Interior/Exterior Countryman Weight Reduction: What have you done?
#1
#2
Sitting roughly around 2980lbs, down 240lbs from the stock 3220lb curb weight. My goal is to get as close to 2800lbs as possible. I want to for sure keep the A/C, although that would be an easy 60lbs or so off the front end...
Eventually I'll get back to it, I had started the process to get a carbon fiber driveshaft made. Stronger, and of course lighter by about 10 lbs. Combined with the lightweight clutch/flywheel and wheels/tires, the rotational mass will no doubt be highly reduced.
I've deleted little things here and there, and done some major things. Here's a short list of a few things I've done so far:
• Fog light delete
• Window washer delete (installing small tank)
• 5 lb. Li-Ion battery
• Lightweight Flywheel & Clutch
• Full custom exhaust (lighter mufflers, no cats)
• Center console delete
• Rear seat delete
• Small hooks, brackets, etc
• And more....
Once my new APEX wheels go on that will be another 40lbs off the car -- the OE wheels and run flats are super heavy. The APEX wheels are 17x8.5" 17lbs each. I'll be running 245/45-17 tires on them. I also want to install coilovers at the same time.
Getting a carbon fiber hood is probably my next major weight reduction purchase, shaving around 25lbs off the front end. The hood and wheels will cut off about 65 lbs, putting the ALL4 at 2915 lbs.
Day 1. No weight reduction, stock height.
Today. Most recent pic of ride height. You can see that it's raised a bit since day 1.
Current engine bay. Has a few upgrades.
Eventually I'll get back to it, I had started the process to get a carbon fiber driveshaft made. Stronger, and of course lighter by about 10 lbs. Combined with the lightweight clutch/flywheel and wheels/tires, the rotational mass will no doubt be highly reduced.
I've deleted little things here and there, and done some major things. Here's a short list of a few things I've done so far:
• Fog light delete
• Window washer delete (installing small tank)
• 5 lb. Li-Ion battery
• Lightweight Flywheel & Clutch
• Full custom exhaust (lighter mufflers, no cats)
• Center console delete
• Rear seat delete
• Small hooks, brackets, etc
• And more....
Once my new APEX wheels go on that will be another 40lbs off the car -- the OE wheels and run flats are super heavy. The APEX wheels are 17x8.5" 17lbs each. I'll be running 245/45-17 tires on them. I also want to install coilovers at the same time.
Getting a carbon fiber hood is probably my next major weight reduction purchase, shaving around 25lbs off the front end. The hood and wheels will cut off about 65 lbs, putting the ALL4 at 2915 lbs.
Day 1. No weight reduction, stock height.
Today. Most recent pic of ride height. You can see that it's raised a bit since day 1.
Current engine bay. Has a few upgrades.
#3
Finally got around to installing my APEX Race wheels, studs, 5mm spacers and Firestone tires. I also installed VIP Custom Parts rear control arms. I'm now waiting for the coilovers to arrive. Once those arrive i'll also be installing the M7 25mm rear sway bar and replacing all bushings (available to purchase) with PowerFlex race bushing. we'll see when the coilovers go on, but as of right now there is no rubbing. I may put up to 12mm spacers all around, it will depend how much room we can make with shavings the inside fenders and without going too extreme with the camber (no more than -2.5).
I'll also be vinyl wrapping the car in matte black with matte bronze accents to match my coffee company's branding.
A note on the current height: the car came with the OE sport suspension, so the isn't typical of any MINI stock. The car has raised over time since I have dropped a little over 250 lbs of sprung weight off the car.
Wheel specs:
17x8.5" et40 wheels, 17 lbs each
---> Added 5mm spacers all around, new et is 35 (sits same distance away from strut as stock 18x7.5 wheels)
245/45-17 Firehawk Indy 500 tires, 25 lbs each
---> About 0.3 inches shorter in height compared to the stock 225/45-18 tires
Weight savings from stock: 30 lbs (rotational mass)
Tires
How the car looked before...
How the car looks now.
A few other angles.
