Increasing performance and losing weight ideas
03-24-14, 04:33 AM
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Increasing performance and losing weight ideas
Alright so currently my RX7 is pretty stocky, it's a 1986 base model, and although it will be a hopefully long period project, I want to start increasing power and losing weight in the easiest ways and build my way up. As of right now I'm not interested in going turbo (not yet anyway haha) and I don't want a totally stripped interior (though i'm considering stripping it down and replacing it all with light weight carpeting). As of right now I'm sitting at 2654 lb for weight and the AC has been removed.
Mostly I'm just looking for basic pointers on where to go in the right direction for increasing performance and getting rid of excess weight in the beginning, and then what to do down the road (and save for) when getting into suspension and all that fun stuff that costs a fair amount. Any ideas or suggestions are appreciated, also any suggestions in specific parts can't hurt either.
Mostly I'm just looking for basic pointers on where to go in the right direction for increasing performance and getting rid of excess weight in the beginning, and then what to do down the road (and save for) when getting into suspension and all that fun stuff that costs a fair amount. Any ideas or suggestions are appreciated, also any suggestions in specific parts can't hurt either.
03-24-14, 07:24 AM
#2
Street driven or track car?
If it's a street car, forget the bullshit "weight savings" gained from stripping the soundproofing or lightweight carpet- you can't remove enough weight to matter and it degrades the comfort level significantly.
Put a normal size friend in the passenger seat and go for a drive.
Now try it again without the friend.
Notice any big changes from losing @180lbs. of deadweight?
Yeah, didn't think so.
If it's a street car, good shocks and springs are all you need.
Something like KYB AGX's and Racing Beat/Eibach springs will give you good handling and control, won't beat you death and keeps the ride height reasonable for the street.
If you haven't already, upgrade to 5-lug hubs and 4-piston front calipers.
Then, take all the money you saved not buying crap coilovers and spend it on tires and brake pads.
And you're done.
If it's a track car, empty your wallet and bank account, throw all the money in the car and burn it.
If it's a street car, forget the bullshit "weight savings" gained from stripping the soundproofing or lightweight carpet- you can't remove enough weight to matter and it degrades the comfort level significantly.
Put a normal size friend in the passenger seat and go for a drive.
Now try it again without the friend.
Notice any big changes from losing @180lbs. of deadweight?
Yeah, didn't think so.
If it's a street car, good shocks and springs are all you need.
Something like KYB AGX's and Racing Beat/Eibach springs will give you good handling and control, won't beat you death and keeps the ride height reasonable for the street.
If you haven't already, upgrade to 5-lug hubs and 4-piston front calipers.
Then, take all the money you saved not buying crap coilovers and spend it on tires and brake pads.
And you're done.
If it's a track car, empty your wallet and bank account, throw all the money in the car and burn it.
03-24-14, 01:10 PM
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haha put a intake on it like k and n that will help some then exhaust best place to lose weight on any car and gain performance is tires and rims light bigger rims and low pro tires will be extremely noticeable think of how a lightweight flywheel helps with performance decrease your tire weights and increase you traction and flotation then work on suspension
someone once told me that 1 pound of tire is like 3 lbs taken off a care this could add up quickly cuz there are 4 of them also the power you have will make it to the ground better as well as it may help you not wrap it around a tree
someone once told me that 1 pound of tire is like 3 lbs taken off a care this could add up quickly cuz there are 4 of them also the power you have will make it to the ground better as well as it may help you not wrap it around a tree
03-24-14, 02:33 PM
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find an Aluminum hood, if you don't already have one, and then a cat back. i did the hood and an Apexi N1 dual and took 80lbs off the weight of the car, which is nice. the N1 dual is loud, but other than that no effect on comfort.
if you can loose the emissions stuff, that is another ~10-20lbs.
there is probably another ~20 in useless or redundant brackets and screws and stuff in the car, but its not really easy to get to em. for instance the dash assembly is a bunch of steel extrusions and framing with the plastic over it, with about 40 screws holding it all together, its way overbuilt, yet easily broken.
make sure you have the aluminum spare, tire and jack vs the S5 steel ones.
