[Almighty]

Has anyone thought about drag reduction techniques instead of crazy weight reductions?

 

[<@¿@>]

I can't believe the shortsightedness of this group! :facepalm

Loosing weight on the car is additive... kind of like replacing the shocks on your car ONLY. Is it an improvement? Yes! Now if you adjust the camber, equalize the castor, corner balance, adjust the tire pressure, set the toe and install full floating discs...it all adds up. You do one thing at a time...and there is not much difference in between. Now you have one car stock and the other right next to with all of these tuning things done...you will not recognize the car! I will bet my car on that!

Same thing with weight...just one thing is just that. Add 10, 20 of those, and now you've got something!

As the saying goes...don't knock if you hadn't tried it.

I'm up for suggestions... I've contributed.

As the other saying goes...If you haven't got anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. -poke-

 

[<@¿@>]

Has anyone thought about drag reduction techniques instead of crazy weight reductions?

I feel that this is another big (additive) one...but I also feel that this topic belongs in its own thread.

 

[Almighty]

I hope I'm not one of those who you believe is shortsighted. I'm all for a good weight reduction, what I am not for is going broke trying to do so. I also want the car to be streetable as well. That last point may be where I loose some of you as I fully intend on keeping the car a street car with autocross and circuit duties added on. When or if the day comes where I want a Lotus track only car, I'll buy a 211 or Exige and swap the needed parts over along with a healthy weight reduction.

I feel that this is another big (additive) one...but I also feel that this topic belongs in its own thread.

I do agree that this is a discussion all onto it's own, I just presented it as an alternative to buying expensive and light weight components, or potentially changing the structural integrity of the car.

 

[LiveToDrive]

I replaced my 34 lb battery with a 3 lb lithium ion and never looked back. Works great (better than stock even) and lasts 3 weeks before needing a tender.

Between that and my Titanium exhaust I've lost around 50 lbs. There's no more effective way to drop weight than those 2 things.

The 3rd best way is in the wheels, but I have LSS wheels and the benefit of going with lighter ones is not that great...especially since most of the super light rims are ugly IMO.

I read somewhere on here the airbags AND seatbelt tensioners only added up to like 15 lbs. Same with the AC.

 

[LostPawn]

How many tail lights do you really need?
Do you actually use those headlights?
Do you ever use the interior light?
Sun visors, why did my car even come with these?
Do you really need directional vents to direct the flow of heat/AC?
Center console and shift boot can also go.
Smaller wiper blade will still work.
How many bolts hold your license plate on?
Those nice LOTUS letters can go too, just think of how many more questions that will generate.
Stereo and all the wires, hope you do not plan to ever sell the car.
I’m sure there is a way to wire the car so a key is not actually needed.
Don’t forget to clean out all the pebbles that collect on top of the under tray.
What else can you drive without?

 

[ashanson]

My car came with a lot of the mods on DarkSol's web page. Since purchasing the car I have added a 4lb Lithium Iron battery, header/decat/SilentTouch exhaust, two piece rotors, and a few carbon pieces. Ultralight Volks wheels going on soon (9.5lb front and 12lb rear)

My car doesn't have a radio or speakers, so one of my favorite weight mods was replacing the rear bulkhead panel with a piece of foam and covered it with thin black carpet, weighs two pounds, and it has a factory look if you don't know these cars. Actually deadens the sound pretty well, way better than having nothing back there.

It's a 2007 Exige, and it weighs 1905 lbs with 14 gallons of gas (big pro alloy tank). That includes 19 lbs for harnesses+bar and stock belts. Hoping to add a CF roof, hatch, and mirrors, which will save another ~25lbs.

It's addicting, but I usually focus on things that save at least a few pounds.

 

[pray4mojo]

My car came with a lot of the mods on DarkSol's web page. Since purchasing the car I have added a 4lb Lithium Iron battery, header/decat/SilentTouch exhaust, two piece rotors, and a few carbon pieces. Ultralight Volks wheels going on soon (9.5lb front and 12lb rear)

My car doesn't have a radio or speakers, so one of my favorite weight mods was replacing the rear bulkhead panel with a piece of foam and covered it with thin black carpet, weighs two pounds, and it has a factory look if you don't know these cars. Actually deadens the sound pretty well, way better than having nothing back there.

It's a 2007 Exige, and it weighs 1905 lbs with 14 gallons of gas (big pro alloy tank). That includes 19 lbs for harnesses+bar and stock belts. Hoping to add a CF roof, hatch, and mirrors, which will save another ~25lbs.

It's addicting, but I usually focus on things that save at least a few pounds.

Curious, where do you weigh your car? I think if I knew a way to measure my car I would be putting my car on a diet too.

 

[Kimgt]

you can go to a truck weigh station, or they should be able to tell you the total weight if you get your car corner balanced.

 

[LiveToDrive]

Look up recycling centers in your area. Call and ask if they have a truck scale and if they'll let you weigh your car. Most will. Some will charge you about $10.