Front left
Front left
Front left
Rear left
Rear left
Rear left
I'll also be vinyl wrapping the car in matte black with matte bronze accents to match my coffee company's branding.
A note on the current height: the car came with the OE sport suspension, so the isn't typical of any MINI stock. The car has raised over time since I have dropped a little over 250 lbs of sprung weight off the car.
Wheel specs:
17x8.5" et40 wheels, 17 lbs each
---> Added 5mm spacers all around, new et is 35 (sits same distance away from strut as stock 18x7.5 wheels)
245/45-17 Firehawk Indy 500 tires, 25 lbs each
---> About 0.3 inches shorter in height compared to the stock 225/45-18 tires
Weight savings from stock: 30 lbs (rotational mass)
Tires
How the car looked before...
How the car looks now.
A few other angles.
Front left
Front left
Front left
Rear left
Rear left
Rear left
#4
Before tires and wheel car weighed 2970 lbs. After tires and wheels installed, car weighed 2940 lbs.
Stock ALL4 weight: 3208 lbs.
Current car weight: 2920 lbs.
BC Racing custom coilovers are finally installed. Swift springs, 8k f/ 9k r. Also installed the 25mm M7 RSB. Almost done with the suspension. Need to raise the front about an inch or so and then add a little more negative camber to the front to clear the inside fenders a little better. We trimmed the hell out of the rear area to get them wheels and tires to fit.
Wheel setup: 17x8.5" et40 with 245/45-17 tires.
FYI on the coilovers, they are about 23 lbs lighter than the OE suspension. OE Suspension weighed in at about 61 lbs. I was actually super surprised, I would've been happy with evening out. As far as the weight reduction goal with this car, that helped me get a lot closer sooner than I thought.
I've had a red Sparco EVO seat for about 4 years... I might install that as well, that'll drop about another 20 lbs off the car. Which would put my ALL4 at around 2900 lbs, or 300+ pounds lighter than stock. Nice thing is that it will match the interior panels of my car, so that works out if I do do that. Anyways, here are some pictures. I'll take better ones once the suspension is at 100% of what I want.
Going for a MINI WRC look as far as my aggressive stance goes.
Stock ALL4 weight: 3208 lbs.
Current car weight: 2920 lbs.
BC Racing custom coilovers are finally installed. Swift springs, 8k f/ 9k r. Also installed the 25mm M7 RSB. Almost done with the suspension. Need to raise the front about an inch or so and then add a little more negative camber to the front to clear the inside fenders a little better. We trimmed the hell out of the rear area to get them wheels and tires to fit.
Wheel setup: 17x8.5" et40 with 245/45-17 tires.
FYI on the coilovers, they are about 23 lbs lighter than the OE suspension. OE Suspension weighed in at about 61 lbs. I was actually super surprised, I would've been happy with evening out. As far as the weight reduction goal with this car, that helped me get a lot closer sooner than I thought.
I've had a red Sparco EVO seat for about 4 years... I might install that as well, that'll drop about another 20 lbs off the car. Which would put my ALL4 at around 2900 lbs, or 300+ pounds lighter than stock. Nice thing is that it will match the interior panels of my car, so that works out if I do do that. Anyways, here are some pictures. I'll take better ones once the suspension is at 100% of what I want.
Going for a MINI WRC look as far as my aggressive stance goes.
#6
I almost went with those wheels but got a good deal on the wheels I have now, they're only 17lbs each.
#7
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#8
#9
Car was a little too stiff since installing the M7 25mm hollow RSB. Decided to delete it since I can adjust a lot with the coilovers.
The car actually rides amazing now! I need to adjust some camber setting, and I'll most likely change/soften the spring rates to help as well. I do like that it added a little more oversteer, it had a lot of oversteer with the upgraded RSB. With the AWD system, it definitely rides nice. I also gained a ton of range now, naturally, which really helps riding over bumps, driveways and such.
The perk was dropping about 10 lbs off the car from removing the RSB. Removing the last 100 lbs is going to be tricky, but I think I can figure something out.
What have you done to reduce weight on your CM?
