I've realized one of the best things to do with this car is to drop weight. I'm aiming for a carbon fiber hood, already removed my back seats, and got rid of the 21 pound stock wheels in place for 16 pound wheels and non run flats. Anyone know the actual weight of the stock seats?

I had some bride seats before and they were super lightweight. If the OEM seats are heavy enough it would be worth switching out.

 

Drumroll... 52 pounds a piece when I weighed them. You can see it here in my build journal (scroll down a ways):

http://www.michiganmini.org/forum/in...?topic=5198.60

You can see the rest of the transformation into track weapon as you scroll through the pages.

Sparco Evo seats are perfect for my body type. I'm 5'-9" 150lbs, 32in waist. They fit like a glove. A new interior is a big investment. Note, you should NOT use stock seatbelts with an aftermarket seat for safety reasons!

I'd really like to see someone go nuts with carbon fiber body panels on the R56. Crap, I would only do that on a dedicated track/race car though. Not much point for the street IMO besides looks. If you're that dedicated to weight reduction it should be for purpose and not for getting groceries and getting your 8ss to work.

 

I would imagine they are around the 40lbs mark.... I would advise against a carbon fiber hood. The VIS racing CF hood has fitting issues and the Duell AG hood is 1) pricey and 2) from what I have heard from a guy who did the Duell AG body kit the carbon fiber hood was damaged in transit. He had it re-ordered and it was damaged again. Besides I don't think the CF hood is actually *that* much lighter to justify. Lose weight in other areas. Have you considered plexiglass on the rear side windows? Plexiglass is light and strong. Rotational mass is also a major factor. Consider getting rid of the heavy dual mass flywheel and replace it with a lightweight aluminum flywheel. Two benefits of this 1) makes the power you do have more available and 2) the stock clutch/dmf is known to prematurely fail. Might as well replace it with something better when it does go.

 

Fitment looks pretty good. This youtube poster is also a poster on this site. He says he's going to adjust the fitment a little more but the VIS looks pretty good to me. The VIS carbon fiber hood looks to be a copy of the Duell AG hood which is 3100 dollars NOT including shipping, 3100 dollars not including shipping, 3100 dollars not including shipping....you read the 3100(another 300-400 dollars for a hood shippied?) dollars part not including shipping from JAPAN?! Takleberry on here can afford their whole catalog but I can't :(

I have a 2013 and this is my only vehicle so no plexiglass or anything crazy. Mainly it's just for looks on a street car but imo it's the best bang for your buck. The only thing you have to maintain about carbon fiber parts and light weight seats are their appearence. Once you drop the weight of the car it's forever gone. No cleaning filters, port and polishing heads, replacing/rebuilding turbos....just lose the weight and that's it. It essentially maintains itself. Grant it a new coat of clear on a hood every few years looks nice it isn't needed for the car to run. The ony thing I do know if the changing seats and carbon fiber parts doesn't void my warranty and that I'm happy about. Or at least until I can afford a second daily driver car.

 

I think this guy may be one of the fortunate ones. To me $1300 for a few LBS savings and potential fitting issues is a waste. But who knows, it may fit well for you and there's no doubt it looks good. I think if you go to a race shop and have them cut plexiglass rear side windows you'll save $$ and lighten the car up more than the hood. However, getting rid of rotational mass where you can will provide the most gains.

Def replace the seats, but I would advise waiting on the hood and make sure it's something you must have. Hearing about people spend $1000+ on a part that ends up costing more time and/or money fitting it makes me cringe. That's really the only reason I advise against it. It looks cool as hell and if you paint it to match the rest of the car I will be very jealous. If you like it for its vents and engine bay cooling you should look into louvers as well (if you end up not buying the hood that is).

 

A quick search...looks lik the Sparcos weigh about 28 lbs with rails!!?? A 48 lb total weight savings ain't too shabby.

 

The fiberglass Sparco Evo only weighs 15lbs. If you use VAC Motorsports aluminum mounting adapters and universal seat brackets, you're only adding a few extra pounds.

I've had Sparco Evo seats with 6-point harnesses in my track dedicated MINI for a year. They are BRILLIANT on the track but require a tolerant mindset to drive on the street. Once you're in, you're in. For long distance driving you might need to stop at the rest stop to stretch a bit after a couple of hours. They took a while for my wife to get used to. She much prefers driving in our other car with a regular seat belt

However, everyone needs to keep in mind that once aftermarket seats like the Sparco Evos go in, a 6-point harness is required for your own safety. Sure, a 4-point will fit, but the fact there is no anti-sub belt should bother you. I don't care how tight you make your lap belt, under hard braking, and even worse, in a crash, that belt will raise above your hipbones. This is why NASA and SCCA do not allow them. They are dangerous. When I bought my Elise, they came on the car from a previous owner, and they'll be the first things I tear out of it.

