I have a track model but haven't pulled the cover to look at the "suspended" weight but I'm sure it's there based on the other posts. However, what caught my attention from the other posts is that the "ballast" is suspended. Why suspend a ballast mass - doesn't make any sense, unless ......

I'm going to throw out a potentially crazy idea on what this maybe for. For any of you mechanical/vibration engineers you'll know what I'm referring to. There's a clever vibration isolation concept called a tuned mass absorber. It works on a coupled mass principal where if you suspend a small mass on a larger vibrating mass and "tune" the small suspended mass to a specific frequency one can detune the larger vibrating mass. I wonder if the rear hatch has a natural frequency that Nissan fixed with this simple TVA. I'm guessing it's tuned to somewhere in the 20 to 50 Hz range based on the 1.5# which is getting into the lower end of the acoustic range. For the you that have removed it listen for any "acoustic" booming that you didn't notice before. I maybe all wet, but maybe not. If they needed ballast why not place it at the hatch edge where there's more leverage.

 

Yeah, either that or they just tried to make the hatch close easier.

 

I haven't looked at the weight, but I'm hearing that it's suspended by two rubber arms on each side. Maybe that's so that, when the hatch pops open initially, the weight is supposed to continue moving upward with enough inertia and force that it pops the hatch open the rest of the way (to solve the opening problem - only it doesn't work very well).

just a thought.
WayneTN

 

I have an '03 Track and it had the weight. Here it is removed.

 

Hey BoostTed,

I recently had a wing put on my Z too... Do the little shocks that hold the hatch in the open position hold your hatch up? Seems like the weight of the wing is too much and the hatch won't stay up on its own.

Anyone know if stronger replacement shocks for the hatch are available? Thanks.

 

The shocks hold the hatch up fine. If your wing is heavier than the nismo wing then I can see why it might not be able to hold it up.

 

man i dunno, that kind of worries me. I had a nismo spoiler i was going to be putting on my car shortly after i took delivery so i went to take off the weight like everyone was saying. I most definately did not have the weight in there though(It was visible where it should have been, like in the pic posted earlier in this thread). I dont have a factory spoiler if that helps. Maybe it was just a fluke in my car, but either way thats kind of odd.

 

bumped from the dead.... going go attempt this very soon, do you just pop off the hatch panel with a flat head to get to the weight?

 

Yes, start somewhere on the panel . . . they just pop right out. They used clips to secure the panel. Be careful pulling it out so you don't break the clips.

 

Has anyone else had trouble opening the hatch on cold days? I pop the hatch open lift all the way up and the damn thing nearly came crashing down on my head! It was only on cold days though, normal days it opens up, and stays up, just fine

 

Ya I've since referred to it as ghost hatching, damn thing klobbered me the one day...

 

I never knew about this. I have the blitz wing. No problems. 12 lb weight reduction sounds ok though. That's like 1 HP.

 

Maybe you didn't read all the posts above, but it isn't 12lbs. The only one I saw and weighed myself was less than 2lbs, but my 35th Anniv. didn't have one, probably because it came with the aero package (spoiler). And 12lbs only equals 1HP in Cambodia.

 

thought i would update.

my 04 touring hatch weight, came in weighing in at 2.48 lbs with screws of course.

-J

 

I had the factory spoiler with weight.

 

I searched my car for it last month (no spoiler) and the weight was not there. Looked empty just like the pic posted in the first page of this thread.