The car actually rides amazing now! I need to adjust some camber setting, and I'll most likely change/soften the spring rates to help as well. I do like that it added a little more oversteer, it had a lot of oversteer with the upgraded RSB. With the AWD system, it definitely rides nice. I also gained a ton of range now, naturally, which really helps riding over bumps, driveways and such.
The perk was dropping about 10 lbs off the car from removing the RSB. Removing the last 100 lbs is going to be tricky, but I think I can figure something out.
What have you done to reduce weight on your CM?
#11
I used that flex paint stuff, man I can't remember the name now... anyway, I taped off what I wanted to show and painted them. That was it. Super easy and inexpensive.
#12
Update since I've been gone a while:
Looking to install CF hood soon. A few friends have ran it and says it drops 20-25 lbs. I'll take any weight off the front where I can.
After that I plan on relocating the battery to the rear, i'll switch back to the big boi battery. it'll help position a little weight in the rear since it's so light. I'll keep the li-ion just in case i feel like shedding a quick 40 lbs. I run my company from home, so I'm not worried about commutes.
Re-wrapping the car soon. Not so much weight reduction, it just needs to be replaced... looking funky. I've been building a new company so aesthetically my car has been heavily neglected. I'll probably go with Satin black and matte gold/bronze accents... or way opposite with a brighter color like blue, green or red.
What do you all suggest?
Oh yeah, running wide fenders, it's an 8 piece kit from MON in Japan. Can't remember if I shared that. Smacked it a few times, needs some repair in the rear and front, but I dig it. Naturally the coating has held up amazingly. Sits about 1.75" wider in total.
Stance is much wider too.
Same et40 17x8.5" wheel, now with 255/45-17 (up from 245). fit is perfect on these wheels.
I'm also running 20mm spacers up front, and will soon have the rear inside fenders trimmed to fit in 12mm spacers. Track width, at that point, front and rear will be 62.5". Quite a bit wider than stock now.
Eventually I'd like to get wheels that have the proper et size to make the track width at least 62" front and rear.
Looking to install CF hood soon. A few friends have ran it and says it drops 20-25 lbs. I'll take any weight off the front where I can.
After that I plan on relocating the battery to the rear, i'll switch back to the big boi battery. it'll help position a little weight in the rear since it's so light. I'll keep the li-ion just in case i feel like shedding a quick 40 lbs. I run my company from home, so I'm not worried about commutes.
Re-wrapping the car soon. Not so much weight reduction, it just needs to be replaced... looking funky. I've been building a new company so aesthetically my car has been heavily neglected. I'll probably go with Satin black and matte gold/bronze accents... or way opposite with a brighter color like blue, green or red.
What do you all suggest?
Oh yeah, running wide fenders, it's an 8 piece kit from MON in Japan. Can't remember if I shared that. Smacked it a few times, needs some repair in the rear and front, but I dig it. Naturally the coating has held up amazingly. Sits about 1.75" wider in total.
Stance is much wider too.
Same et40 17x8.5" wheel, now with 255/45-17 (up from 245). fit is perfect on these wheels.
I'm also running 20mm spacers up front, and will soon have the rear inside fenders trimmed to fit in 12mm spacers. Track width, at that point, front and rear will be 62.5". Quite a bit wider than stock now.
Eventually I'd like to get wheels that have the proper et size to make the track width at least 62" front and rear.
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yargk (10-27-2022)
#13
#14
#15
I'm actually re-wrapping soon! It'll be the colors of the WRC car, minus the livery extras. So red body, white roof and side mirrors, and white wheels.
Haven't updated in a while, but once I do these few things I'll take some pictures and update on what's been going on.
Haven't updated in a while, but once I do these few things I'll take some pictures and update on what's been going on.
#16
Awesome mods! I've read your posts countless times to get ideas for my R60 mods. When you installed the new APEX wheels and 245 tires, did it rub the coilovers or the fenders? My R60 has a stock 205 17inch tires, so I would love to switch to 245 with APEX wheels(not many rotary forged options for 5x120mm,17inch). I just installed the kw v2 coilovers and still trying to find the best camber, but I guess it will not have negative impacts on 245 tires to rub the car? Thanks!