the 4 piston calipers drop some weight, i think its like 2lbs.
pick some wheels that are light, the S4 wheels are usually pretty heavy, the S5 ones are better, after market gets $$ fast, but some of the JDM wheels are really light.
if you can loose the emissions stuff, that is another ~10-20lbs.
there is probably another ~20 in useless or redundant brackets and screws and stuff in the car, but its not really easy to get to em. for instance the dash assembly is a bunch of steel extrusions and framing with the plastic over it, with about 40 screws holding it all together, its way overbuilt, yet easily broken.
make sure you have the aluminum spare, tire and jack vs the S5 steel ones.
the 4 piston calipers drop some weight, i think its like 2lbs.
pick some wheels that are light, the S4 wheels are usually pretty heavy, the S5 ones are better, after market gets $$ fast, but some of the JDM wheels are really light.
03-24-14, 07:31 PM
#7
I just removed almost half the sound deadening tar to address some surface rust and verify nothing was lurking beneath. Once the issues are addressed I will be replacing with Dynamat as I want a comfortable car.
Anyhow - total weight of over half the tar in the car - a whopping 12 lbs.
Anyhow - total weight of over half the tar in the car - a whopping 12 lbs.
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03-24-14, 10:35 PM
#9
i have a 88 turboII and did the full emissions, a/c, p/s, and air pump delete (so every thing unnecessary under the hood) was able to loose 85lbs. fd wheels and tires were 3lbs lighter each than the stock 16's. not sure how much lighter the exhaust is than stock it was on the car when i got it.
light weight flywheel and aluminum drive shaft will be good to do. the stock seats may have some weight in them (race buckets instead). the sunroof is pretty heavy also, a carbon delete panel would be nice there
anyway thats what i have been thinking about
light weight flywheel and aluminum drive shaft will be good to do. the stock seats may have some weight in them (race buckets instead). the sunroof is pretty heavy also, a carbon delete panel would be nice there
anyway thats what i have been thinking about
03-25-14, 03:23 AM
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Street driven or track car?
If it's a street car, forget the bullshit "weight savings" gained from stripping the soundproofing or lightweight carpet- you can't remove enough weight to matter and it degrades the comfort level significantly.
Put a normal size friend in the passenger seat and go for a drive.
Now try it again without the friend.
Notice any big changes from losing @180lbs. of deadweight?
Yeah, didn't think so.
If it's a street car, good shocks and springs are all you need.
Something like KYB AGX's and Racing Beat/Eibach springs will give you good handling and control, won't beat you death and keeps the ride height reasonable for the street.
If you haven't already, upgrade to 5-lug hubs and 4-piston front calipers.
Then, take all the money you saved not buying crap coilovers and spend it on tires and brake pads.
And you're done.
If it's a track car, empty your wallet and bank account, throw all the money in the car and burn it.
If it's a street car, forget the bullshit "weight savings" gained from stripping the soundproofing or lightweight carpet- you can't remove enough weight to matter and it degrades the comfort level significantly.
Put a normal size friend in the passenger seat and go for a drive.
Now try it again without the friend.
Notice any big changes from losing @180lbs. of deadweight?
Yeah, didn't think so.
If it's a street car, good shocks and springs are all you need.
Something like KYB AGX's and Racing Beat/Eibach springs will give you good handling and control, won't beat you death and keeps the ride height reasonable for the street.
If you haven't already, upgrade to 5-lug hubs and 4-piston front calipers.
Then, take all the money you saved not buying crap coilovers and spend it on tires and brake pads.
And you're done.
If it's a track car, empty your wallet and bank account, throw all the money in the car and burn it.
I'm figuring not so much track car and more street, but if you strip out sound deadening and all that then put down lightweight carpet, you can make it look damn stocky on the inside and it doesn't degrade comfort level from what I've seen.
03-25-14, 03:26 AM
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03-25-14, 09:45 AM
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*carpet, dash, seats, door panels, and the rear stuff
03-25-14, 09:50 AM
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I just removed almost half the sound deadening tar to address some surface rust and verify nothing was lurking beneath. Once the issues are addressed I will be replacing with Dynamat as I want a comfortable car.
