993 wieght loss?

[angry]

I am doing a lot of Ring trips and trackdays,ive got lightwieght seats,de-cat pipe,which has saved about 50kgs,but added a roll cage so this is probably counteracted that.
Has anybody stripped the carpets and doorcards or had anymore experience in this field to tell me wether its worth it?
I am told the the carpet/underlay,soundproofing wieghs a ton???
Thanks Dan

 

[Mark Elder]

I've had a bit of an unsuccessful search of the forum because I'm sure I remember a discussion on this on the 993 forum perhaps about a year ago....but I can't find it... Perhaps it was on 993RS. You are certainly not alone in having an interest in this.

I remember window winder motors and air con being discussed.

 

[AlexG]

From memory the rear wiper motor assembly is not particularly light - so if that is still there possible whip that out and but a bottle of rain-x instead?

 

[LeoSayer]

Someone once told me that a racing team will look to save weight in the following order of preference:
1st - Unspring mass (wheels, tyres, brakes and suspension)
2nd - Start at the top then work your way down (eg remove sunroof)
3rd - Start at each end and work your way to the middle (eg start at bumpers)

I would look closely at what you want to achieve with the weight loss and whether 2 seconds off a lap time is important to you. Also bear in mind that money spent on driver training can be more beneficial. There is of course the law of diminishing returns to be considered.

In answer to your question, the sound proofing and rear seats weigh a lot, over 20kg and lots more if it has soaked up water in the past, from a leak. It soaks it up like a sponge and retains it for ever.

 

[angry]

Cheers,I would love a set of wheels but at the moment they are so expensive.I wieghed the rear cover with the speakers in and that was 7kg[:-].
Thanks again
Dan

 

[mmylonas]

I stripped out the soundproofing of an old Alfa that I raced. Incredibly messy job requiring a blow torch and scraper. Seemed to be bitumen based tar and did weigh a lot. That was from a 1970 car. Not sure whether mid 90's soundproofing will be signifcantly lighter.

However if you do go down that road you might need a health warning. My car is now incredibly noisy and tiring to drive on normal roads. If you are driving (rather than trailering) to the Ring then you might want to try a drive in another road legal stripped race car first just to see whether you can stand the racket.
Michael

 

[mmylonas]

Should have mentioned glass. Weighs a lot. As do winder motors etc. If you want to lose lots of weight fast then replace side and rear glazing with FIA regulation thickness perspex. Ventilation on driver's side is either by a snorkel (which can be rotated to allow different amounts of air in) or a sliding hatch a la mini coopers/ferraris of the 60's and 70's.

Finally, if you ever plan to race the car then work out before you carry out too many modifications which class you want to race in. A fair numbr of people go down teh trackday/Ring route then decide (naturally enough) that they want to race their modified car only to discover that the relatively modest changes they have put in place mean they're racing against very heavily modified cars and are hopelessly uncompetitive.

 

[angry]

No,will never Race,have not the Money or motivation.
Think i will just strip the carpet/underlay,i hate the Grey colour anyway and just get it re-trimmed with some thin cheap black carpet.Loads have done it in Germany and it looks quite good,if its done properly.
Dan

 

[Barty964rst]

Dan,

Did you see the article in 911 pw last month, featuring Greg of Tognola Engineering. He set about recreating a serious Rep of the 993 RS. He went through a lot of what has been discussed here along with engine mods/tweaks. Worth reviewing if you are serious about shedding weight.

 

[Porker993]

I took out the rear shelf (with speakers) recently to trace a water leak from the rear window.

It does weigh a ton. I'd be surprised if it's only 7 kg ?

What I did notice is how noisy the car was with it removed.

That's where I'd start though. You could always pop it back in if you got fed up with the noise.

Ditto - the rear seat backs, belts, rear wiper and sunroof motor - you could take them out and put them back in if you ever wanted to return the car to it's normal spec. Rear side trims also come out easily I discovered.