Lightest S14?

[SequenceGarage]

Hey guys wondering what the lightest stock body S14 is that you know of? no tube frame or anything like that i'm just wondering what the potential is here.

Currently my race car is 2750 with half tank and me in it, so in the 2550 area when dry. I havent done much weight removal however, still have stock hood fenders trunk, doors evne have skins on them.

I'm going to try and get the car down another 3-400lbs with all lexan and carbon doors, trunk and hood, as well as some material removal throughout the chassis wherever i can find useless metal, i'm wondering what goal to shoot for and whats possible.

Thanks.

[240Shorty]

2550 is pretty light. mine is 2650 with out me in it. with a tank of gas. i would think you would have to of done something in order to get a 100lbs off. also thats w/o back interior and trunk interior.

[dbrass14point5]

mine was 2800 lbs. with me in it and about 3 gallons of gas and a few tools in the back seat.

i weigh about 155 or 160 so the weight of the vehicle is roughly 2650 lbs.

s14 1997 with sr - no ac compressor or power steering - compelete interior !!! gutted trunk though . . .

carbon fiber hood, fiberglass fenders, front bumper, sideskirt, and rear bumper.

[dan240t]

hell i think mazworx's car with stock glass is still heavy?

i know russ' old car was under 2500. im pretty sure.

as far as which one was the lightest in stock form, you're looking at 95-96 base models. no spoilers, foglights, lip, 4 less wheel studs , no skirts, etc etc.

obviously the best way is to strip it which i figure you have. every little bracket will count and theres plenty of useless ones ive found

consider things like a fuel cell (cut out the trunk floor board and mock up a fuel cell mounting rails and stuff (sheet aluminum will be lighter than the stock metal under there), ditch bumper supports.

i hear you can remove the rear package tray metal if you have a cage and stuff connecting the rear strut towers, thats gotta be a nice chunk of metal. obviously gut the under dash and you can kill weight with losing all unused wiring.

i figure you know this. good job on the 2550, sounds like you're already gettin there. sunroof as well lol. CF cover that bish.

otherwise, you're looking to do things like CF hood, trunklid, doors, FRP front and rear fenders (cut out your stock metal under the overfenders), FRP front and rear bumpers will probably be lighter than the stock ABS plastic.

[golfer17]

ive found quite a few threads with ppl listing their weight, etc, but nothing comprehensive yet, with who is the lightest and what they've done to get there.

for reference, i have a 97 se with sunroof, and with the sr minus a/c compressor and spare tire, but still keeping jack, a/c condensor, all bumper supports, a quarter tank of gas, and full interior, including custom ic bracing for a ginormous fmic, i weighed in right at 2750.

[RDM_II]

My old car was 2520 the last time I weighed it. I trimmed another 10lbs of wiring and bracketry out of soon after along with ditching the exhaust I was running for something less obtrusive. Figure it was 2500 by then, but it's long gone to care about now.
The new one must push 3000, but it's so quiet I don't mind.

[SequenceGarage]

thanks for the input guys, so no ones done any crazy crazy **** and gotten down to like 2000-2200 eh?

basically ive gutted the entire interior, removed EVERYTHING behind the dash but left the dash and door skins and power windows.

front rebar is gone but rear rebar is still there, fibreglass front rear and side skirts.

still have glass all around as well and full exhaust. next lightweight mods are as follows for me:

gut trunk (cut out trunk skin and use hoodpins) (12lbs?)
gut doors (or get carbon ones $$$) (40lbs?)
cf hood (35-40lbs?)
remove rear bumper rebar (25lbs)
side exist exhaust (20lbs)
lexan windows (50lbs)

that should be good for close to 200lbs hopefully. and maybe another 100lbs in small areas around the car, cut this remove that pull this replace that etc

guys that race around here have ridiculously light cars so if they can do it to a bmw or a vw then i can do it to a nissan right?

[smracing]

As far as race cars go, my s13 weighs just over 2000 with me in it. It is still a stock chassis car, but has a sfi 25.4 cage.

[RDM_II]

Since getting rid of RDM_I I sometimes miss it and want to find another chassis to play with, strictly for track use. With what I've done before and seeing what shortcuts I could take with a track only car I think 1900 isn't too hard to reach. There's a good bit of weight to be tossed if you really put your mind to it. With a supercharged KA it would be a seriously fun car to drive.

[Fred_Allen_Burge]

Originally Posted by RDM_II

Since getting rid of RDM_I I sometimes miss it and want to find another chassis to play with, strictly for track use. With what I've done before and seeing what shortcuts I could take with a track only car I think 1900 isn't too hard to reach. There's a good bit of weight to be tossed if you really put your mind to it. With a supercharged KA it would be a seriously fun car to drive.

