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Race Diet 1G GSX...

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#101 ·
from what I've been told, I may be wrong, but you remove the window, take off the door, drill out the spot welds, cut the crash beam in half so your able to get it out of the door and then put everything back together. oh another thing I did for weight reduction was completly remove the hood latch mechanism for hood pins and gutted the underside of the hood (all the bracing)
 
#102 ·
I had to remove the doors to it.
There is a series of spot welds on the hindge side as well(reason for door removal).
I didn't pull the window or any inside door components besides the wiring for the power locks. You can see where I enlarged the hole in the rear so I could squezze my arms in to do the piano wire. I did a set with power windows/locks and manual windows/locks. Unfortunately the power door set was destryed...the driver side was smashed in an accident and I caved the passenger side in during a little temper tantrum.
I orginally tried to do it with a grinder air(3") and electric(4") unsuccesfully. They were to akward to move around inside the door and I was too lazy to remove any components. The plasma cutter is much more versitile and can access tighter spots. I did 85% of my cutting weight reduction with the plasma cutter and reccomend one to anyone who does alot of metal work, it is well worth the money. I have a Hobart unit I purchased from Harbor Frieght and it has worked flawlessly for years.

BTW the hood latch/support/cable removal is worth ~15lbs
 
#106 ·
Havn't read the entire thread so hopefully this hasn't been mentioned, but what are you running for wheels and driveshaft? Rotating weight is CRITICAL to going fast, rule of thumb is 10lbs of rotating weight = 100lbs of static weight (meaning, shit that don't turn ;) ).

Some lightweight wheels and a 1 peice aluminum driveshaft, although probably only saving 10 or 20 lbs total, could be good for as much as two tenths in the quater.

If it comes time to spend bucks on lightweight parts, skip the carbon hood and racing seat, go straight for spinning stuff. Much more value for your go fast dollar :)
 
#107 ·
I dont know If I'd touch a 1 peice DS on these cars, But I would eliminate the first two sections, which I think I can have made up for about $350 if not a little less at a local DS shop. and as far as wheels, whenever I have the cash I'll be going with Weld Prostars or Draglites, both are very light. great ideas, but as far as spending that kind of money I would rather spend it on go fast parts right now. but when the time comes those are exactly the kind of things that I plan on buying.
 
#108 ·
NitrousPete said:
Rotating weight is CRITICAL to going fast, rule of thumb is 10lbs of rotating weight = 100lbs of static weight
Click to expand...
I agree completely about rotational weight. Wheels, tires, driveshaft, flywheel, balance shafts. All these things rotate (some faster than others).

That rule of thumb is not really accurate, there is know way to compare on one to the other. For rotational inertia we care about the moment of inertia for each part (high for wheels low for drive shaft) and the rotational speed (high for balance shafts, low for wheels). Also the wheel only accelerates 1 time on a 1/4 mile run, the engine/flywheel/balance shafts go through 3 runs from 4k to 7k; they are more important.
 
#109 ·
thegreatms said:
I agree completely about rotational weight. Wheels, tires, driveshaft, flywheel, balance shafts. All these things rotate (some faster than others).

That rule of thumb is not really accurate, there is know way to compare on one to the other. For rotational inertia we care about the moment of inertia for each part (high for wheels low for drive shaft) and the rotational speed (high for balance shafts, low for wheels). Also the wheel only accelerates 1 time on a 1/4 mile run, the engine/flywheel/balance shafts go through 3 runs from 4k to 7k; they are more important.
Click to expand...
Yes, the driveshaft isn't quite as critical as the wheels, since it's not as large in diameter so it has less centrifugal resistance to acceleration, however, it does spin 3.5x faster than the wheels, so the rate of acceleration is much higher. :)
 
#110 ·
AWDlaser said:
and isnt each crash bar good for another 15lbs each
Click to expand...
The door supports are a good 30lbs. The gutted manual doors I have now are ~50 lbs lighter(each) than a full weight power door.

I plan to stick with a mostly factory dash theme(hazards/heater controls/airbox). I cut the gauge pod off the driver side and plan to modify the center tower to make a symetrical dash look similar to what you would see in a 60's Corvette. I plan to leave the plastic with the defrost vents and front speaker covers alone bseides painting it white, then plan to get a carbonfiber layover for the finished symetrical section.
 
#111 ·
those crush bars are only 15 lbs each and if you strip the regulator and the metal that holds the panel on "like in the goodwill podject" your only gonna pick up another 6-7 lbs maybe 50 out of both doors; not one. cut the resistance welds where the spare tire well is rivet in some aluminum that will save you another 17. There are more crush bars in the rear quarters too you know, probably another 30-35 lbs worth.
 
#113 ·
slow_tsi said:
quick question, when u remove the bumper support it is necessary to make brackets to support the cover. Will be putting car back together here soon and want to see how everyone does it before hand. Thanks.
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Yes, If you go to my pic gallery you can see where I intergrated the headlamp brackets with the bumper support. I did however bolt the flat metal pieve from the top of the bumper cover to the cover itself to make it more rigid. All I have holding the front cover on is the two brackets below the lights and where it bolts to the fenders behind the markers. I have been down the road over 160 MPH and haven't lost anything ..yet :)

The rear bumper cover is mainly held by the bracket above the bumper which I would see to be more PIA than any gain to remove. I would suggest making a support for the bottom however, due to the wind it catches from under the car. I personally have a Dejon false rear bumper which does so.
 
#114 ·
since we all are working on our weight reduction i have a question relating to it. i was going to buy the kyb AGX shocks to go with my goldline springs, but since i shaved off a few extra pounds on my car, i was thinking of going with just the kyb gr-2 instead cause this isn't my daily driver... any common..?
 
#115 ·
well, GR-2 are just stock replacements while the AGX's you will be able to adjust the stiffness/softness of, which if dialed in right could help you with your launch a bit better than stock. But I also plan on just getting GR-2's since I'm a cheap ass when it comes to suspension. how much of a drop are the goldline springs? I want to find about a 2" drop since I have about a 5" wheel gap right now. Oh and my seat came in, I'm in the process of making brackets for it now. I'll post pics when its done.
 
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