TeamSwift

underdrive pulleys are 3-4lbs lighter... correct?

~1100 grams lighter.... so just over 2.2 lbs lighter.

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'94 Suzuki Swift g10 3tech stuff:Port&Polish,225/355 cam,11:1 CR, SS valves,+10 Cam gear,underdrive; K&N intake; LTLSU's Custom racing springs with Monroe struts (2" lower front, 0.5" lower back); 185/55/R14 Kumho Ecsta SPT tires on Eagle 040 rims; Stripped out interior and removed AC system

The underdrive I have is 260gr vs my stock 2KG pulley, so there is some weight.

Dan

I've been thinking of installing side mounted exhaust. It should save a few pounds of pipe that would normally be needed to get an exhaust to reach out to the rear bumper.
Using lighter materials is an option too, but things start getting expensive when you use material like stainless steel or titantium. A ceramic coated cromoly exhaust might be an idea though...


If you have a track, it should be a no brainer to take out the headlights (many competitions require that they're kept covered anyways). The lights are already constructed out of plastic, so there isn't a whole lot you can do to make them lighter, and still have functional lights.

Exterior body panels are open season though. If you have the skills with composites, the hood, quarter panels, doors, hatch and bumpers could all be replaced with CF/glass, and save you a big chunk of weight. I believe the rear bumper is something like 20 lbs. The front is probably the same. I'm betting the exterior parts probably add to about 150 - 200 lbs.


Another member that yanked his A/C noted that the whole thing weighed 42 lbs. It's mentioned a couple pages back in this thread.

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is there anything that can be lightened in the rear undersection around the rear brakes?

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vtek 4 life y0!

I have been contemplating a few things since I recently acquired a '91 Swift to tinker with:
1. using aircraft covering material (model or fullsize aircraft) in place of carefully selected sections of the fenders, hood, q-panels, doors, and roof( posted this in the 1.3 SOHC section under "extreme lightening: just a thought")
2. removing excess flashing from all the cast parts (including the hub carriers)
3. all undercoating and splash gaurds (I think this has been covered here)
4. alloy bolts where possible and skipping a bolt where safe (front fenders?)
5. trimming all excess metal, i.e. where the washer bottle mounts, behind the headlights
6. removing the matal covers from the brake and fuel lines
7. replacing brake and fuel lines with aluminum (aluminum brake lines...safe?)
8. removing all excess plastic from head and taillights

and a few more I can't think of. Anyway just a few more ideas to fuel the fire, if they haven't been covered already.

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96 Metro 1.3 auto, dd
94 VFR 750 Interceptor, 2fast
87 BMW 325is, WAR chip, 3" MAF swap, pnp, cammed, I.E. roller rockers and ss valves.
72 VW Baja Beetle, one crazy ass bug

69 Columbia C36, Home

Filnally got a light weight battery. To make it more feasible, I waited until the stock battery died, which it did over the winter, then bought a DEKA from this place in Coquitlam: http://www.momentummotorparts.com/store/batteries.asp

They don't list the battery separately on the web store but will sell separately if asked.

The Braille lightweight racing battery is a rebadged DEKA, according to those who have compared them. They're quite reasonable at $90CAD/$70US including terminals - under half price of the Braille, which is hard to find in Canada anyway. Because it's sealed, you can relocate it inside the car but I left mine in the stock location for now. Weighs under 12 lbs.

I'll post a pic of the battery in the Swift when a camera becomes available.

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1991 Swift GT 140K, 780kg
2000 Esteem 1.8 GL wagon 140K

What type of Deka is it like this one?

http://www.teamswift.net/album_page.php?pic_id=6173

Its mounted behind the passenger seat, the grey thing. 275CCA seems good enough for what our cars have. It sure beats the 40lbs mounted high under the hood.

Dan

It's hard to tell for sure, but the battery in your car looks a bit bigger than the one in mine. Mine looks like it may be a bit narrower. I didn't stand it up but instead layed it down on its side (the terminals will screw in on the sides as well so that they will stick straight up when the battery is in this position). It allows the weight to be concentrated lower down and allows the use of the stock hold down system using cut-off bicycle quick-release skewers that have hooks bent at one end to replace the stock j-hooks or whatever they are called, which are way too long. As soon as I can get pictures ... maybe somebody will take some at the next meeting.