You should do it w/ a VQ. I'd like to see your attention to detail on a project like that.

Fred

[SequenceGarage]

can you tell me where you removed a lot of weight (preferably from the front) on your s13? thanks dude.

[trsilvias13]

dont forget you can remove the rear bumpers support as well.

Also get a titanum exhaust. Replace all suspension component. Coilover dont wiegh as much as stock shock / spring combo.

Rear aluminum uprights save weight too.

Light wieght wheels are good.

Tires weighs alot depending on which brand/model. es100 wieght alot compare to dunlop sp9000. I know that for sure.

[gunluvS14]

i have to agree, weight saving is important, but saving weight on unsprung weight component is more important.

suspensions, lightweight wheels and tires makes big difference.

[SequenceGarage]

i just gutted my driver door + window, removed the antenna and removed the trunk spring and arm mechanism, all that weighed including the window and bolts ended up being 54lbs, so that puts me just under 2500lbs.

ive gotta do the passenger door and remove the rear bumper re-bar for another 45-50lbs

oh ya theres a speaker in my passenger door too, score! another couple pounds

[dorimaster]

The rear uprights for aluminum from steel is less than 2 lbs. I and many others have spend hundreds of dollars on this useless "upgrade". If you do the whole z32 brakes in the rear(senseless) it adds lots of weight, add the e-brake and your easily 30lbs more than stock.

I wrote several posts in the pas on weight reduction, and if you can get your car even close to 2000lbs that is amazing, ill let you know mine soon!

Ive done most of what has been discussed here but SequenceGarage you have a few things off!

Going to carbon doors saves over 60lbs, but the cost does NOT offset the price $2000!

CF hood will save you from 10-20lbs some almost not at all, on Supras and z32 the CF hoods from VIS weigh MORE than stock! Stock s14 hood is 38lbs!(mine is 12)

Lexan windows are half the weight of stock saves 12 lbs rear, 3lbs each side and front is not legal for NASA, SCCA, DOT ect and you cant run a wiper on it, so its not worth it. So 20lbs not 50!

My side exit exhaust is the same weight as TI exhaust 12lbs, so yes like 50lbs lighter than stock but not lighter than other possible setups.

My JDM zenki sides are LIGHTER by 4lbs(each) than the GP sports(or friends) swapped them for, so no lighter, OEM or JDM aero is lighter than fiberglass period. No skirts are lighter but looks crappy.

Coilovers add more weight than stock, in fact even the lightest aluminum race-only coil-overs are STILL heavier than stock. The stock macphearson strut assembly as crappy and weak as it is, LIGHT!

People always add big tires and big wheels to thier cars, almost always heavier than the stock tires and wheels, unless you get a modest width and stay below 18" diamter and 9" wide, and forged or cast spun.

Aftermarket almost anything weighs more, like adj arms, ect.

Anymore questions about the weights of these things? The only thing i dont know is the chassis alone(couldnt find a scale the right size) and my current


Pete

[gunluvS14]

Originally Posted by dorimaster

CF hood will save you from 10-20lbs some almost not at all, on Supras and z32 the CF hoods from VIS weigh MORE than stock! Stock s14 hood is 38lbs!(mine is 12)
Pete

so what brand do you have man?

[SequenceGarage]

down to 2454lbs

gonna pull the wipers out and just run rain-x and gut the other door and let you guys know where im at

[TS4l]

If you remove the wipers you can't race in a lot of classes so you may want to check into that! I don't know the rules but I remember Mazworx's getting DQ for not having them.

[SequenceGarage]

2381lbs

im starting to hit a wall here

all the next improvements are going to cost money:

lighter wheels
lexan windows
aluminum to replace steel sections
etc

[240Shorty]

what have you actually gutted in your s14 to get to 2381? and how are you weighing your car? i would give my left nut to get my car below 2400 With me in it. ok maybe not my left nut and not really that much money. but i would do some extensive work...

[s14rhd]

You think removing window wipers is going to make any differnce whatsoever?? They weigh nothing.

[cdlong]

they don't, but the motors do.

[SequenceGarage]

buddy everything weighs something

add up 1lb 20 times and you have 20lbs. thats the wrong attitude

this is a full out race car boys you cant do this sort of stuff to your street car. no side windows, no power locks. no inside door latches (only external) stuff like this that youd never do to a street car

i know the car is 2550 from when i weighed it at the race track, and ive just weighed everything ive removed since then.

