brianZortiz Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 I'm looking to reduce my early 260z weight to 2,250-2,300lbs. I have removed bumpers and the heavy bumper shocks and the AC system. I plan on running some racing seats like sparco fighters. What did you guys do to your early 260z to get it light to 2,300 lbs or less. -Brian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluDestiny Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 It can't be that hard. my 260z weighed 2560lbs and it had AC, comfy seats, spare tire and all. FG hood, FG hatch with Lexan. FG door skins if you're crazy. Do you know what you're at now? AC system probably weighs 60lbs, and both bumpers combined probably weigh 80lbs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Wheels and tires a big areas for weight savings. Fiberglass dash, remove the carpet, jute, and sound deadener, run a R180 instead of an R200, 4 speed instead of 5 speed, light flywheel, SUs, rear drum brakes... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluDestiny Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 (edited) How much lighter are R180 diffs from r200s? I'm guessing like 20 lbs? Also what JohnC said for the tires, my diamond racing wheels weigh a total of 200lbs. But I have a set of 15's with 205 tires on them and they weigh 120-130lbs. Makes a huge difference. edit: jumped the gun, found this post http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?21701-Weight-of-R180 Edited February 1, 2012 by BluDestiny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianZortiz Posted February 1, 2012 Author Share Posted February 1, 2012 (edited) BluDestiny. Was this with you inside of the car? I don't know where I'm at now but will check at a local truck stop soon. @johnc. I have heavy 17's and an r200 LSD. That is where the weight comes on as I see an open r180 is nearly 20lbs lighter than r200 LSD. I am looking at fiberglass dash options and like what pdk offers. And downgrading from 17's to maybe 16"-15" is on the list. I don't mind removing carpet but jute and sound deadning how much will that actually save. SU engine will be replaced by L28et. Edited February 1, 2012 by brianZortiz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluDestiny Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 (edited) No without me. If you're gonna remove the carpet, I don't think you want to look at jute and tar crap. Might as well get rid of that stuff also, sand every thinng down and repaint the interior a nice color. I did that with my 280zx. It was a chore. Edited February 1, 2012 by BluDestiny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beermanpete Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Here is a list of various parts and how much they weight: http://forums.hybridz.org/index.php/topic/98733-itemized-list-of-weights-for-the-purpose-of-weight-reduction/page__p__926063__hl__%2Bweight+%2Blist__fromsearch__1#entry926063 We removed about 130 pounds from our car by replacing the seats, removing the heater system (AC had already been removed), wipers, floor mats, insulation, tar paper, headliner, and so on. Most of these items are only a few pounds each but it adds up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Adkins diet took close to 100# out of my early 260Z Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianZortiz Posted February 2, 2012 Author Share Posted February 2, 2012 (edited) BluDestiny - I think you are right. I think I will remove everything. My floorpans are rust free so I think I can sand it down and POR15 it and spray a single stage paint of white. I think that would look really nice. A plane interior with just a nice pair of seats and a dash. beermanpete- thanks for info. 130# from mainly interior is crazy good. Tony D- I assume all your s30z lost 100# on the diet. I am not a heavy guy, I range from 160#-180# and that takes 6 weeks gain or lose between the two. But I believe you. 70-80% of a weight loss goal comes from nutrition alone. Edited February 2, 2012 by brianZortiz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19762802+2 Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 I should have weighed my 260z before I sold it, I had the interior completely stripped except for Eclipse GS seats and the stock dash, Had the 4 speed with a p79/F54 and SU's and a R180, 14in Appliance meshies. The car felt pretty light and was pretty quick too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianZortiz Posted February 2, 2012 Author Share Posted February 2, 2012 Man I remember my first z. It was an early 260z 8/73 and now own a 9/73 and a 72 240z. But, that thing was stripped by PO and it felt really light. I wasn't really z knowledgeable back then so I didn't know the setup of the car. But man that car flew and sang with 36/32 dgv. