Going on a Diet

[McCoy]

AC system is gone... right at 40lbs for everything.

Condensor - 8lbs
Compressor - 18lbs
AC sandwich piece - 8lbs
AC misc parts - 5lbs
Total 39lbs lost.

new car weight est. 2567.5lbs

[McCoy]

Going on a Diet

In the hopes of keeping the S13 fairly light, I’ve decided to put her on a diet… the car is not driven that much and the only long trips the car makes are to the track, so road noise is not that much of an issue for me. Eventually the car will be caged, just not yet due to the unknown factory that we might not have a track near me next year I weighed the car sometime back, so I made sure to weigh everything that came out of the car to give myself a good idea of the weight of the car as I progress. All weights were taken on a digital scale and should be accurate enough for what I’m doing..

2690lbs -- Car's starting weight

Removed
9lbs -- Car Seat
27.5lbs -- Spare Tire
5.5 lbs -- Jack 3.5lbs -- Spare Tire Cover
17.5lbs -- Rear Seatback with trunk cover
7.5lbs -- Rear Seat lower section
7lbs -- Rear Side Panels and B-panels
5lbs -- Rear Seatbelt assembly and misc
82.5lbs Total Removed

2607.5lbs Est. Car weight, and I still have AC and sound deadening to remove... that should help shave another 60+ lbs

Pictures of the rear as of now.

[McCoy]

So, after the turbo install, here is the new estimate on weight...

Removed...
Stock manifold --- 13lbs
Stock DP and cat - 18lbs
Misc EGR parts ---- 3lbs
Bumper Support - 22lbs

TOTAL -------------- 56lbs

Added...
T28 & manifold ---- 28lbs
PWR IC ------------- 21lbs
Piping --------------- 4lbs
DP/catless pipe --- 11lbs

TOTAL --------------- 64lbs

Est. weight before turbo install was 2567.5lbs

Est. weight after turbo install is 2576.5lbs

[McCoy]

Just finished installing the B14 belts on the drivers side, I'll get the passanger side tomorrow night . Besides helping in weight reduction, they actually make me like the car that much more!!! No more getting my head caught by the automatic belt... The one mod that needed to happen for this to work, drilled a hole large enough for the tab to fit in for the B14 belt.


Reused the hardware from the rear seatbelts on the 240. I'll add the B-pillar plastic piece once I have a harness bar built and the seats figured out.


The lower mount for the belt goes on one of the two bolts that held the oem lap belt. I did cut the carpet so the belt can go through.


And what it looks like installed minus the plastic trim... much better if you ask me.


There is a 7lbs weight difference between the B14 belt and the S13 auto belt... so chalk another 14lbs off the car. New estimated weight is 2568.5 lbs

[2Fass240us]

Monty, I also used B14 belts and simply cut the tab off versus making a hole for it. I've been pretty happy with the, except that the tightening method I used caused it to snap loose a couple of times on-track. So no more of that mess. As soon as I can dig up my weight savings guide from the archives (my site was redesigned), I will post it here.

[McCoy]

Monty, I also used B14 belts and simply cut the tab off versus making a hole for it. I've been pretty happy with the, except that the tightening method I used caused it to snap loose a couple of times on-track. So no more of that mess.

That would suck... especially with stock seats

As soon as I can dig up my weight savings guide from the archives (my site was redesigned), I will post it here.

The more the better... I'm still curious what your car weighs in at now. For the weight, the Sparco seats help shed 15lb per seat... so a savings of 30lbs. I haven't weighted the brackets, so this number might change by a 1lb or two once I have the seat out next time. New estimated weight is 2538lbs

[Invisible_Saddle]

was your goal to lighten the car by remove a few components yet keeping the car quite streetable? Well since you removed the AC components pretty much you can remove the AC components under the dash, snip the wires that used to control the autobelts.

[McCoy]

was your goal to lighten the car by remove a few components yet keeping the car quite streetable?

For the most part... yes. I just wanted to get rid of any part that wasn't serving a useful purpose for me. I did put in some of the rear interior for now since I don't plan on caging the car for at least another year. I just didn't want the car to be quicker, but easier on the brakes and tires at the track by keeping the car lighter. I still need to remove the sound deadening... maybe this winter I guess.