[Broaner]

Damn. S14's must be quite a bit heavier. Its sounds like you've gone pretty hardcore already. I'm at 2240 w/ full tank in my S13 and my doors still have the skeletons. I'm planning on cutting those out next week. One huge amount of weight up front is the bumper support. In the S13's they are steel and weigh at least 40lbs. A proper cage will recover the lost safety factor.

[MrWonderful]

i agree that the less weight you have the better, but at the same time, it doesn't matter how light your car is if it doens' conform to the rules. you can have a 240 that only weighs 1600 pounds and it be fast as all hell, but if you can't compete it doens't matter.
street racing will only get you so far.
You can roll up next to me at the street light and kick my ass, but i promise you, my trophy will draw more attention then your street race win.
pay attention to the rules, then start cutting weight.

oh and one more light weight mod, Jenny Craig.... and if you are really counting your ounces, remember that muscle weighs more than fat so stop working out so much and just eat a 1/2 cup of peas everyday. you'll drop alot of weight in no time....

[DTSS]

Originally Posted by MrWonderful

i agree that the less weight you have the better, but at the same time, it doesn't matter how light your car is if it doens' conform to the rules. you can have a 240 that only weighs 1600 pounds and it be fast as all hell, but if you can't compete it doens't matter.
street racing will only get you so far.
You can roll up next to me at the street light and kick my ass, but i promise you, my trophy will draw more attention then your street race win.
pay attention to the rules, then start cutting weight.

oh and one more light weight mod, Jenny Craig.... and if you are really counting your ounces, remember that muscle weighs more than fat so stop working out so much and just eat a 1/2 cup of peas everyday. you'll drop alot of weight in no time....

"SequenceGarage" compeates every weekend in a GT car series up here in Canada at Mosport and Shanonville, his car has not been street legal for over 2 years.

He also weighs about 140 lbs.

[Broaner]

Originally Posted by dorimaster

Coilovers add more weight than stock, in fact even the lightest aluminum race-only coil-overs are STILL heavier than stock. The stock macphearson strut assembly as crappy and weak as it is, LIGHT!

I missed this up above. I agree with every other part of your post except this. I definitely have a differing opinion. The rears are fairly close in weight, aftermarket coils pulling out the win, but the fronts are easily half the weight of the OEM's. I just shipped out some OEM assemblies off my Maxima. Box clicked in at 67lbs. Call it an even 60lbs due to the packing materials. The box that my coils came in probably weighed a bit over 30lbs.

I agree with the statements about the CF doors. The weight saved is not worth the extreme cost. I'd be willing to guess that with a trimmed skeleton on an OEM door the weight differences between the drastically less than the OEM difference.

[smracing]

my trimmed doors on my s13 weigh 38lbs with lexan windows. Don't know what stock ones weigh.

[Broaner]

How trimmed is trimmed? I've been wondering how hardcore to go with mine but maintain structural integrity.

[smracing]

The centers are cut out. There is a bead all the way around the door. Cut it right down the bead. I also cut out the crash beams. Be very careful, it is easy to burn the paint with the cutoff wheel. The beams are also glued to the door. I used a wire rope and patience. The door is still very strong and does not twist or sag. I also have ball lock pins in the hinges so I can remove the drivers door to load the car in the trailer.

[Broaner]

That stuff is my favorite kinda porn but you don't have a homepage. Or do you have one but care not to post it to the world? I'd love to see it in a PM.

[2Fass240us]

Originally Posted by dorimaster

Lexan windows are half the weight of stock saves 12 lbs rear, 3lbs each side and front is not legal for NASA, SCCA, DOT ect

Sorry Pete, but this is wrong. NASA allows polycarbonate windshield replacement. Not only that, but Mike K. (SE-R Cup Series Director) recommends it as he's pissed through far more glass from pitting and cracking than he has polycarbonate.

In terms of weight reduction Pasha, you've probably gotten most everything I'd suggest. If you're curious however, feel free to check out http://www.mysportscar.com/features/...ings/index.htm. I have pictures of the chit as well.

Have you mentioned what racing series you're going to compete in? I read the thread twice and saw no mention.

Originally Posted by Broaner

That stuff is my favorite kinda porn but you don't have a homepage. Or do you have one but care not to post it to the world? I'd love to see it in a PM.

Me too, but I still love the other type of pr0n. smracing, please post some links if you have them, I'm interested to see your car after all the weight reduction I've done on mine.

[smracing]

There are some pics of the new build up on Drag240sx.com, plus a video of the car when it was a stock ka on nitrous. I'll take some pictures when I get a chance.

[dorimaster]

Poly windshields being legal is news to me, as Hondachallenge (i run)and American iron you can not. Dont know why? Poly is safer. But im not trying that as of now.

Any other ideas?