Anyhow - total weight of over half the tar in the car - a whopping 12 lbs.
Anyhow - total weight of over half the tar in the car - a whopping 12 lbs.
03-25-14, 11:06 AM
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For a street car, I would mostly leave the interior alone. The increase in noise far overwhelms any modest gains in performance. Ditto any nasty, loud single exhaust. As mentioned previously, it's hard to get enough of a seat-of-the-pants performance gain to justify making large sacrifices in civility. It's also hard to enjoy your car if it's parked because you're in trouble with the law.
My old GXL ran Eibach Pro kit springs, Tokico Blues and stock sways. It was very responsive yet comfortable on the street and worked reasonably well on the track until I started running competition tires.
If you don't mind a little more work on takeoffs, a lightweight aluminum flywheel can take about 12lbs off of engine rotating mass. It makes the car quite a bit easier to stall on takeoffs, but makes acceleration and gear changes much livelier.
Staying modest in your wheel/tire combo will keep rotating mass down and keep the car lively. Putting monster wheels and tires on a street car will hinder acceleration and give you more grip than you can use on the street. My current car is running 255/40-17s, and it's actually less fun on the street than my earlier lighter/lower traction setup.
A Racing Beat header will give you a bit of power gain at the expense of a fair bit more exhaust noise. If combined with a highflow cat or resonator, you lose about 10lbs. A thin stainless header should knock another 10lbs off. Sadly, no one seems to make a header any more that's actually tuned correctly for max power on an FC and custom stainless headers are terribly expensive.
Racing beat mufflers will give a bit more power while saving ~5lbs from the stock catback. A single catback will make a little more power and remove about another 25lbs, but they tend to be pull-me-over loud and horrible sounding.
If you don't mind the heavier steering feel, a manual steering rack swap (de-powered racks tend to be dangerous!) should save a bit of weight and provides much better feedback.
If you can find an aluminum hood from a vert, they save about 25lbs from the steel hood.
If you have money burning a hole in your pocket, a Shorai lithium battery weighs about 5lbs vs the stock battery at about 35lbs. That is weight forward of the front axle. I've found their LFX36 batteries as low as $300 shipped.
If you already removed the AC, did you remove the evaporator core under the dash? Took me about two hours because I cleaned everything I got into, weighs 5lbs and seriously restricts airflow through the HVAC system. You'll want to plug the holes in the firewall.
As always, be sure to take care of any deferred maintenance and keep the car running well. For a street car, I think most people will have a lot more fun in a somewhat modest car with good reliability and responsiveness than one that's over-modified, loud and uncomfortable.
My old GXL ran Eibach Pro kit springs, Tokico Blues and stock sways. It was very responsive yet comfortable on the street and worked reasonably well on the track until I started running competition tires.
If you don't mind a little more work on takeoffs, a lightweight aluminum flywheel can take about 12lbs off of engine rotating mass. It makes the car quite a bit easier to stall on takeoffs, but makes acceleration and gear changes much livelier.
Staying modest in your wheel/tire combo will keep rotating mass down and keep the car lively. Putting monster wheels and tires on a street car will hinder acceleration and give you more grip than you can use on the street. My current car is running 255/40-17s, and it's actually less fun on the street than my earlier lighter/lower traction setup.
A Racing Beat header will give you a bit of power gain at the expense of a fair bit more exhaust noise. If combined with a highflow cat or resonator, you lose about 10lbs. A thin stainless header should knock another 10lbs off. Sadly, no one seems to make a header any more that's actually tuned correctly for max power on an FC and custom stainless headers are terribly expensive.
Racing beat mufflers will give a bit more power while saving ~5lbs from the stock catback. A single catback will make a little more power and remove about another 25lbs, but they tend to be pull-me-over loud and horrible sounding.
If you don't mind the heavier steering feel, a manual steering rack swap (de-powered racks tend to be dangerous!) should save a bit of weight and provides much better feedback.
If you can find an aluminum hood from a vert, they save about 25lbs from the steel hood.
