Weight reduction......

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rmezz13
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Now for all of us with 350z's.... What have you done for weight reduction? Preferably ones that don't cost money, or little money, but anyone with carbon fiber upgrades may input what they have done (pics would be nice).
Modified by rmezz13 at 5:03 PM 4/12/2008


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rmezz13
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I removed my rear wiper and the motor for it (maybe 5 lbs.) the plug kit for that was on e-bay for like $25 +ship. Also instead of adding weight with a plenum spacer i bought a bigger plenum that is lighter (maybe 3 lbs.) the Kinetix Racing V+ plenum. (the plug on the hatch actually matches better than the picture shows).


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rmezz13
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No one has any ideas / things they've done?..... hmmm..... i figure someone would mention removing the spare tire and tools from the hatch, maybe took something useless off the car that is dead weight....

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bkreitzer
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rmezz13 wrote:Now for all of us with 350z's.... What have you done for weight reduction? Preferably ones that don't cost money, or little money, but anyone with carbon fiber upgrades may input what they have done (pics would be nice).

Modified by rmezz13 at 5:03 PM 4/12/2008
1) I weighed the spare tire for the '07 and tools and you will reduce the weight by 23 lbs. -- $5 -- Be sure to carry a can of fix-a-flat

2) You can also replace the battery with a smaller/lighter weight one, but note that if you have "extra" electronics, then think about this first. -- $75-100

3) remove any extra cargo you might have stashed in the car, like gym bags... -- FREE

4) run the minimum amount of cleaner fluids for the front and rear wipers -- FREE -- 5 lbs ish

5) if you have extra lbs, then hit the gym!!! lol -- FREE???

6) remove the audio equipment -- FREE -- you should save about 15 lbs ish

7) fill your tires with Nitrogen instead of air -- $75-80 -- i am not sure if this will throw off the TPMS

Does this help?

Anthonysflying
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25 helium balloons - $25.99

The look on the other guys face when you win the race and release the balloons... priceless

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rmezz13
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Anthonysflying wrote:25 helium balloons - $25.99

The look on the other guys face when you win the race and release the balloons... priceless
NICE..... lol

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rmezz13
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Yes thats good, its not just for me, i was kind of thinking of sharing the ideas with everyone, i guess this thread is just doomed to fail though.

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evildky
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depends on what you excpect formt he car and what you are willing sacrifice, strip it to a bare shell, remove all the undercoating and put back only what you need to stop go and turnlost the power steering and a/c....and heat

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bmike818
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I like the working out and losing wieght...

my suggestion to reduce weight is.... only fill your gas tank half way. Saves you a couple of lbs. i know its an old trick )

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NomisST
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Carbon Fiber The Whole Dang Thing Like My Z:


Modified by Simon_Nomis_Nismo at 1:53 PM 4/23/2008

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bkreitzer
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rmezz13 wrote:Yes thats good, its not just for me, i was kind of thinking of sharing the ideas with everyone, i guess this thread is just doomed to fail though.
rmezz13, I respect your thoughts and have read many of your posts, but what are you expecting from your question? You said cheap or free, and some of us gave you just that.

The recommendations I made and the 1 given by bmike818 come from others who have asked this very question... my riding buddies gave me the same advice when I asked your question.

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NomisST
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What about making the gas tank smaller. The tank is a 20 gallon tank...Maybe like a 13 Gallon tank? That is 7 gallons of oil cut...don't feel like doing a density to weight conversion, but lets do it anyway: gasoline = 702.5 kg/m^3 so if 1 gallon [US, liquid] = 0.003 785 411 784 m^3, then 7 gallons = 0.026 497 882 488 m^3. So 702.5 x 0.026 497 882 488 = 18.6 kg = about 41 lbs. That is a lot of weight, and plus the metal of the tank that will be cut. So I'm thinking probably a good 42 lbs of shed just from cutting and welding . I wonder if they make aftermarket smaller tanks?

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bkreitzer
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Simon_Nomis_Nismo wrote:What about making the gas tank smaller. The tank is a 20 gallon tank...Maybe like a 13 Gallon tank? That is 7 gallons of oil cut...don't feel like doing a density to weight conversion, but lets do it anyway: gasoline = 702.5 kg/m^3 so if 1 gallon [US, liquid] = 0.003 785 411 784 m^3, then 7 gallons = 0.026 497 882 488 m^3. So 702.5 x 0.026 497 882 488 = 18.6 kg = about 41 lbs. That is a lot of weight, and plus the metal of the tank that will be cut. So I'm thinking probably a good 42 lbs of shed just from cutting and welding . I wonder if they make aftermarket smaller tanks?
A very interesting thought... good idea... think about this...

The weight distribution is 53/47 when fully wet (fully fueled and all lubricants). Let us say that we reduced the tank size and that there were no fuel system/gauge related issues, and we removed the spare tire and kit. This would yield a weight savings of about 64 lbs. It is my fear that it would make the rear end too light and might push the weight distribution. to 54/46.