The absorbed glass mat technology is superior to conventional batteries and will shrug off repeated complete drainages and also tolerate extended storage. Apparently they will store for two years (out of the car) with negligible loss of charge.

People are using these batteries in V6 Corrados with no problems, so our cars should do fine with them, although there is very little reserve capacity if your car does not always start the first time or if you leave the lights on etc.

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1991 Swift GT 140K, 780kg
2000 Esteem 1.8 GL wagon 140K

I bought mine through work where we use them to start big blocks. If they can do that it work really well for me.

Dan

i was sitting at my computer table thinking of what more weight reducing ideas i could come up with,and i stopped and realised i was hiting myself in the head with both of my hands I think there is something wrong with me.

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vtek 4 life y0!

you said it I didn't, the way you keep thinking of wieght loss makes me think you see a fat car or something.

Dan

Okay, it's already been suggested, but I wanted to respond to an earlier post on this thread that I couldn't find...

Weight Reduction Mod - Driver

I started out, when I bought this car in February, tipping the scales at just over 290lbs. Since then, I've been going to a cheap local nutritionist, for the tidy price of $17/week, which includes a weigh-in, blood pressure check, shot of B12 and hcg, and a 7-day supply of Adipex (phentermine).

As of this last week, I'm down to 228 (go me!), a whopping 62 lbs. As far as I can tell, I'm approaching the weight reduction brought on by removing the A/C and back seat, without leaving my kids behind or swelter in the Texas heat.

Moreover, I've started looking into other weight-reduction mods, such as wearing lighter shoes (flip-flops vs work boots remove a total of 8lbs, plus an additional 4oz for socks), gym shorts instead of jeans (levis can be as much as 4lbs), and sleeveless t-shirts. Long sleeves alone can weigh several ounces. I no longer wear underwear, and the reduced clothing means I can run the A/C less.

I've clipped my toenails and fingernails (1.5oz), cut my hair and shaved my back (4.5oz!), and stop to go potty before I leave (3oz-2.5lbs, more if I make the kids go too). I comb my hair, which has reduced the coefficient of drag in the cockpit by 4%, allowing for better airflow inside the car. I've also put my kids in the aerodynamic trailer behind the car, which both reduces vehicle weight, as well as smoothing the car's overall aerodynamic profile somewhat.

I've also had my pinkies and two outer toes amputated, saving almost a full pound. I never used them for anything useful anyhow.

I sit in a wicker composite seat, with a monofilament-woven seatbelt. Gear shift is made of bamboo, which saves another 4lbs, believe it or not. Steering wheel is made of ultra-reinforced tinkertoys, another 12lbs. Tires are bald, and 40,000 miles of tread comes out to about 18lbs total for a set. Doors have been removed, in favor of cargo netting, a whopping 125lbs! No rear hatch, instead a single sheet of plexiglass. Windows have been replaced with clear plastic garbage bags and duct tape, another 2lbs.

So far, you guys have just been skimming the surface....

*evil grin*

don't forget to remove any organ you have 2 of

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Is it just me or does any1 else hate wind?

If i end up with a metro its going to get all of this and some more.

Adding to the list above, i'm going to attempt to make fiberglass front and rear bumper covers, very thin and fragile but ohwell, along with fg hatch(wont be able to open), fg passenger door and fg skin on the driver door. Also cross drilled and slotted brakes drop some weight, then i'de ahve them turned down a little thinner, and have the diamiter turned down (all brakes have a small lip not used) take the rear drums, turn them down as much as possible, drill holes inbetween each fin and grind the fins about half way down. If i can figure out how, chop the top as much as possible, and take the roof panel out and replace it with fg. Either make a plastic hood, or a fg piece that just sits on with hood pins at the corners. My ultimate goal would be to get it down into the low 1100lb range or lower. It will only see the street maybe once a weekend so thats no big problem. the 1/4 panels also could be made into fg (well the skins). You could drill 2" holes along the structure and then to help with strength you could weld or rivet along the seams. IF.. BIG IF here.. you could get away with puttin in a plexi/lexan windshield you could drop quite abit of weight.. Forming them to fit might be a pain, but i have a good idea of how to go about that.