Pete

[2Fass240us]

Originally Posted by dorimaster

Poly windshields being legal is news to me, as Hondachallenge (i run)and American iron you can not. Dont know why? Poly is safer. But im not trying that as of now.

Pete

I cannot imagine the SE-R Cup would allow it and not for the other series. FWIW, I didn't see mention of it in the NASA CCR.

-Andy

[Epstein]

Originally Posted by Broaner

I missed this up above. I agree with every other part of your post except this. I definitely have a differing opinion. The rears are fairly close in weight, aftermarket coils pulling out the win, but the fronts are easily half the weight of the OEM's. I just shipped out some OEM assemblies off my Maxima. Box clicked in at 67lbs. Call it an even 60lbs due to the packing materials. The box that my coils came in probably weighed a bit over 30lbs.

I'm with Broaner on this one. I did JIC FLT-A1's (on S13), and got the scale out during the install. The JIC fronts were 5lbs lighter per side. The rears were 8lbs lighter per side. This is versus completely stock suspension.

I've done the aluminum uprights, too (with stock brakes). While I didn't note the difference (arm scale) at 8lbs per side like SCC quotes, they were easily half as heavy as the stock ones. Maybe 6-8lbs total savings. A bare aluminum upright weighs nothing.

[Broaner]

With the lexan sheilds how many center supports are required? That would slightly reduce the savings. I know minimally but. How long are carbonate shields lasting? Is it a once a season thing or do they get scratched and buggered up real quickly?

I know you weren't asking me 2fass, but I just want to have a great time building the sh!t out of a car. I don't really care if its class legal or not. I just want it to be bliss to drive. I'd like to use it in non-competitive HPDE's. Some day I'd love to build a dedicated race car built to spec rules. Probably would be better to do it with a Miata though. BTW, did you change your SN? I recognize your sig and all. I liked your old SN better I think.

Damn, 6-8 lbs. I didn't think it would be that much either. I wish I woulda done it that way too now. When I started my rear suspension project I didn't realize that SPL(or anybody else for that matter) didn't carry the spherical bushings for the toe bushing on the S13 upright. So I have a crappy Nismo in there right now. All the others are spherical. It feels super weird and unsafe. Turn in is phenomenal but then the toe catches up as the bushing deflects and whips the @ss. Anyone wanna trade some Megans for some FLTA-2's? LOL.

About the ebrake negating the savings, I don't trust cable based systems anyway. Adding a suplimentary hydro system would be fairly inexpensive and very minimal in added weight.

[2Fass240us]

Originally Posted by Broaner

With the lexan sheilds how many center supports are required? That would slightly reduce the savings. I know minimally but. How long are carbonate shields lasting? Is it a once a season thing or do they get scratched and buggered up real quickly?

I would think one based on some conversations I’ve had, but it’d depend on the material thickness I’d think. I don’t have any data about how long a polycarbonate windshield would last compared to a glass one, but would imagine it’s more than a season on the former and much less on the latter for a dedicated, take-your-car-to-every-race application.

Advances in coatings have almost eliminated scratching and hazing issues. Czech these: http://www.hrpworld.com/index.cfm?form_cat_id=209&action=category
http://www.roadlessgear.com/page/RGL/PROD/A/RG130

Originally Posted by Broaner

I know you weren't asking me 2fass, but I just want to have a great time building the sh!t out of a car. I don't really care if its class legal or not. I just want it to be bliss to drive. I'd like to use it in non-competitive HPDE's. Some day I'd love to build a dedicated race car built to spec rules. Probably would be better to do it with a Miata though. BTW, did you change your SN? I recognize your sig and all. I liked your old SN better I think.

I was asking the original poster, but appreciate your response. I am basically building a true, mostly-to-spec SE-R Cup car to compete in the SRX Division.

Yeah my name used to be “Shift_Munky” but I changed it to current when I started joining other boards and using that. I have found that 9 out of 10 forum-goers like my current one, either because they are dumb and liked the movie, or have an appreciation for satire.

[Broaner]

I think your SN should be "Race Bling"

Both those carbonate products look very nice. I've been wondering if I really want to go to a shield like that. The rear and quarter windows I think would be no problem but I don't know if I want to obstruct vision with the supports if my car is only a hobbyist racer type.

[2Fass240us]

Originally Posted by Broaner

I think your SN should be "Race Bling"

Ha, I see what you mean now.

Originally Posted by Broaner

Both those carbonate products look very nice. I've been wondering if I really want to go to a shield like that. The rear and quarter windows I think would be no problem but I don't know if I want to obstruct vision with the supports if my car is only a hobbyist racer type.

I don't know that you'd need as substantial a piece of metal as probably you're thinking about. At least not one that'd seriously compromise frontal view.