How else can my 8 shed some pounds?
#1
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How else can my 8 shed some pounds?
My Rx8 has been my daily driver and weekend track car for almost 4 years now and along the way i've made light modifications here and there along with some weight reduction. I've recently bought a BMW as a daily driver so technically now my RX8 is a dedicated weekend and track car which is parked in the garage for the winter. I've been working on a few projects over the winter which caused me to start pulling off bits and pieces i didn;t think were necessary to try to make this thing as light as possible. I will say that i do want the car to appear to be a street car at a glance but is actually a street car with a very trim waistline. I also love the way it sounds so exhaust changes are off limits... And i have the Mazdaspeed sides and rear to cover damages from a small accident so those are off limits too.
I'll list off my mods that i think matter and what weight reduction i've done so far. Let me know if you have any ideas for shedding a few more pounds.. i'm running out of ideas.
Mods:
Weight Reduction:
Random:
Thoughts:
The last time i weighed my car was pre racing seats and pre most of the weight reduction with a half tank of gas and it was 2950 lbs on a truck scale. I'm hoping i'm in the 28xx's but i think i have a bit to go.
Thanks all!
I'll list off my mods that i think matter and what weight reduction i've done so far. Let me know if you have any ideas for shedding a few more pounds.. i'm running out of ideas.
Mods:
- Street wheels: Advan RS 18x9
- Track wheels: Enkei NT03 17x9.5 with very light 255 BFG R1 tires
- Racing Brake two piece slotted rotors on all corners
- Racing Beat Dual Resonated mid-pipe
- Exoticspeed R1-T cat-back exhaust
- Status Ring GT Carbon Fiber Racing Seats (leather)
- Delrin shift ****
- Tein Basic Coilovers
- AEM intake
- AP sluminum underdrive pulley
Weight Reduction:
- Odyssey PC-680 battery relocated to trunk
- Battery tray and everything that is attached to it removed
- intake tray removed
- air pump delete
- front engine hoist removal
- Exhaust heat shield removed (below trunk area)
- rear floor mats gone
- Front brake dust shield removal (still need to do the rears)
Random:
- The trunk panels are out for the time being but aren't usually
- Rear seat bottoms are out on track days
- Front floor mats are out on track days
Thoughts:
- I've seen people remove the hood liner but i'm not sure if that is a good idea
- Does the sound deadener in the trunk weigh much?
The last time i weighed my car was pre racing seats and pre most of the weight reduction with a half tank of gas and it was 2950 lbs on a truck scale. I'm hoping i'm in the 28xx's but i think i have a bit to go.
Thanks all!
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14 lb carbon fiber racing seats not good enough for you?
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Light flywheel
RB aluminum front calipers
Remove engine cover
Remove OEM shock tower brace
Remove rear deck speakers (fronts should be good enough for the trip to the track)
Aftermarket steering wheel (Use a harness when driving to & from track)
Remove fog lights
Aluminum shock tops
Remove interior panels (keep 'em nice for when you sell the car)
Swap out Bose head unit for cheaper (and lighter?) stock head unit
Some of these may be more extreme than you want to do. I'm sure there are other ideas that I missed.
RB aluminum front calipers
Remove engine cover
Remove OEM shock tower brace
Remove rear deck speakers (fronts should be good enough for the trip to the track)
Aftermarket steering wheel (Use a harness when driving to & from track)
Remove fog lights
Aluminum shock tops
Remove interior panels (keep 'em nice for when you sell the car)
Swap out Bose head unit for cheaper (and lighter?) stock head unit
Some of these may be more extreme than you want to do. I'm sure there are other ideas that I missed.
#10
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Light flywheel -- when clutch/flywheel need replaced most definitely. I'm at 75k now.
RB aluminum front calipers -- seriously thought about it but couldn't justify the cost....not yet at least
Remove engine cover -- that was gone less than a week after i bought the car
Remove OEM shock tower brace -- any potential cons to this?
Remove rear deck speakers (fronts should be good enough for the trip to the track) -- good idea, i rarely listen to music in the car but didn't want to remove them completely.
Aftermarket steering wheel (Use a harness when driving to & from track) -- thats a thought.
Remove fog lights -- hmm.. i like the fog lights
Aluminum shock tops --elaborate please...
Remove interior panels (keep 'em nice for when you sell the car) -- not going to happen any time soon but maybe someday. I plan on having this car a long time as a track toy.
Swap out Bose head unit for cheaper (and lighter?) stock head unit -- interesting idea
RB aluminum front calipers -- seriously thought about it but couldn't justify the cost....not yet at least
Remove engine cover -- that was gone less than a week after i bought the car
Remove OEM shock tower brace -- any potential cons to this?
Remove rear deck speakers (fronts should be good enough for the trip to the track) -- good idea, i rarely listen to music in the car but didn't want to remove them completely.
Aftermarket steering wheel (Use a harness when driving to & from track) -- thats a thought.
Remove fog lights -- hmm.. i like the fog lights
Aluminum shock tops --elaborate please...