Well since you removed the AC components pretty much you can remove the AC components under the dash, snip the wires that used to control the autobelts.

If I ever plan on removing the dash, I assume I have to remove it, then I'll remove the rest of the AC components then. Once the car becomes less of a daily driver than it currently is, then I'll consider pulling the unwanted wiring harness and stripping more out of the car.

[2Fass240us]

If I ever plan on removing the dash, I assume I have to remove it, then I'll remove the rest of the AC components then. Once the car becomes less of a daily driver than it currently is, then I'll consider pulling the unwanted wiring harness and stripping more out of the car.

There is no "ever" in dash removal planning. It's simply a question of "when." If you're going to have it off though, you will want to do as much under there as you can as it's a PITA to remove. I have cut on mine such that I can remove it by "reclining" the steering wheel and pulling about 6 fasteners. This would be much easier for any of the normally-dashed guys by adding a removable wheel. Oh yeah, and I have to worry about the wiring to the back of the gauges. But a stock car with stock pieces/controls/eletronics would be a much bigger pain. As for AC component removal under the dash, it's kind of a PITA since you have to get everything apart and remove the dash bar. I took all of it out because I was having fun times with the heater core (fixed, 1-speed defrost), so this helped with the evap core. If you ever get to that point I can walk you through evaporator removal and shell changes, because the non-AC-equipped 240 part that bridged the blower housing to the heater core and left out all the AC crap does not exist. A friend and I looked high and low for it, and found nothing. So the best bet is simply gutting your evap core. Here again, we can talk more / post pictures when the time is right unless anyone is interested now. Sound deadening should remain for a DD IMO, especially one the wife might ever ride in. If she's never in it, get rid of it and save 25-ish (if memory serves) pounds. it sure isn't the "5o, y0!" pounds people online are claiming. Dammit, where is my weight savings guide? I need to speak with my friend / site creator about getting it back up because it was bomb-ass information. -Andy

[McCoy]

There is no "ever" in dash removal planning. It's simply a question of "when." If you're going to have it off though, you will want to do as much under there as you can as it's a PITA to remove. I have cut on mine such that I can remove it by "reclining" the steering wheel and pulling about 6 fasteners. This would be much easier for any of the normally-dashed guys by adding a removable wheel. Oh yeah, and I have to worry about the wiring to the back of the gauges. But a stock car with stock pieces/controls/eletronics would be a much bigger pain.

Sounds like fun times... I'll make sure to save that for one of my winter projects. You'll need to PM me your # so I can get it in my speed dial ; -)

Sound deadening should remain for a DD IMO, especially one the wife might ever ride in. If she's never in it, get rid of it and save 25-ish (if memory serves) pounds. it sure isn't the "5o, y0!" pounds people online are claiming.

I removed it out of my pats few sentra's and never noticed that much of a difference, of course the 3" side-exit exhaust was probably why I couldn't tell a difference. It will come out when I feel like it... maybe another winter-time project. Oh yeah, Kaori has rode in the 240 3 times since owning it... and with the fixed seats, and her only being 5ft tall, she'll never drive it either.

[McCoy]

While out doing some datalogging a few nights ago I found myself at the scales that I typically use, so I decided to stop and see what she read. With a passanger, spare tire, tool box, and the back seat in the car... the total weight was 2850lbs. If I subtract for the box, rear seats, and the passanger, then the car weight is around 2565lbs. The past time I weighed the car I only had 3/8th of a tank, I was at about 5/8ths of a tank this time, so this can account for some of the difference between my est. and actual weight I'm at now...

[AceInHole]

Oh yeah, Kaori has rode in the 240 3 times since owning it... and with the fixed seats, and her only being 5ft tall, she'll never drive it either.

My girlfriend has been driving my car lately at regional events. She's about 4'11, so with the seat sliders all the way forward, she still needs a cushin behind her :P I might do a bead fill cushin like they use for formula cars..... it might work for a fixed seat with multiple drivers as well. Just some food for thought

[SOneThreeCoupe]

Ignoring rules and making use of lightweight aftermarket composite parts can get an S13 coupe with an NA KA comfortably under 2300lbs. I was at 2303 lbs before I switched to manual belts, swapped the Optima for a Braille, removed the intake blower and AC crap from under the dash, removed excess wiring, swapped in a Hotshot, removed the fan clutch, removed windows, regulators, and removed/lightened some other stuff. I honestly think that a caged S13 coupe running an LSx V8 and a 6-speed can get to 2250lbs or even lower. If one were to use a TKO/TKO-style trans, you could possibly get to 2200, IMHO. There'd be a lot of modifications performed, though.