I've seen some people on NAM use the factory 3-point system on Evos and this is also a very stupid idea. The lapbelt will straddle over the edge of the seat first and then to your hips. Another big safety concern.

This is why most people just get Recaro seats since they're much more simple to integrate into the factory safety system, although they'll never be as hardcore and performance oriented as the Sparco race seats available.

I think it's totally worth it as a performance minded individual. I would much rather invest money in seats & safety than carbon fiber body panels. You're increasing safety and you'll ultimately be faster on the track because you have a much more direct feel with the car as a result of the seats. Heck, for the amount of money it's going to cost for those stupid panels, you could buy a set of Hoosiers Those will probably cut 8 seconds off your lap times if you're good... not so sure about the blingy hood that will probably fit like crap

I guess it's time to get off my soapbox. Seating and safety is one of the most researched areas in OE equipment design, because of occupant safety. If you're going to modify the seating and safety equipment, make sure you do it right.

 

Great points by Shane. To go one step farther it may be ill-advised to install race seats and 5-point harnesses unless you have a roll cage. Without one, if your roof gets squished in a rollover and you're locked into your seat with no wiggle room you and your neck may get squished as well.

 

The average car site says a mini cooper S curb weight is 2668 pounds.

I've already removed my rear seats and trunk flap thingy(35 poundish?)

Removed my heavy 21 pound stock wheels for 15.7 pound wheels and we'll say another 2 pounds per tire from switching from heavy run flats(26 pounds)

Let says I buy a carbon fiber hood and lose another 45 pounds from stock. Purchase a set of Sparco seats like shane was saying and you lose another 68 pounds including seat rails.

You're now at 2494 pounds losing 174 pounds. That's your average weight of your male in between 18-25 years old typically. I'm not trying to go anywhere with this or prove a point. Power to weight ratio will always be a big factor in any motorsports. I guess I am trying to make a point and that a lot of people overlook it.

 

Yes, removing weight is one of the best things you can do for handling and braking and for improving the dynamic feel of the car. Just removing stuff is free, but when you're talking about spending money to "add lightness" and improve the power to weight ratio, this is way more expensive than adding power to improve this ratio. This horse has been beaten to death across the web and is not really debatable at this point from a bang-for-your-buck perspective with respect to improving the power to weight ratio. Sure you can completely gut your car, but how many are really willing or able to do that?

Of course depending on your platform, power adders may be more accessible. WRX owners have more options than N18 R56 MCS owners.

Take for example, a baseline: 2700 lb car/200 hp. = 13.5 lb/hp.

Power mod scenario: same 2700 lb car, but + 20 hp (do-able via software, etc if your car is turbocharged) = 2700 lb/220 hp = 12.27 lb/hp.

"Adding lightness" scenario: -100 lbs = 2600 lb/200 hp = 13 lb/hp.

In the first scenario, you will have seen a 9.2% improvement. In the second scenario you're only seeing a 3.8% improvement. +20 hp will be cheaper than reducing the curb weight by any significant amount.

 

I see your point. I guess the greatest appeal of dropping weight and spending money doing so is that it doesn't have to be maintained. It maintains itself. Power adders may cause damage, or need to be rebuilt, cleaned, replaced, sent in for repair. When's the last time you know someone that couldn't attend a track day because their carbon fiber hood was dirty? I'm not saying this is the best method for improving a vehicle by any means and the main question that was asked was answered(thanks countryboyshane). It's just fun to talk about and get some real answers on weights which I'm surprised some people had so quickly. I still will change out the seats eventually and I still plan on purchasing a carbon fiber hood. I know it won't void my warranty and still adds style and mediocre performance.

When the warranty is up that's a different story As of right now I'm preparing to purchase my first house in Florida(anywhere for that matter) and I'll go form there.

 

You have a similar plan as I do for my Coupe. Also don't forget you can drop another 10lbs with a different battery. I have to make my changes per SCCA class rules, so something's can't be changed. But getting a car made after 2010 under 2500lbs with AC and Stereo still working is something.
Lotus don't count ;-)

 

Yea those battery's crack me up. A coworker brought in his 2002 trans am last Friday to work. 400 on motor 600 with nitrous. Pops the hood and a tiny 10 pound battery in the engine. Powers an amp, gauges, and all the whistles with a 10 pound battery in this beast.

 

I'm curious where you came up with the 45 lb figure. I've had the hood off a few times and it is actually quite lite in stock form which kept me from going for a CF hood. That and the fact that most of them have major fitment issues. Was that figure posted somewhere ?

Thanks ,
Randy

 

Going by the dude annoctation in the video posted above

 

That seems like a hell of a lot . I don't know why it would be close to 100 lbs heavier than a r-53 hood. I have a call into a Mini Parts guy and see what he says .

Randy

Edit: According to mini parts dept. the hoods for the R-53 and 56 weigh 35.5 lbs . This is more in keeping with what I recalled when I took my hood off but it was many years ago.