If you are going to be re-building the engine you could lighten and knife edge the crank, get lightweigh connecting rods , lighten them by removing any flash etc and have them all balanced, get box style pistons (very short skirt) and you could probaly lighten those too along with the balance, lighten your flywheel down to about 8#, get the udp and machine part of the face and back off along with a few thousandths of an inch on the outer rings. You could take the stock cam gear and shave some material off of that, i've heard of knife edging cams but not sure on that... get rid off all belt driven accessories, electric water pump.

If you really wanna go wild you could get your tires shaved.. or just burn them down to desired sized.
I know i'll think of more

For you guys trying to cut weight, here's some info for you. According to Chassis Engineering by Herb Adams, reducing weight at engine rotating speed has 15 times the effect of removing dead weight. Removing weight at axle speed has 3 times the effect of removing dead weight. So if you lose a pound on your flywheel, clutch, etc., it would be like losing 15 pounds of dead weight. Losing a pound on your brake disks would be like losing 3 pounds of dead weight. That adds up quick, especially after removing all the other weight. Of course, my suzuki is an off toad toy, so weight reduction don't mean too much to me.

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1987 Suzuki Samurai 1.3 g13a 4x4, getting toyota axles soon!

1998 Chevy Blazer 4.3l 4x4

what is the CCA (cold cranking amps) on a stock battery?

12vs40lbs is a big weight savings, especially if then placed lower and inside the car. 28lb savings and lowers the center of gravity.

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I have also been looking for lightweight steering wheels, but can't find actual weights, only the word 'lightweight' which doesnt help.

What is the weight of a stock steering wheel? what do you think can be saved with an aluminum, carbon fiber, etc. steering wheel?

the weight of the stock steering wheel is the big question to see if its alot and can be lighter.

I haven't measured anything yet, but there is very noticable difference between the weight of a stock steering wheel, and something like an aftermarket MOMO wheel. The hub and frame of the stock wheel are made entirely of welded steel, and quickly adds up to a few pounds. An aftermarket MOMO wheel has a sheet aluminum frame, which is laminated with wood to form the rim. The steering hub is made of steel, but that's more than offset by the considerably lighter wheel.

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stock MK1 turbo forsa=3.5 lb.

stock MK1 sprint turbo=3.5 lb

stock MK2 GTI 4.5 lb

But I don't know how accurate my scale is.....

These ideas are getting out of control. I manage to shed alot of weight out of my car, beyond that it was no longer worth it.

I took out the crash zones in both bumpers(so they were just skins), light battery, all interior panels removed, dash removed, unused wires fromthe harness removed, every bolt or not doing anything gone, smaller and lighter tires, lighter seat, and pretty much everything else that I could think of to remove.

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Not very fast, but fun.

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2105148

Do you recall what the car weighs now?

thanks

I have no idea what it weighed. Maybe around 1,600 Lbs.

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Not very fast, but fun.

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2105148

Thanks for the reply.

Yeah, I think there comes a point of no return eventually. Taking out non-functional A/C or even functioning A/C in an environment which you'll never use it is a good idea. Going to the trouble of making fiberglass replacement panels to replace the stock metal isn't. If it's even possible to make a lighter-weight FG piece, it's going to be too thin to install without breaking. I can almost guarentee it. Because the stock panels (at least on my MK2) are so thin that they are about as light as they can get, regardless of material.

Even if you could drop 5 lbs off of every panel (which is a ridiculously large assumption), you'd only end up dropping maybe 40 lbs, and for the cost and trouble, you wouldn't even notice the difference. After all the other options are exhausted, it's time to start focusing on the little things to make more power. Though again, the ROI gets smaller and smaller with that too.

I can feel the difference with just the passenger seat out, and it weighs 32 lbs.

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