So, doing these two mods together would actually do a little harm in changing the handling characteristics.

Why not just fill up with 13 gallons and save the headache of changing out the tank???

We would need to lighten the front end of the car in proportion to the weight savings in the rear so we could reach the 53/47 weight distribution.

If we reduced the rear weight by 64 lbs then we would need to reduce the front by about 68 lbs (((53-47)/100)+1)*64. Which parts can we replace/remove to accomplish this?

Let us start this list:replace the battery ~ 6 lbs...

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NomisST
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bkreitzer wrote:
A very interesting thought... good idea... think about this...

The weight distribution is 53/47 when fully wet (fully fueled and all lubricants). Let us say that we reduced the tank size and that there were no fuel system/gauge related issues, and we removed the spare tire and kit. This would yield a weight savings of about 64 lbs. It is my fear that it would make the rear end too light and might push the weight distribution. to 54/46.

So, doing these two mods together would actually do a little harm in changing the handling characteristics.

Why not just fill up with 13 gallons and save the headache of changing out the tank???

We would need to lighten the front end of the car in proportion to the weight savings in the rear so we could reach the 53/47 weight distribution.

If we reduced the rear weight by 64 lbs then we would need to reduce the front by about 68 lbs (((53-47)/100)+1)*64. Which parts can we replace/remove to accomplish this?

Let us start this list:replace the battery ~ 6 lbs...
You're right about the weight distribution. That part didn't even come across my mind and I feel stupid I didn't think about that... thanks. My only guess would be removing the passenger seat, I mean is this for track or what? Cause if it is we can go to town! Take out A/C, stereo, even the headlights, break all the heavy glass windows and put in polycarbonate windows...but I highly doubt that this is for track. Assuming the conditions of this Z being a street car I would probably think about a lighter strut bar and bumper and a C/F hood. Lighter wheels for the all around car. Aluminum flywheel, put in a customized fiberglass console compared to the plastic one. Sorry I'm just brain storming. What else? I remember there being an official thread on Nico that was a sticky thread, but it's not here anymore...weird. There were really good ideas.

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R350Zz33
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lighter radiator lighter rims a/c componets takenn out strip inside carbon fiber body i mean real carbon fiber do the doors, hood, hatch, side skirts, front bumper, rear bumper, replace all glass with plex lighter headers move batery to rear tear out stereo system speakers and all no spare no passenger seat remove headliner carpet remove wipers and motors wiper fluid head lights taillight thats probly a good 150 or more pounds there

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bmike818
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...light weight pulleys

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rmezz13
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bkreitzer wrote:
rmezz13, I respect your thoughts and have read many of your posts, but what are you expecting from your question? You said cheap or free, and some of us gave you just that.

The recommendations I made and the 1 given by bmike818 come from others who have asked this very question... my riding buddies gave me the same advice when I asked your question.
I think you misunderstood me, i didn't say "its just not for me" i said "its not just for me", as in i am not asking for only myself, but so others on here can see the ideas and spark some ideas of their own, then post.

This thread isn't doomed to fail after all, it just took awhile to take off.... i had spoken too soon.....

Thanks for all the input you guys. Good talk about the track or non track, any ideas could spark something in someones mind.

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rmezz13
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another thing to remember is sprung weight verses un-sprung weight. un-sprung weight is accurate, lighter brake set up, lighter suspension, and lighter wheels. All of these are the exact amount reduction. Does anyone know what sprung weight equals out to? is 100 lbs lost, like losing 50 lbs?... Does this even matter? i talked to an S2000 guy back when i had one about this subject and i didn't really understand it......

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bkreitzer
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rmezz13 wrote:another thing to remember is sprung weight verses un-sprung weight. un-sprung weight is accurate, lighter brake set up, lighter suspension, and lighter wheels. All of these are the exact amount reduction. Does anyone know what sprung weight equals out to? is 100 lbs lost, like losing 50 lbs?... Does this even matter? i talked to an S2000 guy back when i had one about this subject and i didn't really understand it......
Good thought... from what i was reading about the differences of sprung and unsprung weight is does not matter. weight reduction is weight reduction.

So, reducing unsprung weight would better transfer the power from the drivetrain to the street due to lighter components. I would think that doing this evenly would maintain the weight distribution.

These parts are an expensive modification.... wheels, bearings, tires, wheel spindles, driveshafts, springs, shock absorbers and links.

Shoot the wheels alone can cost over $2000 for the touring model to the nismo due to the diameter and width. So we are talking about a $10k+ upgrade here???

I would think that this would serve both a street and track application.

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bkreitzer
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OK, maybe it is time to divide the modications to reduce weight into $$$ categories. Here are my suggestions:<500<1000<2500<5000<10000no limit

I see some good thoughts and suggestions, so maybe we should focus the discussion into stages that decrease the weight as we pass through the $$$ brackets.

