shaving weight

[BlueZ31]

okay, with some calculations ive figured that with the 200-210 crank hp im making in my Z if i can shave the cars weight down to 2500lbs (tough to do, i know) with a good launch on street tires ill be in the sub-6 second 0-60 range which would be awesome..sooo

 

Ive alread dropped the entire a/c system, along with the clutch style fan, and lighter wheels, how else could i drop some weight and still have a car thatll pass inspection and not look like a junkyard find? im guessing replacing the rear window and rear side windows with thin lexan, maybe loosing the carpet in favor of spray in liner, and of course CBFB hood n hatch (expensive though) any other ideas? how much do you guys think i could drop? and later down the road (much later) im considering tryng a vq35 swap (the engine alone is almost 300lbs lighter than the good 'ol vg) so puting my car on a diet would also help that too in the near future..

[Guest josuemgarcia]

how about using a smaller engine? or getting a carbon door setup with everything taken out of the car i.e carpet, headliner, stereo, basically gut it out.

[Racinjitter]

There is no way that the vq weighs 300 lbs less than the vg30. I don't think you can get a z31 down to 2500lbs unless every panel is replaced with ultra thin cf or fiberglass. That includes the doors and all electronics that aren't needed. Might as well lose the instrument panel the passenger seat, and replace the drivers seat with a lightweight racing seat also. 500 lbs is not easy to lose, why don't you just turn up the boost and intercool it?

[jtl260z]

okay, with some calculations ive figured that with the 200-210rwhp im making in my Z if i can shave the cars weight down to 2500lbs (tough to do, i know) with a good launch on street tires ill be in the sub-6 second 0-60 range which would be awesome..sooo

 

Ive alread dropped the entire a/c system, along with the clutch style fan, and lighter wheels, how else could i drop some weight and still have a car thatll pass inspection and not look like a junkyard find? im guessing replacing the rear window and rear side windows with thin lexan, maybe loosing the carpet in favor of spray in liner, and of course CBFB hood n hatch (expensive though) any other ideas? how much do you guys think i could drop? and later down the road (much later) im considering tryng a vq35 swap (the engine alone is almost 300lbs lighter than the good 'ol vg) so puting my car on a diet would also help that too in the near future..

I've got my 260z down below the 2000 lbs mark with a roll cage...but of course it is an s30.

[PhilbertZ]

do you have power windows/locks you can remove?

 

Radio/speakers?

[Racinjitter]

Oh and there is no way you have 200-210whp with an N/A vg30e.

[BlueZ31]

i said CRANK hp and yes the vq is CLOSE to 250bs lighter minus AC and power steering pump, aluminum block/heads etc make it a pretty light motor, guys over at z31.com who work for nissan have had one weighed and it was in the 300-320lb range depending on the year due to different designs (slightly) and additional sensors and electronics, and according to them its alot lighter than any of the vg series(with all electronics and accesories attached), so if its an innacurate statement its on them im just using them as a reference.

 

Ive seen guys do the old skool roadster thing and replace their doors with leather zip-up style cutouts with plastic windows, but i think it wouldnt look right on a Z so losing power accesories might be the way to go along with losing alot of the interior trim, maybe using lightweight guages in favor of the stock dash/cluster and ditching the heater/blower radio, tool box/spare tire, and alot of weight can be dropped by losing the bumper supports and using a shorter length exhaust system, etc. im sure i might be able to get it down to 2900 at least, pretty soon itll be my side car so not having the necesseties wouldnt pose a problem, and i dont plan on boosting it because i already enjoy it like it is, i dont need a sh**load of power to have fun, just a good handling, responsive car, lightening it would just allow me to take advantage of the power its already making.

[Racinjitter]

i said CRANK hp and yes the vq is CLOSE to 250bs lighter minus AC and power steering pump, aluminum block/heads etc make it a pretty light motor, guys over at z31.com who work for nissan have had one weighed and it was in the 300-320lb range depending on the year due to different designs (slightly) and additional sensors and electronics, and according to them its alot lighter than any of the vg series(with all electronics and accesories attached), so if its an innacurate statement its on them im just using them as a reference.

 

Ive seen guys do the old skool roadster thing and replace their doors with leather zip-up style cutouts with plastic windows, but i think it wouldnt look right on a Z so losing power accesories might be the way to go along with losing alot of the interior trim, maybe using lightweight guages in favor of the stock dash/cluster and ditching the heater/blower radio, tool box/spare tire, and alot of weight can be dropped by losing the bumper supports and using a shorter length exhaust system, etc. im sure i might be able to get it down to 2900 at least, pretty soon itll be my side car so not having the necesseties wouldnt pose a problem, and i dont plan on boosting it because i already enjoy it like it is, i dont need a sh**load of power to have fun, just a good handling, responsive car, lightening it would just allow me to take advantage of the power its already making.

