Hi,

I've been lurking for a couple of years while I built this; thanks for all the great content to sift through. I've been running it for about a year and it's fairly fast, but still a bit heavy..... hard to lose weight on these; every piece of unneeded sheet metal is gone including the speaker/storage tray, etc

Below is the summary build sheet (pdf) and pics in case it helps anyone else in the throes of building a track car. Please ask if I can answer any questions

 

What have your major weight reduction efforts consisted of?

What are you down to now?

Is there a weight mimimum you cant go below?

The spread sheet is sorta hard to read / conceptulize … maybe sort it by classification?

There may be reasons that I am unaware of - but here are my immediate thoughts…

Are you forced to run TSW wheels? Those have got to be bricks? Have you considered a lighter alternative? I think you listed enkeis on there. Assuming you’re running those?

Are you running lexan in the CF hatch?

Are you / can you run carbon fiber / fiberglass doors?

Are you running a front OEM strut tower brace/bar? Can this be re-fabricated?

Are you running an OEM W brace? Can this be re-fabricated?

Are you running an OEM radiator shroud? Can this be re-fabricated?

What battery are you running?

 

Any issues with the S1 shifter and how long have you been running it?

 

The S1 isn’t for me…… I ran it a few times and went back to h-pattern

It works great, and my son in law likes it better, but I couldn’t get my head around it road racing….. better suited for drifting I expect

its for sale ……

 

I tried it a few times and it wasn’t for me….went back to h pattern

my son In law liked it, but I couldn’t get my head around it….. probably better for drifting

its for sale….

 

Doors are skinned
speaker box, rear upper strut bar, hvac, AC gone
coolant delete
370z HR manifolds/shorty headers
cat delete
lexan rear window
small odyssey relocated behind passenger area

CF doors won’t buy me much since they’re just skins right now
front W bar is a consideration….. it’s heavy

It’s at 2850 now with 1/2 tank fuel w/o me

class dictates a 12:1 weight/HP ratio with some modifiers (w driver)

1.75” x 0.120 8 point cage added a lot of weight back in

car dyno’d at 255 whp on Dynojet…. Just bought the UpRev Tuner cable and am looking for a tuner get a few more HP out of it

thanks for the input

 

Yea - skinned doors is just about the same…

I’m down to 2820lbs and I’m at a point where I am looking to cut 2lbs to 5lbs off the car

W brace is heavy but when you fabricate something to replace it, you’ll save 5-7lbs.

I would look to tune the car yourself. Just play with ignition timing and fuel (only small changes) you will learn quite a bit.

I’m sure I’ll think of more / other things but that’s what I know for now.

 

sick build man. I'll have to check into that build list more and post some questions. where did you get the headlight covers? That 3400# winch can pull the Z on the trailer ok?

 

I’ll let AZ speak for himself (as he’s a SME in the realm) but I bought a 2500lb ATV winch from HF and it does fine - well worth the $60.

The winch rating is ‘hypothetically’ if the weight was hanging straight down and if the cabled is 100% rolled out (caveat - this is how I understand it and the 30seconds of interwebz researched confirmed - but I am not an ‘off-roading rock crawling’ enthusiast by any stretch). When you pull up an incline you really only ‘need’ 20% or 25% of your vehicles weight depending on the incline of your ramps/dovetail.

All that to say, I’ve pulled multiple z33 chassis, a few q chassis, a handful of other vehicles and the winch has done well. Probably the best thing I did was buy the one that had the wireless remote - I can be in the car, outside the car, anywhere and I activate the winch.

 

thats great info James, thanks. That helps alot. I was gonna spend way to much on a 9k winch!

 

Hi,

I ‘gutted’ the HID headlights and base/clear painted them …… 8lbs per headlight saved…..seemed a shame, but ‘oh well’

Winches…… I’m no expert….. that one seemed about right to if I had to drag a broken car into the trailer…… blocks can always increase that

thanks

 

Here are some pics of the diff oil cooler I built….. I have a temp sender to my AIM MXG and it’ll run 290 degrees without the cooler…. kaas 1.5 LSD, 4.08 rear gear

with cooler, 215 degrees

 

Another fav I wasn’t sure of originally is the 1.5:1 steering quickener…… huge benefit on track as I have two rebuilt and limited motion shoulders….. benefits everyone though

 

You're running the pump before the cooler? In the Tilton manual is says specifically not to do that so not to burn out the pump with hot fluid, they highly recommend running the pump after the cooler.

 

THere is something to be said about having a top tier winch like that … if I had the $500 to $800 to spend on it I would. But having the HF is a great alternative.

 

no shame - I did the same thing and also gutted the tail lights and turn signals - Probably not wise for a circuit course but for straightline stuff it doesnt matter. I’m sorta at the point where you have to shave one or two pounds off many things to keep making progress.

 

I'm in the midst of a track-only build. What are your thoughts on the 4.08 final drive on a racetrack?

 

I have the CD009 6sp…… 5th gear is 1:1…. If I were to do it again, I’d go with the 3.90 as I’m having to shift to 5th when I don’t want to….

I used to race a 240z with the 280z 5sp and a 4.38 LSD….. that was an ideal package

 

AZ (on the topic of weight reduction) it’s been a few weeks but I started cleaning up the wiring harnesses in the engine bay and cabin. I was able to take another 10-12lbs of wiring out the car by eliminating wiring that I am not using. Further, I did a wire-tuck and there looks to be another 3 - 4lbs of wiring that is too long and I look to re-make the OEM harness which would probably take another 5lbs off the harness. Not sure where your ECU, harness, wiring stands but it may be an option. Also seeing alot of good things about power distribution modules and considering eliminating the IPDM and simplifying things.

 

Thanks! That's what I was wondering. I have an HR so I get some extra RPMs but, when I looked at the speed/gear, the 4.08 still seemed a tad too short.