Im starting this thread becasue im kind of a weight reduction junky and im going to talk about and give alot of options for weight reduction

Im also going to post the weight of various stock parts and some after market ones too. I want to build a very informatie thread with lots of info.

So i ask everyone to contribute w/e information they can to me, for example if you have the weight of a particular item like an oem rim, door, seat, hood, hatch, tire. Also the weight of any after market parts you have just purchased. Anyhting and if you are planning to take any of these items of please weigh them for us and PM the weight.

Stock weights

Battery box with metal top bracket and plastic cover 4.6lbs / 2.1kg
Tool kit 6.7lb / 3.025kg
Trunk deck lid cover 2.9lb / 1.31kg
Spar tire with plastic cover 24.6lb / 11.2kg
Movable pilar mounted cup holder 0.4lb / 0.17kg
Upper intake box with rubber pipe and filter 3.1lbs / 1.41kg
Base model radio 2.7lbs / 1.23kg
Base rear speakers 1.3lbs / 0.6kg EACH

 

I have removed the rear seats and parcel shelf, the spare wheel and the tools, i have replaced the front seats with racing Sparco buckets on stock runners, and i have the whole exhaust system replaced. My car currently weighs 1055kg, meaning 2326lbs, with about 10 litres of gas in. Not many extras on my car, no sunroof, X Lite wheels (6.5 * 16 8.1 kg each).
More things i want to do are a lightweight racing battery, aluminium rear trialing arms, front Wilwood brakes, and lighter wheels. These can easily take out another 35-40 kg and bring the car down to 1015-1020 kg or 2240 lbs, without losing the a/c, hi-fi, and interior trim.

 

If possible could you weigh some of the parts you took off, like the back seats would be nice and possible the stock rim and stock tire seperatly if possible but if not then together. Anything that was stock that you took off.

Well you saved 60lbs of gasoline weight, with only 2.6 gallons of gas in the car. I expect the rear seats to total about 30lbs. The spare with tools another 40lbs the racing seats should cut another 20lbs, and another 35lbs for the lighter rims. So total savings 185lbs over the curb weight. which would mean based on 2326lbs you would have been at about 2510lbs stock which sounds about right

 

1) Rear wiper/motor delete - 3 lbs
2) One Ball mod - 28 lbs. ( S-Model )
3) Run flats and S-lite wheels.... ( who knows but they weigh a ton )
4) Swapped my rear S spoiler out for a Cooper Spoiler.

Things I have looked into doing for weight reduction.
5) Dry Cell Battery replacement - about 20 lbs.
6) Rear Seat delete ( about 30 lbs I hear )
7) Sun Roof delete ( Carbon Fiber Panel - 54 lb difference - Thanks Waymotorworks ! )
8) A/C delete ( unaware of anyone who has done this for a street car )

*Drive around with a half tank of fuel.....I think a gallon of fuel is about 6 lbs.

 

Is the weight of the wiper motor actual or estimated? also what is a one ball mod?

The battery is a very good one for the money the rear seat is about 30lbs im looking into checking soon the sun roof and motor are very heavy you will save 35lb for sure and you wont be as top heavy the a/c weighs about 20-40lbs depending on what you remove ie, compressor, blower, piping, lines etc

And yes a gallon of gas is 6lbs so driving on half a tank saves 40lbs

 

I will mention everything in kg.
Stock seat vs Sparco seat with stock runner = 9 kg difference each
Rear seats and parcel shelf = 19kg
Spare wheel and tools delete plus Supersprint cat back = 40lbs
X Lite wheel that i have is 8.1 kg each, tyres are not stock and i don'tknow their weight, it is heavier than the stock 5.5*15
Cd changer and bracker removal = 2kg
Also i don't know if my decat Janspeed header is lighter or heavier than stock.

 

While I've done some weight reduction - tires, wheels, exhaust etc - the best weight reduction has been driver modification. I've lost 80 lbs.

Kevin

 

Great mod, congrats!

 

Anyone know of a totally stripped mini for road or drag racing? I am wondering what the actual weight would be. If you have real data or a good lead I would be interested.

 

Our race car has been totally stripped, heck I don't even have the dash pad in it trying to save weight and it still weights 2500, but it does have a roll cage. These cars are heavy, so if you try to save weight your going to have to be drastic to make it actually worth while.

 

if you're talking drastic... what about drilling hundreds of holes in all the body work and vinyl wrapping the car. I'd bet the vinyl weighs a LOT less than the sheet metal. You could probably save a good 50lbs or more I'd think. Same goes for some of the non-structural underbody.

