don't fuel up your gas tank

 

Reposted from 6mt.net, I've read this over many time and my previous post took from what I thought was most practical. Also, anyone with 19" Forged Rays should probably just keep their wheels. They're lighter than 350z 17"s.

"Here are some weight reductions options (loosely taken from al503, Russ3Z, Dr Dave, and Eagle1 and edited into 1 single post):
Some weight reduction suggestions from $0 out of pocket to a lot of $$$ in very rough order.
- Remove the plenum and battery cover. ~4 lbs. (3520 lbs)

- Remove the spare tire and associated tools (you'll never need it UNTIL after you take them out.) ~45 lbs. (3475 lbs)

- Remove the back seat if you never use the rear seat, and don't mind how it looks inside without it, remove it. It'll save you about 36 lbs. (3439 lbs)

- Replace the OEM front seats: The Sparco Milano seats dropped about 80lbs here, and they not only are comfortable with their adjustable rake backs and adjustable lumbar features, but you do not go sliding all over the place on a track or in tight corners, so this allows you to relax your shoulders and legs and concentrate on working pedals and steering, rather than bracing yourself, so your control inputs are more precise and smooth and quick. (3359 lbs)

- Replace OEM battery with a lightweight battery. You have a couple of choices here. Go with a lightweight battery from Optima and save about 11 lbs. Go with a super lightweight Odyssey and you can save more than 20. More importantly, you're reducing weight in the nose of the car. (3339 lbs)

- Replace the OEM pulleys. You can save about 5 lbs of rotational weight. Rotational weight is the best to get rid of as each lb you remove you get to multiply. I've heard of everything from x2 to x7. (3334 lbs)

- Replace the OEM exhaust. GReddy SP2 will save you about 21 lbs. A TI single exhaust (y-pipe back) like the JIC can save you about 55 lbs. Cost is an issue here as you will probably have to spend approximately $1200. A hybrid steel/TI single exhaust will save you about 35-40 lbs and split the difference in cost. (3279 lbs)

- Replace OEM flywheel and clutch. You can go absurdly light here saving anywhere from 11 lbs with the Nismo to close to 30 lbs with the lighter ones like the Tilton, however, you may experience "chatter" while idling once the OEM flywheel is replaced. Again, this is rotational weight, which is multiplied and its in the nose of the car. (3249 lbs)

- Replace OEM rims and tires. Lightweight 18" rims can weigh as little as 17 lbs each. The OEM rims and tires are around 24 lbs each. That's a total weight reduction of 49 lbs. The tires tested in C&D differed in weight by up to 3 lbs. That could be an additional 12 lbs of rotational weight multiplied. Pilot sport PS2's are 22 lbs each which are lighter than the RE050A's. (3188 lbs)

- Lightweight rotors. You can get Stoptech rotors and replace the Brembos that will save you a total of around 10 lbs. of rotational weight. (3178 lbs)

- Replace OEM components with Carbon Fiber. I'm hesitant to list carbon fiber as the weight savings in the hood and rear deck is very little (compared to the cost) but you could probably save about 10 to 15 lbs. The stock aluminum hood is already very light. You'll save more weight with a lightweight battery at 20% of the cost of a decent CF hood. If you're doing it for both the weight and looks, not a bad mod. Expect to pay $500+ for a good quality CF hood. CF Door on the otherhand, will save you about 35lbs on each side. (3093 lbs)

So, if you take the average of the weight savings and using a x4 for the rotational weight, you can effectively drop around 500 lbs and most of the vehicle still appears somewhat stock (even the interior save for the seats.) Lets say the stock coupe weighs 3500 and has 298 hp. That’s a power-to-weight ratio of 11.82. (Each pony has to motivate 11.82 lbs.) If you reduce the weight of the coupe to 3093, your power to weight is 10.37. For an idea of what that means the BMW M3’s power-to-weight ratio is about 9.8.