[McCoy]

^^^ I'd be curious to know your list of parts removed to get to 2300lbs? Do you have the silvia conversion? CF hood and fiberglass fenders? I know that I can get about an additional 50lbs out of the car with sound deadening and carpet, so I'm not sure where the extra 200lbs is at. I've already done most of the basic weight reduction mods and most of them don't add up to that much weight. Thi is a somewhat street driven car still, so I'm not going to far with the weight reduction, just what I can get away with and/or helps me in someway... like the EvoL seats : -). An S13/S14 at 2500lbs has a pretty good leg up on most of the cars out there these days. The STI/EVo are in the 3200lb range and run on the same size tires that I'm going to be on. The Supra is just under that (for a HT that is) and is even more tail happy than my S13. Most of the american muscle cars are well above 4000lbs, they do have the brute HP but most can't corner worth a damn and usually don't have the brakes to keep up. The C6 Z06, Vipers, and GT3's can be lapped only if the driver is new to his car or is just scared of it. The exige is the car I want to be able to keep up with at the track. The #'s make it look to be slower than it truely is... that car with a good driver can carry speeds through the corners that I can only dream about : -)

[SOneThreeCoupe]

Trust me, I've asked myself where the weight savings came from and since I didn't weigh everything when I removed it, I can't be sure. I believe that aftermarket fiberglass wide fenders are either no lighter than the stock sheetmetal, or are even heavier. I've probably left things out of my list, and I'll add them as I remember/come across them in the garage. The car was weighed on a set of Longacre scales, the old-school dial kind. I have performed the following weight reduction: Silvia front end (pop-up motors are heavy)* random Japanese fiberglass hood, much lighter than the FRP and carbon stuff the big distributors sell here* removed factory hood latch* removed factory hinges* removed factory sunroof assembly and replaced it with a sheet of aluminum riveted in* removed side window glass removed side window regulators and motors removed anything electrical-related in doors removed fan clutch and fan removed radiator shroud* removed ASCD unit and wiring replaced factory intake and airbox with AEM short ram* replaced factory flywheel with lightweight flywheel* replaced motor mounts with UHMWP mounts* replaced transmission mount with high durometer poly mount* removed A/C condenser* removed A/C compressor* removed A/C condenser fan* removed random A/C-related stuff from engine bay* removed wheel well plastic* replaced nonessential bolts with zip ties* replaced stock seat with Sparco Pro2000* replaced stock wheel with Nardi Deep Corn 330mm* removed stock carpeting* removed unused/unnecessary wiring and connectors removed stock sound deadening from footwells back* removed stock roof liner* removed stock trim* removed center console* removed glove box* removed door panels removed rear seat* removed rear seat belts* removed head unit removed front speakers removed rear speakers* removed factory amp removed all factory stereo wiring removed parcel tray* replaced Optima Red Top with Braille BT14115 (good for about 22 pounds right there) replaced stock power belts with manual belts removed stock trunk trim* removed stock spare* removed stock antenna* removed trunk sound deadening* removed stock SE wing* replaced stock trunk lid with CF-wrapped FRP trunk lid (all you can get here unless you import from jp or have one made) removed trunk lid springs removed trunk latch removed trunk hinges replaced stock tension rods with SPL v2 tension rods* replaced stock rear suspension pieces with adjustable aftermarket pieces* removed e-brake assembly* replaced stock exhaust manifold with Hotshot header replaced stock SE alloys (19lbs ea) with 17x9 CE28s (15lbs ea) and 17x9 TE37s (17lbs ea) I've added weight here: FLCAs* Nismo Power Brace* Nagisa Auto shakitto plates* Ultra Racing fender braces DC sports solid strut brace* 6 gallons of gas* 245/40R17 tires (figure about 7lbs/tire heavier than stock for a street tire)* SPL subframe braces* ATS diff* VLSD diff cover* foam * indicates a weight reduction/increase performed to the car at the time of weighing