I knew a guy who drilled a bunch of holes in a road bicycle to lighten it and did wonders. I forget the numbers, but he lost a LOT of weight (in bike terms) drilling out the cranks and rims and handlebars and such.

 

If i totally strip mine (without a cage), it's gonna get to about 2000lbs, but it's not the time yet, it is a daily drive for now.

 

Which motor do you have Nick? I saw a thread the otherday that said Greek mini's were one of a small number that got a downsized tritec motor... One that was 1.4 instead of the 1.6. I know you have done some pretty signafigant mods, but with a lower displacement, weight reduction would pay some bigger dividends!!

 

It is true that for the Greek and Portuguese market they made a 1.4 engine (One 1.4i), but it is not what i have I have a regular R50 1.6 Cooper. I still have A/c, hi/fi, all the interior panels, just a few parts removed/changed, and it is already 2330lbs

 

The 2000 lb figure sounds appealing. Can you detail for me how you came up with the 2000 lb number. Does that include removing the glass and taking the reinforcements out of the hood and doors?

 

He has no idea. cant you tell that hes just throwing number out there? The cars stock weight is somethng like 2550. Do you realize what it takes to shave off 550lbs of weight or in this case 20%

You would have to remove the ac the condensor the piping the blower the ducts.

Carbon fiber hood, hatch, doors

the windwos would all need to be polycarbonate.

Lightweight batery, rotors calipers flyhweel wheels

rip out the rear seats, panels passenger seat.

radio speakers replace front seat with lighter one.

even after all that i dont know if you would hit 2000lbs

 

Seriously mate, you think i have no idea? I have put a lot of effort in the R50, and i am not from that guys that say bs.
My car is weighed right now at 2330 like i mentioned, this is with rear seats removed, front replaced with lightweight buckets, spare wheel and tools removed, lightweight flywheel, and lighter than stock exhaust.
Now, if i completely remove the air conditiong, the sound system, all the interior panels and carpets, hood lining, rear wiper and wiper motor, sound deadening, foglights, put on a lightweight (Braile) battery, a set of Volk TE37 15", rear R56 trailing arms, front lightweight brakes (Wilwood are very light), and a few fiber glass outside panels, lexan panels, can you do your math and tell me how much weight am i going to save? Just to help you a bit, only the wheels, the battery, the brakes and the rear trailing arms are about 100lbs on their own.
Expensive? Hell YES. But don't say it is impossible.

 

I didnt say impossible but you shouldnt throw numbers out like that because right away you see people assume that theres some math behind them when there really isnt.

In all honesty I think in my opinion that you could get down to 2000 but you would have strip and replace almost everything possible. The car is already light. the hood, wheels, hatch they are already small and light. Youre not going to get as big weight savings as on a normal sized coupe.

Again not impossible just you know if your going to say things either say its your opinion or give some math to support what you say

I wasnt trying to attack you

 

Look around here... You can count the people that have invested money in the R50 in one hand fingers'. I have already broke an engine, a gearbox, and i am not giving up... I am not paying attention to the weight right now, like you said it is already light especially for nowadays cars, it handles like a dream, and i have focused on building a reliable 160bhp engine that will take 7500rpm without a problem. My last engine was pretty close to this (128whp, calculate the losses and you have your number), but it didn't last. The reason it broke is still unknown, because everything is so fooked up in there that you can't examine anything. If i manage to do this, then i'll match it with a close ratio Midland.
One more thing, even if you don't remove any parts off the chassis, and just use light parts on the suspension, the result will be stunning. Using a set of TE37s 7*15 (4kg each), Wilwood front brakes, and R56 aluminum rear trailing arms, not only will the car be faster, but the suspension will be sharp like a blade. These parts are 10kg less each front side, and 6.5kg each rear side.
And sth in general, tuning a car is not just buying parts and throwing them on, it is thinking.

 

Im not usre what your getting at. My only point was dont just say 2000lbs without saying I THINK it will be 2000lbs thats all. Because as you notice right away people start asking oh that sounds good how do you do that. Just state whether its opinion or fact

 

If you insist, i will do so, my opinion is 2000lbs will be a fact if you throw the right money. Removing weight from the car is not magic, and with a few sites out there you can find the weight of a single bolt on the car. You can calculate everything.

 

I dont disagree at all. You can calculate everything which is what i was doing if you look at the top of the thread

 

Keep up the good work, it is a usefull list for people interested in weight reduction

 

Could always do the body fat reduction mod - aka diet

 

anybody know what a stock R53 W11 engine weighs? I am shipping one cross-country and need an estimated weight for the freight company. Thank you for the assistance.