Besides the improvements in acceleration, you’ll also get these side effects (benefits):
1. Better fuel economy and longer tire life.
2. Better skidpad performance.
3. Better braking.
4. Less wear and tear for the car as a whole. "

 

^I've read that before. Great tips! I would probably do just about everything, minus the back seat. It all adds up. But remember what someone said earlier, making the back end lighter than it already is has negative side effects. So it all depends on what you want to get out of the weight reduction! Wonder what weight reduction and 3.7 gears would do for the 1/4 mile?

 

I picked up my coolant pipes back from the welder yesterday, so ill b sending them off to get powder coated sometime this week. Earls Perform-o-flex hose is also ordered as well as nickel plated an10 fittings for the new crossover pipe. I also already picked up an HR motor thermostat housing, which doesn't have the oil cooler coolant return (one less thing to weld shut) and a new oil filter barb which will allow me to eliminate the oil pre heater/cooler sitting between the block and filter. Well on my way with this

 

Been looking into this myself a lot because I don't want to go nuts with the engine mods. I bought a set of ASA rims and tires which helped alot in the braking and made the car quicker responding. The ASA's are one of the lightest rims you can get from tire rack, including the BBS's and Oz racing wheels. I also bought a lighter exaust and removed the full sized spare wheel first. Then I looked into Carbon fiber parts. Even with the CF you won't lose much weight in the hood and trunk area. the factory hood is light to begin with so idk if that would be enough to justify the cost.

So I've been researching other mods for a while and one of the best ideas i have so far is lossing the factory seats for some lighter ones along with taking out the rear seats. If you do actually do that keep me posted because i'd like to know how much you can save by ditching the power/heated seats. a specific weight on them seems to kinda hard to come by...

 

I completely agree about the hood, its all aluminum and going CF has absolutely no merit in weight. Unless you are going for a vented one purely for the purpose of improved cooling there really is no point.

I actually got a chance to plant myself in some Recaro Pole Positions the other week and my God ... sex...just less wet, super comfy, and they look great. So those will def be in my future and being that they are fixed back I'll remove the back seats because... well you can't really get to them with a fixed back race seat. IIRC those were 17lbs each and our stock seats are about 45-50 lbs each.

 

Remove the ac unit! Heavy ****
Get cf hood and trunk

 

If you are really looking to lose weight remove the compression foam from your front and rear bumpers. My buddy spinallday got an aftermarket poly front bumper and it dropped almost 30 lbs....

 

Maybe you're talking about a sedan, assuming they're different....but on my coupe, I had the foam out while installing my Nismo bumper, and there's no way in hell there's 30lbs. worth in there. I had about 5-10lbs TOPS. I kept mine in....it adds rigidity to the bumper cover and can really help in a fender bender.



Aside from being ridiculous and stripping all the creature comforts (stereo, a/c, interior panels, carpet, rear seats, etc.) from your car which doesn't seem feasible if you own an Infiniti to begin with....the biggest things that come to mind for me would be aftermarket exhaust, racing seats, and a "good" aftermarket/lightweight wheel/tire combo. Other than those things...most everything else will be trivial. CF hood or trunks really don't save a whole lot of weight over our OEM ones...you're talking single digit differences. I guess a whole bunch of little things would add up to a more substantial number....but still, you're not likely to cut the weight enough to actually feel a difference on the road/track unless you go ***** to the wall and turn your Infiniti into a track queen.

 

No offense to your weight (as I know nothing about it), but has anyone ever tried dieting? In all seriousness. People try to find the most random things to take off even though they do minimal weight reduction while one could just exercise and diet and lose 10-15+ lbs, for free! Faster car+better body=more women=success.

 

LOL....that sounds silly initially but is actually a great point. Considering most americans are overweight, one would have to assume atleast a few of the people in this thread could afford to lose some weight. 15-20lbs off your belly is the same as 15-20lbs off your car theoretically.

 

This is the motivation i need to intensify my workout!!! Why so skinny... BECAUSE RACECAR!!

 

3093lbs sounds good to me lol

 

Is this guys still around? This thread is 2yrs old. If he is he can go carbon fiber trunk, hood and fenders. That would make a huge difference in weight. But a good work out is very important. Can loose some lb there.

 

how about losing a few pounds to add to total weight reduction? haha i'm just kidding. best of luck to your plan!