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 (edited) 20# is 20#... Personally, my goals were reached by simply running stickier tires and bumping HP 20 through a proper tune and test... Everyone obsesses around Colin Chapman's "Engineer in Lightness" and forget he killed probably more drivers than any other designer. Black Fact of Lotus' success wasn't from designing nimble cars that broke, it was putting in a 400HP bulletproof Ford V8 and then making parts that were possibly heavier, but LASTED the race and didn't get anybody killed. You can do what you can do, but in the end unless you are at the elite level of motorsports, adding HP and working on the nut behind the wheel pays far more dividends than a starvation diet with minimal appreciable gain/return. Keep this in mind to get some perspective on the whole 'big picture'! Edited February 2, 2012 by Tony D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Six_Shooter Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 You can do what you can do, but in the end unless you are at the elite level of motorsports, adding HP and working on the nut behind the wheel pays far more dividends than a starvation diet with minimal appreciable gain/return. Keep this in mind to get some perspective on the whole 'big picture'! For once I agree with Tony D. Being light is good and all, but sometimes having the creature comforts and spending some time on making more power can make for a much more enjoyable vehicle. I know I now add the sound deadener, and carpet, and interior panels, and work on getting more power, because I enjoy it more than when I had stripped down vehicles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galderdi Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 (edited) Here is the list of modifications I have made with the difference it made. A few guidelines I am keeping to first. It is road registered so no Fibreglass doors. No cutting into the chasis but all else is fair game. The car has a full cage but even so I have the weight down to 1000KG (2204 pounds) I am in Australia so sorry about the measurements being metric (Multiply by 2.2 to get pounds). All the interior and sound deadening was removed during the rebuild. I do not know the weight saving. Fibreglass Plenum cover, $40, -2KG Fibreglass Front bumper, $50, -2kg Fibreglass Rear bumper, $50, -2kg Fibreglass Rear hatch, $400, -5kg Rear hatch glass, $200, -2kg Remove extra mounting lugs from diff, $0, -1Kg R200-R180 Diff Swap, $0, - 5kg Fibreglass Bonnet, $600, -5kg Bonnet hinge reduction, $0, -1Kg New Battery, $130, - 8.54kg Removed extra battery cables, $0, - 2.48KG Removed Battery Earth, $0 , -0.22KG Swap spoiler to good copy (less fibreglass), $0, -1KG EGR modification, $0, -0.5KG Dash replacement, $200, -4KG Dash Frame modification, $200, -1KG Removal of standard heater unit and replacement with hair dryers $30, -10KG Removal ov clock and replacement with a photocopy (just as accurate as original) $0, -0.2KG Replacement of half shafts with Wolf Creek CVs $1000, -1.6KG Enjoy the ride Edited February 2, 2012 by galderdi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proxlamus© Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 Removal of standard heater unit and replacement with hair dryers $30, -10KG Umm.. what? hair dryers?! Tell me more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluDestiny Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 He just used the defroster vents and put in hair driers straight into the V shaped vents. They are activated by a switch I'm guessing. Got rid of all the crap and vent lines under the dash. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 Why are glassfibre doors not a road registered legal swap? The pre 73 doors (and for that matter ALL non-North American Market doors) didn't have a single iota of side intrusion beam in evidence (in fact the factory lightweights had FRP Doors with Perspex in them!) How is changing them to something just as useless, only lighter not worth considering? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galderdi Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 He just used the defroster vents and put in hair driers straight into the V shaped vents. They are activated by a switch I'm guessing. Got rid of all the crap and vent lines under the dash. Correct Regarding the doors, I live in Queensland, Australia. The regulations here are a bit restrictive regarding modifications. I could probably do the doors but I would need to get them stress tested and I'd also need an Engineer's certificate to pass them for road use. I guess for me personally the othe challenge is getting a spare set of doors to make the copies. (I wouldn't want to risk damage to my only set of doors). The biggest surprise for me was the weight saving for the plenum cover. The original panel was about 8 pounds....might as well have been made from lead. The copy saved me more that 4 pounds. I would never have expected that sort of potential from such a simple panel. Plus I modified the copy to remove the vents. This was actually the primary objective as I had a leaky windscreen plenum. This modification stops rain water dripping onto my feet while driving. The ventilation still works fine , I guess it just sucks the air in from around the edges. It worked a treat and avoided all the hassle of stripping the car back for a proper plenum repair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianZortiz Posted February 3, 2012 Author Share Posted February 3, 2012 (edited) Wow great info galderdi. Thank You. What battery are you using? Edited February 3, 2012 by brianZortiz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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