I still have a carbon hatch and a hood that someone could get a deal on if they want to save weight and look good. We have them on display at the shop and everyone that comes in drools.


As for removing the P/S I've driven several MINI's with failed pumps and it's ok as long as you aren't trying to park.

 

I called the company like 5 years ago to see if they would do another one and basically the response was. "HELL NO".. . Plus they said it fit like crap..which is surprising they would bash their own quality and the base was wood so it was still kinda heavy.
As far as a whole roof skin of cf....that would be way easier since you can buy a new roof skin for 500 bucks and use it as an exact mold. The ONLY drawback I see is figuring out how to attach it to the metal body. One sec...Ill ask my composite guys......

 

You mean like THIS?

 

Here....I found a pic on my HD of the car.....

 

Today I had to fix my fuel door, It just randomly came lose. So I decided to tackle the job myself... without having the internet to guide me. I thought the easiest way to the fuel door would be from inside the car... I had to take out the back seat, which is heavier than it looks. Then I took out the rear interior panel. OOPs... can't get to the fuel door from there. I had to take out the wheel well lining. without a jack this can be done but I should have jacked up the car and taken the tire off... anyway I fixed the fuel door, for now... it came out of the hinge, not sure how long that fix will last... so have decided to leave the rear seat out. My first weight reduction mod on this car... now I will just wait for the p/s pump to go out so I can remove it... I am a pretty big guy with huge arms so parking won't be an issue... besides i had a ford aerostar with a blown p/s pump and I drove it for about 3000 miles... (it was given to me)

 

I really wish I had PS...it sucks not to have it.....

 

You still posting on here? How's the Cooper treating you? Anything new with the 3er?

 

On Bandemere speedway's scale a couple days ago I weighed 2635 lbs, 1695 of that is over the front axle, and 920 on the rear. I am still striped in the rear and have added the TSW X-brace (11 lbs) an M7 STB (around 8 lbs) and switched to the M7 DFIC (surprisingly heavyer than stock but, I didnt weigh it) . My total weight was with a half a tank of gas, and me 150 lbs. I also had my new wheels and tires (17X7+40 Konig feathers and Nitto NT-01's sized 215/45/17) they lost about a pound per corner over stock wheels and snow tires.

I am still shooting for 2500 lbs but it is going to take a lot more work.

 

If you don't count yourself you are below the 2500... that is really hot

 

Yes but I see the fuel and myself as part of the car, it cant do anything without us

 

Anyone know the actual weight savings of the CF hood and hatch?

 

The Siebon hood that I have feels heavy for carbonfiber. I dont have a scale to weigh it but I will try and do a comparison when I install it. (probably in the spring) But Siebon uses a realy thick (looks like blown) fiberglass base and frame, with a resin that still feels kinda rubbery. I might be able to shave some of the weight off with a DA sander and trimming the frame.

Why cant a good carbonfiber parts manufacturer like APR make a true exact fit light weight carbon hood?

 

I've been reading this thread and have heard of some great ideas.
One thing that seems to be overlooked is the main body.
In the 60's, several race teams, Penske Racing and most of the NASCAR factory teams, were having their bodies "Acid Dipped". The Penske Camaro dropped over 60 lbs. this way. To meet the weight specs. the teams added lead in the areas that they wanted to. It's a little on the extreme side but it is doable. If your stripping the car for race prep. why not go all the way.

Another doable thing is the use of quality steel in place of the factory low carbon steel. In the production process the factory use's a low grade steel.
Since it doesn't have much strength they have to use thicker parts or add
gusset plates to support or strengthen the part. A good example is the R50 trailing arms.

 

Yes...I do!

http://members.tripod.com/ghmyc_1m/O..._race_car.html

Car is about 2000lbs....

 

Look at Onasled Racing.
They have website.
Their car is at 2050 lbs.

 

Wizardwerks, Why go with thinner steel when if you had the press, and dies to make new steel body pannels you could just as easily make them out of aluminum. Just imagine what a set of aluminum doors, hood, fenders, hatch, and roof would do. And if they used the same dies used for OEM replacement parts they would fit better than any C/F ever could.

