, but here's the facts.

carbon fiber hoods - the wet/cheaper CF hoods won't reduce weight - maybe 1 lb. The dry CF hoods (expensive ones) will reduce weight by about 5-8 or so lbs

stock radio and all speakers weigh in at around 10 lbs. Bose weighs more.

cloth seats weigh about 40 lbs each
leather heated seats weigh about 50 lbs each






my car currently by my estimation weighs about 3004 lbs with 1/4 tank of gas


track model weighs 3225 lbs stock with full tank of gas

headers -15
hf cats -20
nismo exhaust -9
350EVO sway bars +10
koyo radiator +10
SSV manifold -10
SSR wheels +4 (track wheels are 17 and 18 lbs each)
265 and 295 michellin PS2 tires -4 (bigger tires, but lighter than stock)
hawker odyssey battery -20
UR pulley -6
drained wiper fluid -5
tilton clutch -30
removed spare tire/tools -35
removed misc plastic, rear speakers, subwoofer plate, rear strut plastic -9
grounding and hypervoltage kit +2
stillen engine damper and nismo PS cooler +2
1/4 tank of gas - 90
misc stuff/tools in cubbies +4

ind

Replace doors with chain bike lock (-100 lbs), or if you're really worried about the weight use plastic wrap (-101 lbs)



Seriously though, the airbags have to weigh something. But more seriously, why would you want to disembowel such a beautiful car? To gain what, 1 second at the track? Is it really worth it?

Sure, take out the spare tire... only fill it 1/4 tank... that's reasonable. But losing 20 lbs at the expense of your carpets, dash, sound, and cosmetic plastics? Jesus.

kamikaZ

iTrader: (19)

Im surprised that my car is as heavy as it is(3,300 without driver)...I added subs and 19 inch volks, but that was with no spare, less than 1/4 tank, aftermarket headers/cats/exhaust...Interesting =(