If you have money burning a hole in your pocket, a Shorai lithium battery weighs about 5lbs vs the stock battery at about 35lbs. That is weight forward of the front axle. I've found their LFX36 batteries as low as $300 shipped.
If you already removed the AC, did you remove the evaporator core under the dash? Took me about two hours because I cleaned everything I got into, weighs 5lbs and seriously restricts airflow through the HVAC system. You'll want to plug the holes in the firewall.
As always, be sure to take care of any deferred maintenance and keep the car running well. For a street car, I think most people will have a lot more fun in a somewhat modest car with good reliability and responsiveness than one that's over-modified, loud and uncomfortable.
03-25-14, 05:00 PM
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03-25-14, 05:20 PM
#21
in truth, if you want to pull 12lbs of sprung weight by pulling the sound deadening, you can. will you notice? not likely.
if you went for a jog 2x a week you lose the same and feel better
without stripping the entire car and all its interior theres really little gain from this. if anything think about unspring weight and you'll get more benefit.
if you went for a jog 2x a week you lose the same and feel better
without stripping the entire car and all its interior theres really little gain from this. if anything think about unspring weight and you'll get more benefit.
03-26-14, 03:16 PM
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oh he has done a lot to it but I'm saying that the interior is stripped then lightweight carpet over. Also has a bride seat which is -60 or so lbs. And AC is gone with lighter parts and such. He is down to 2400 or 2300 range
03-26-14, 09:27 PM
#23
The stock seat doesn't weigh 60 lbs, so that Bride must be made of unicorn farts.
If I seem skeptical, well, I am.
I have a S5 GTU, no AC or PS, no sunroof, no power windows, aluminum hood and full interior and she weighs right at 2700 lbs. wet.
Unless your friend has a CF hatch w/ Lexan and a host of other pricey bits, I wonder where another 300 lbs or so could come off while remaining street legal.
If I seem skeptical, well, I am.
I have a S5 GTU, no AC or PS, no sunroof, no power windows, aluminum hood and full interior and she weighs right at 2700 lbs. wet.
Unless your friend has a CF hatch w/ Lexan and a host of other pricey bits, I wonder where another 300 lbs or so could come off while remaining street legal.
03-26-14, 09:56 PM
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Yeah its same model and similar to what you have, except all the bumper supports are out, the single bride which is like maybe 20lbs lighter not 60 :P and a thin wall steel single exhaust and header. I know there's more pulled and cut out but I cant remember now but it weighed at 2470 with a quarter tank of gas, was on a truck scale so I have no idea how accurate that is 
.
.The stock seat doesn't weigh 60 lbs, so that Bride must be made of unicorn farts.
If I seem skeptical, well, I am.
I have a S5 GTU, no AC or PS, no sunroof, no power windows, aluminum hood and full interior and she weighs right at 2700 lbs. wet.
Unless your friend has a CF hatch w/ Lexan and a host of other pricey bits, I wonder where another 300 lbs or so could come off while remaining street legal.
If I seem skeptical, well, I am.
I have a S5 GTU, no AC or PS, no sunroof, no power windows, aluminum hood and full interior and she weighs right at 2700 lbs. wet.
Unless your friend has a CF hatch w/ Lexan and a host of other pricey bits, I wonder where another 300 lbs or so could come off while remaining street legal.
03-26-14, 10:56 PM
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The stock seat doesn't weigh 60 lbs, so that Bride must be made of unicorn farts.
If I seem skeptical, well, I am.
I have a S5 GTU, no AC or PS, no sunroof, no power windows, aluminum hood and full interior and she weighs right at 2700 lbs. wet.
Unless your friend has a CF hatch w/ Lexan and a host of other pricey bits, I wonder where another 300 lbs or so could come off while remaining street legal.
If I seem skeptical, well, I am.
I have a S5 GTU, no AC or PS, no sunroof, no power windows, aluminum hood and full interior and she weighs right at 2700 lbs. wet.
Unless your friend has a CF hatch w/ Lexan and a host of other pricey bits, I wonder where another 300 lbs or so could come off while remaining street legal.
i always go to the scale with a full gas tank though, its repeatable. 16.6gallons * 7lbs/gallon = 116lbs