 

I did not mean making a new body of steel.
I was thinking more of the different parts bolting to the body.
Control arms, trailing arms and things like that.
There are many ways to reduce weight in a car.
Some are practical and some aren't.
When you sacrifice strength for a few ounces it isn't the smartest move.
I agree making a new body of aluminum is the ultimate!
For a car manufacturer to do this is very, very expensive.
For those who are wanting to cut some poundage off will have to use the
tried and proven method of doing the research of other owners who are doing the same. I just starting reading this thread yesterday and I have already
found some great ideas that other people have done or tried.

 

There is sure to be more good ideas to come, but at the same time there is realy only so much you can realy do.
I for one have tried to keep weight to a minimum, and bougt the lightest but strongest parts that I could aford. And at the same time I find that I am adding weight in other areas in the name of safety, for myself and the car. The Autopower "Race" roll bar I threw in was an extra 60lbs alone, add to that the water meth kit which in its self is light but, the 3 gallons of methanol at around 7 lbs per gallon on top of the system is probably right around 30 more pounds. Its all a game of give and take, and in the end the only question is "Can I live without this pice on the car?"

 

Yes, we take weight out here and add it somewhere else.
Adding weight for safety is required, but do you really "need" that roll bar.
If you are in comprtition yes, but for the street no. It looks nice and it's wonderful show piece but is it really needed. I have replaced the front seats with Sparco Torino 2 seats. That alone must have saved 50 lbs. The stock seats with the air bags weigh a ton. Will get an actual weight someday. I will miss the safety of the air bags but there are other air bags to protect me on the street. Removed rear seat for 38 lb. loss. Then added 20 lbs. back on with stereo equipment. You can only do so much.

 

Yep my bar is needed. I have Sparco sprint 5's and 5point harness, I needed to mount the belts somewhere so the bar went in. At the same time it also made my chassis super stiff, and the car feels WAY more balanced than it ever did without it.

 

The additional weight of the rollbar for the structual rigidty is plus to your handleing. Don't look at the weight as a negitive. The weight resulted in strengthening a weak part of the chassis. If a street MINI gets into the 2,200 to 2,350 lb. weight range that is a signifigant reduction. In production based racing, race cars are required to meet a min. weight limit. I don't think that it's realistic to get a MINI under 2,000 lbs. unless you go with building a tube chassis. There was a MINI running on the PINKS tv show. The weight they claimed was 1,600 lbs. They had an 1.6 engine that was turbocharged, running some ungodly boost. Motor was putting out over 500 hp.

 

There are many threads on weight savings- (just search)

Some (weight loss) come from upgrade and replace stock parts for lighter ones- exhaust being great example and even a straight pipe design if you want it loud.
Racing seats/wheels another good example- functional and less weight

Some come from removing things you don't really need (depends on if you want them for street driving)- interior anything, carpet, panels, stereo, AC, etc

Some come from expensive ultra light components- CF bonnet, trunklid panels etc.

But some weight is added- braces undercarriage, strut brace or tower plates, roll bar or cage, big brake kit, fender flares, etc

Typically when you remove interior parts you loose sound deadening and things get really loud quick as to make the stereo difficult to hear.

Not having the sunroof is best or loose it and put some cheap and light panel in place is ok

 

Very good points.

 

Oh, yeah and I didn't mention other stuff like

Driver helmet and shoes- light is nice

Driver weight- while you can't change your height or build you can be fit and trim. Think F1 drivers or fighter pilots. They workout to be strong and able to tolerate fatigue from heat and dehydration which hinder performance both physically and mentally (extremely important).

The heavier you are the harder you have to work to keep hydrated and cooled off when doing anything and it's hot out on the track or when you have to prep your car.

I lift weights everyother day and walk or run for endurance. Always drink early and regularly on track days. I often still loose 3 lbs easily.

As for common weight savings- if you do most of the basics you can loose about 200+ lbs from the interior by converting to a bare track setup. Try to loose weight from unsprung weight as that helps much more- tires, wheels, suspension and brakes.
A lightweight flywheel (not overly light) also helps.

 

I'm going to lose a bit of weight on my Mini and I was wondering, since I don't plan on ever putting the back seats in, are those parts any ''key'' structural points on the back or can I get rid of them without having to bother? Thanks!

Pics from J Propane thread :