 

[ashanson]

The local truck stops around here only weigh in 20lb increments but it's a good starting point. The funny thing is the system won't let them print out a receipt for under 2000 lbs, so it's free and they just tell me the weight over the speaker.

However, the 1905 lbs was from corner scales which I did a couple weeks ago.

 

[MotoGeek]

When the weigh stations are closed, they usually leave the scales on, and you can see the readout through the window.

 

[AliH]

As of last year, I use body paint in terms of clothing and had my testicles removed (Married long enough and had my kids). Just these two things save me about 4.5 Lbs.

 

[<@¿@>]

The discussion here is about the car...Lotus Type-111 to be exact...not about your stupid @$$! Nobody here wants to hear about daughters, clothing, taking a $h!t before going out driving or your testicles...

 

[+TSRAGR]

Weighed my modded 07 Exige last week on a CAT scale. Myself included and 1/4 tank of gas, the scale tipped at 2080 lbs, or about 1882 lbs dry with my lazy butt off the scale! These scales do round off to the nearest 20lbs, so it's not exact.

My weight mods: DEKA lightweight battery, de-cat, no undertray panel (just for one day), QS exhaust, no heat shielding, no bumperette, no sound deadening in trunk or interior, no washer fluid or tank, no wiper, no stereo, no speakers, no iPod adapter, and no small interior bits (e.g. mirror, visors, etc.). My 15/16 ETHOS wheels weren't on, so those would've saved ~8lbs over the LSS 16/17s.

Even after those weight savings, performance improvements will be pretty slim. To do the car real justice, strip weight AND add power.

Some will argue otherwise, but don't waste $$ on CF trim pieces - the cost to benefit ratio is absurd. Instead, put that money towards practical weight savings like the battery, wheels, exhaust & heat shields, rear bumper assembly, heating & A/C cores, stereo & speakers, and even the windshield if you can live with Lexan.

 

[ERP]

It's a shame so many people prefer to poke fun at this question. I've removed 102 lbs (with another 18 lbs coming off soon thanks to BOE) from my Elise because of my enjoyment at HPDE, but I also use the car for commuting and 500 mile tours with the Colorado Lotus club. It's possible to reduce the weight significantly and still have a great street car. I still have A/C and a full stereo.

Here are a few small weight savings that don't make most lists:
-0.13 lbs - MWR alternator underdrive pulley
-0.19 lbs - MWR water pump underdrive pulley
-0.73 lbs - 3.2" MP62 supercharger pulley (from 3.4")
-0.90 lbs - Full length floor mats, aluminum footrest removed
-0.92 lbs - Titanium wheels studs
-4.35 lbs - Charcoal canister removed
-0.43 lbs - Driver's side carbon fiber sun visor
-0.29 lbs - Passenger side carbon fiber sun visor

I enjoy looking for spots to save weight, and there are definitely more areas where weight can be saved without sacrificing any comfort.

 

[cashxdr]

This is my weight with half a tank before corner balancing. The only thing I have done to reduce weight is Ultra Disks, and 2bular header and decat and exhaust

I have added supercharger/intercooler, wing, splitter, diffuser, harness bar, side skirts and surge tank.

I would love to reduce weight but the cost is almost triple of all the things I have added, if not more

 

[ashanson]

Some will argue otherwise, but don't waste $$ on CF trim pieces - the cost to benefit ratio is absurd. Instead, put that money towards practical weight savings like the battery, wheels, exhaust & heat shields, rear bumper assembly, heating & A/C cores, stereo & speakers, and even the windshield if you can live with Lexan.

I agree on the cost to benefit ratio of CF parts, but I decided to purchase some for the aesthetics, and after selling the OEM parts I generally recoup a good portion of the cost.

I have a Lexan windshield, and the car sees about half DD use in the summer months. I have no complaints, but I also have full poly mounts, no AC/heater, no stereo, etc, and I'm totally ok with that. I did keep my wiper in case it rains, but no washer fluid bottle. Now I'm really tempted to take out the harnesses and get the tank low and weigh it, just to say I can get it in the 1790 lb range, haha.

 

[cashxdr]

Oh, I have a little battery too

 

[andy7777]

I'm curious how much weight variation there is between cars. The fiberglass in the Exige is reportedly thicker in places, accounting for some of the +120 lb weight increase over the Elise. Wonder if there is a 20 lb variation between Elises or Exiges.

My car weighs 1904 lbs with a smaller battery, 2bular exhaust, floating discs and smaller mirrors. That's with about half a tank of gas and normal liquids. My car also has a harness bar and belts and a few braces here and there, so pure stock with my minor weight mods it would be under 1900 lbs.

You could probably shave off another 20 lbs by tackling the sound insulation, bulkhead, and radio, but I can't imagine there would be any real difference in the way it feels, no more than driving with an extra couple of gallons of gas.

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