 

Simmer down dude. BTW if you look at post number #4 by jtl260z, you will see what your post said before you edited it to say crank. 2900 lbs is an easy task, 2500 is not so easy. But don't remove your front bumper, it is structural. I can go out in my garage and grab at least 3 vg30e's and pick them up. In fact I have to move two of them to get at my shiro to work on it. I am not a body builder but I would say that mine weigh about 450-500 lbs, not 550-600lbs.

 

Why don't you just put some coil overs on it? or some race springs/shocks? It will do wonders for the feel of the road and the responsiveness of the car.

[Chaparral2f]

Here is what I did but the car is still in a bunch of pieces so It hasn't been weighed. I'll prob gain most of the weight back because that rear end is heavy! The headlight mechinisms weigh about 25lbs, the bumpers can be removed from under the covers and no one will ever know they're gone except the person in the car when it hits that tree. You can remove a lot of the bracing from the hood. Losing the jack and the fiber box that it's in will help too. Dump the power antenae. IO striped about 5lbs of redundant wiring harnes (Not recomemded MAJOR PITA!!!!) And you could cut out the steel floor and firewall and replace them with aluminium. Of course that will weaken the car, so do this. Sorry these aren't current pics of the chassis but I've been doing other things.

[HowlerMonkey]

Check the with guys who do this all the time.

 

http://www.improvedtouring.com/

 

Make sure to set your preferences for more than 30 days or you won't see jack.

[ZR8ED]

Nissan stated that the VG30ET was approx 395 lbs (no tranny) and this was a dressed motor (complete)

 

The first 100lbs is somewhat easy, after that, it is becomes more intense. Easy items like seats, interior panels, carpet, sound insulation, stereo's, are easier to remove/substitue with lighter equipment. large reductions of weight from changing the stock seats is very effective.

 

There is lots of emmisions equipment that "could" be removed (not endorsing that) Lots of bits and pieces under the hood, engine controllers etc. Light weight gelcel battery can save an easy 20lbs.

 

Body items like wheel well inner liners, power window equipment, replace glass with lexan, lightweight body panels, etc.

 

After that it is more complex, and some knowledge will be required regarding structural integrety, and some comfort/driveability trade offs, re-engineering of existing parts to lightweight materials etc. Gutting the insides of the doors, hood and hatch, remove metal bracing (may have to re-engineer structural bracing)

 

That is just off the top of my head, and somethings I have done, but I am not a mechanic or engineer, so take these ideas with caution.

 

Good luck and keep us posted!

 

It is possible to get that weight down, but not easily/likely to hit 2500 lbs

[Gollum]

The VG30E is NOT a heavy pig, in fact it's very light. Don't let the VG30DE or VG30DETT weight figures throw you for a loop. From what I've seen the VG30E should weigh around 350 pounds with just a block filled with rotating assembly, and complete heads on it.

 

Consider this, an IRON V8 block won't weigh over 200 pounds. High end aluminum DART V8 blocks weight in around 60-100 pounds depending on block. So you're looking at a maximum gain in the block of around 90-110 pounds AT BEST.

 

So for a tiny 60 degree V6 the difference will be even smaller. And the VG has smaller heads, and is overall a tad smaller if you ask me (though I admit to not having measured them side by side).

 

There simply isn't enough weight difference in the motors to see NEARLY a 300 pound difference. You'd be lucky to see a 70 pound difference in my opinion. You'd get quite a few more HP though...

 

 

Take a complete door off and weigh it. It's probably about 60+ pounds, possibly a lot more. Getting a minimal 4 point cage for side protection and completely cutting the doors can actually result in a loss of weight in some cars. Even the 280Z doors are pretty dang heavy. The 280ZX 2+2 doors are insanely heavy, probably over 100 pounds completed.

 

Forget carbon fiber if you're on a budget. Fiberglass can be found and made just as easily, and costs a few pennies less. It won't be as strong, but it'll be nearly as light when compared to steel or even aluminium.

 

Fenders, hood, hatch all in fiberglass shuold cut out a good 100 pounds. The bumper is structural and needed in a crash, but you could probably have some tube steel welded in that could do the same job for less weight. Replacing the back, corner, and side glass with lexan should cut out another 100 pounds. Interior is minor, and you've already removed the AC.

 

I'd say 2600 is achievable, but beyond that you're going to HAVE to look at replacing unibody sections with tube steel until you eventually end up with a full tube chassis.

[BRAAP]

I'm not buying that the VQ35DE, engine only, comparably dressed, is anywhere near 250-300 lbs lighter than a VG30E. My bet is the VG30E weighs within 50 lbs or is lighter than than VQ35DE. Twin cam heads are quite heavy, and the aluminum block will only save few lbs.

[aplyedmind]

What if you put a SR20 then u might loose some extra weight. But 500 pounds is so much weight and its like gaining 50 extra horse power.