So the format might be:Price Band - Items removed/replace - Item cost - weight reduction (lbs)

For example:<500 - remove spare tire kit - $0 - lbs= -23 - add a can of fix-a-flat - $5 - lbs = +1

Any thoughts?

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bkreitzer wrote:
Good thought... from what i was reading about the differences of sprung and unsprung weight is does not matter. weight reduction is weight reduction.

So, reducing unsprung weight would better transfer the power from the drivetrain to the street due to lighter components. I would think that doing this evenly would maintain the weight distribution.

These parts are an expensive modification.... wheels, bearings, tires, wheel spindles, driveshafts, springs, shock absorbers and links.

Shoot the wheels alone can cost over $2000 for the touring model to the nismo due to the diameter and width. So we are talking about a $10k+ upgrade here???

I would think that this would serve both a street and track application.
Woah...what were you reading cause I'd like to know? From what I know, unsprung and sprung has a difference. There is rotational weight and stationary weight. Both are important, but for different reasons. When you want a weight reduction that you can actually feel you want lighter rotational weight like the wheels for instance (rotating unsprung weight), if they are lighter, they need less force to make them spin. So the lighter they are the faster your car actually feels. For your hood (sprung weight) to be lighter, overall it is a loss of a few pounds of a car that weighs 3200 lbs, it becomes almost negligible because the overall weight still sits on top of the wheels and suspension, so it still takes about the same amount of force to spin the wheels. The reason to reduce the weight of the non moving weight is to reach a reasonable weight distribution and by eventually getting enough weight shed it does change the overall performance of the car since the car will be lighter to move, but I mean it has to be a good amount, not like 30lbs...

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bkreitzer
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Simon_Nomis_Nismo wrote:
Woah...what were you reading cause I'd like to know? From what I know, unsprung and sprung has a difference. There is rotational weight and stationary weight. Both are important, but for different reasons. When you want a weight reduction that you can actually feel you want lighter rotational weight like the wheels for instance (rotating unsprung weight), if they are lighter, they need less force to make them spin. So the lighter they are the faster your car actually feels. For your hood (sprung weight) to be lighter, overall it is a loss of a few pounds of a car that weighs 3200 lbs, it becomes almost negligible because the overall weight still sits on top of the wheels and suspension, so it still takes about the same amount of force to spin the wheels. The reason to reduce the weight of the non moving weight is to reach a reasonable weight distribution and by eventually getting enough weight shed it does change the overall performance of the car since the car will be lighter to move, but I mean it has to be a good amount, not like 30lbs...
my answer was geared towards:"is 100 lbs lost, like losing 50 lbs?... "

lol... after re-reading my responce i could see how this sounds strange... so let me clarify...

I agree with you that reducing the unsprung weight (rotational) is better in that it is more noticeable with only a few lbs of reduction, and that is why i tailored my response to this and not sprung weight...

sorry for the confusion... you are correct, IMO, and i agree with you.

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NomisST
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No Problemo, I was just a bit confused on your wording...good thing it's all cleared up.

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rmezz13
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500 and lesslighter plenum- Kinetix V+ plenum $300... -3lbsRear wiper delete- ebay for like $25 ..... ~ 5lbs shed (motor and all)Underdrive pulley kit- about $250 - $350....... - 3-5 lbs

thats all i got on top of my head...... i'll have more later

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bkreitzer wrote:
7) fill your tires with Nitrogen instead of air -- $75-80 -- i am not sure if this will throw off the TPMS

Does this help?
Ya if you do that you will have crappy traction thats the loss.

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kasey352 wrote:
Ya if you do that you will have crappy traction thats the loss.
I know this thread is old, but I wanted to clarify that the above statement is false.

Using Nitrogen instead of air will not decrease your traction. The weight of nitrogen vs air is very minimal (since over 70% of air is Nitrogen).

Nitrogen will shed a small amount of weight and is supposed to keep your tire pressure more consistent across temperature variations.

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Sentientbydesign wrote:
I know this thread is old, but I wanted to clarify that the above statement is false.

Using Nitrogen instead of air will not decrease your traction. The weight of nitrogen vs air is very minimal (since over 70% of air is Nitrogen).

Nitrogen will shed a small amount of weight and is supposed to keep your tire pressure more consistent across temperature variations.

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rmezz13
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Sentientbydesign wrote:
I know this thread is old, but I wanted to clarify that the above statement is false.

Using Nitrogen instead of air will not decrease your traction. The weight of nitrogen vs air is very minimal (since over 70% of air is Nitrogen).

Nitrogen will shed a small amount of weight and is supposed to keep your tire pressure more consistent across temperature variations.
Thanks for the clear up!

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niznos
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There's a counter-weight in the hatch that is a couple of pounds of dead weight. Take the big plastic "U" shaped cover off and it's held on by 4 bolts, if I recall correctly. This usually fixes the common problem of having to pop the hatch twice to get it to open too.

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hahaha!! i laughed out loud at the thought of this, hilarious.


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