Remove interior panels (keep 'em nice for when you sell the car) -- not going to happen any time soon but maybe someday. I plan on having this car a long time as a track toy.
Swap out Bose head unit for cheaper (and lighter?) stock head unit -- interesting idea
...
#12
Remove the center dash\shifter cover from the front to the rear.
Remove the rear seats and the lid that leads to the trunk
Remove the glovebox
Replace the rear compass windows with lexan ones or carbon fibre panels
same for the sunroof
Replace the rear view mirrors with lighter, non electric ones
Most of this stuff is free too!
Remove the rear seats and the lid that leads to the trunk
Remove the glovebox
Replace the rear compass windows with lexan ones or carbon fibre panels
same for the sunroof
Replace the rear view mirrors with lighter, non electric ones
Most of this stuff is free too!
#14
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when you change your flywheel, go for the BHR one...i believe it is the lightest flywheel we can buy.
i don't think i saw a midpipe in your list unless its the exotic speed one that came with your cat back. You might want to add the Racing Beat header to your list as well. Marginal weight savings, but you get more mid range wtq.
i don't think i saw a midpipe in your list unless its the exotic speed one that came with your cat back. You might want to add the Racing Beat header to your list as well. Marginal weight savings, but you get more mid range wtq.
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Calipers alone do not eliminate 15 lbs - the OP already has two-piece rotors.
Aluminum shock tops at this point are, I do believe a custom endeavor. TeamRX8 made a post in the last few days about how he did it in the STX thread.
However, the thing about following us STX guys in terms of weight savings is that we are playing by a very specific set of rules. For a track car with no rules, there are cheaper ways to save weight, like removing stuff.
I recall years ago a Miata guy went through this same exercise, but he took it to an extreme, even trimming off the ends of bolts, etc. He saved buckets of weight. But it was a total transformation - he had no desire to keep any aspect of "streetness" to the car.
As for the downside of removing the OEM shock tower brace, I have not seen any. I recently put it back on just to see, and didn't notice any difference to the car.
Aluminum shock tops at this point are, I do believe a custom endeavor. TeamRX8 made a post in the last few days about how he did it in the STX thread.
However, the thing about following us STX guys in terms of weight savings is that we are playing by a very specific set of rules. For a track car with no rules, there are cheaper ways to save weight, like removing stuff.
I recall years ago a Miata guy went through this same exercise, but he took it to an extreme, even trimming off the ends of bolts, etc. He saved buckets of weight. But it was a total transformation - he had no desire to keep any aspect of "streetness" to the car.
As for the downside of removing the OEM shock tower brace, I have not seen any. I recently put it back on just to see, and didn't notice any difference to the car.
Last edited by GeorgeH; 02-18-2011 at 10:34 AM.
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when you change your flywheel, go for the BHR one...i believe it is the lightest flywheel we can buy.
i don't think i saw a midpipe in your list unless its the exotic speed one that came with your cat back. You might want to add the Racing Beat header to your list as well. Marginal weight savings, but you get more mid range wtq.
i don't think i saw a midpipe in your list unless its the exotic speed one that came with your cat back. You might want to add the Racing Beat header to your list as well. Marginal weight savings, but you get more mid range wtq.
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I like this idea because those are really heavy but i would not want to sacrifice safety whatsoever. Is there any example out there you know of where people who have done this and maintained equal or better safety?
#21
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you need to decide how serious you are about losing weight off the car. i don't think you can get it seriously light unless you are willing to commit to it.
and roof:
http://www.mazdatrix.com/getprice.as...um=CF-ROOF-RX8
front doors (rear doors and hood are already aluminum; i don't think the CF pieces are lighter):
http://www.mazdatrix.com/getprice.as...=CF-DOORS-RX8F
trunk lid (ditch the lifts):
http://www.mazdatrix.com/getprice.as...m=CF-TRUNK-RX8
also front fenders; i'm sure there is a source somewhere.
all the interior stuff can go.
are the Tein dampers aluminum or steel?
use stiff enough springs that you can ditch the swaybars. use the shortest springs you can get away with. Swift springs use fewer coils, IIRC, and are therefore lighter than most.
a header should save some decent weight.
http://www.mazdatrix.com/getprice.as...um=CF-ROOF-RX8
front doors (rear doors and hood are already aluminum; i don't think the CF pieces are lighter):
http://www.mazdatrix.com/getprice.as...=CF-DOORS-RX8F
trunk lid (ditch the lifts):
http://www.mazdatrix.com/getprice.as...m=CF-TRUNK-RX8
also front fenders; i'm sure there is a source somewhere.
all the interior stuff can go.
are the Tein dampers aluminum or steel?
use stiff enough springs that you can ditch the swaybars. use the shortest springs you can get away with. Swift springs use fewer coils, IIRC, and are therefore lighter than most.
a header should save some decent weight.
#22
#24
That's probably because our chassis still has a spider as a starting base:
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Dont you have to break the rear glass to remove the roof panel and the replace the extremely expensive rear glass when you install the new roof?
I agree with the CF doors. Wouldn't do it without a full cage.
I agree with the CF doors. Wouldn't do it without a full cage.