does stripping actually do much?

[bendee]

does it actually improve times enought to warrent the extra noise and scrappy look?
ive got the back end totally stripped and on the 1/4 mile strip i could only manage a couple mph more than a mate in a williams (were normally exactly the same)
it feels a better car to drive like it doesnt take asmuch effort to get off the line.
also is there any structural damage possible from stripping the backend

what are peoples thoughts who have stripped there car.

im not quite sure what to think i know the cars faster but is it worth it?
i really want a fully stripped car somthing like subways old cup. but my ff doesnt seem right to do it to whereas a cup, ph1 or williams would if you get my drift.

 

[speedynz]

Just taking out the spare wheel, tools, complete back seat and seatbelt mounts (50kg total) made a noticeable difference to my PH1.

And it only takes 10 minutes to put it back together again.

 

[chris509]

iv had mine stripped for a while, and have recently put the interior back in and i have def noticed a diference in responsivness, it felt so much more lively when empty, nothing structural is removed, i dont think the rear seats would make too much diff in a crash, i loved it, but its a pain to live with every day, hence why i bought a 156 and kept the clio for playing in

 

[bendee]

yeah i defo feel it makes the car more enjoyable theres more punch when you put your foot down.
i keep thinking about selling the car buying a cup or ph1 then strip it coilovers and 15s as it would put a bigger smile on my face.
but on the other hand my cars mint very low milage and has sat nav arg i hate being poor.

 

[lanky]

Personally stripping turns me on.
Oh wait wrong kind of stripping.
There is a distinct difference with and without passengers so I would imagine stripping would have a decent effect

 

[Alex_225]

Any kind of weight reduction is going to improve your power to weight ratio and in theory make your car slightly quicker. By how much it makes it faster is another question though!! lol

I plan to strip out my 1.4 Renault 5, lower it and get some wider rims on. That should make it a nippy little motor purely due to its weight, or lack of.

 

[bendee]

yeah i defo feel it makes the car more enjoyable theres more punch when you put your foot down.
i keep thinking about selling the car buying a cup or ph1 then strip it coilovers and 15s as it would put a bigger smile on my face.
but on the other hand my cars mint very low milage and has sat nav arg i hate being poor.

 

[GordonD]

does it actually improve times enought to warrent the extra noise and scrappy look?

Here's the facts.

To reduce your quarter mile time by 1/10th of a second and gain approximately one car length you have to strip out 28 kilograms, which is approximately the mass of the spare wheel and tool kit, if you've got them, plus the rear seat. Those plus a nearly-empty fuel tank compared to a full one are together worth about 2/10ths of a second.

Its up to you to decide whether that's worth it.

 

[J203425]

I got an extra 0.8s from stripping my cav gsi..............

 

[Weeman]

put it this way, if there was nothing in stripping your car, then all race cars would have sat nav a spare wheel and leather seats in the back. Two endge sword to be honest, if your driving it lots on the road it'll be annoying, noisey, inpractical and everytime it rain you'll go half deaf. If your using it for track days and or putting a cage in it, then it wants to be fully stripped, otherwise you'll just make it heavier adding on the weight of the cage. Will effect the handling though, will make it very light on the back and even more tail happy, something you have to be aware of, when pushing it.

 

[Neil G]

I thought about doing it to my 172 but don't think I could deal with the noise/resonation on a day to day basis

 

[Mike_182]

put it this way, if there was nothing in stripping your car, then all race cars would have sat nav a spare wheel and leather seats in the back. Two endge sword to be honest, if your driving it lots on the road it'll be annoying, noisey, inpractical and everytime it rain you'll go half deaf. If your using it for track days and or putting a cage in it, then it wants to be fully stripped, otherwise you'll just make it heavier adding on the weight of the cage. Will effect the handling though, will make it very light on the back and even more tail happy, something you have to be aware of, when pushing it.

That's not really a fair comparison - to a race car a tenth of a second can be winning or losing.

To a road car you make more difference being crap at changing gear than the sod all difference having of having a full fat over a Cup. Personal opinion but if my leather/alcantara seats, HID lights, climate and cruise control cost me 2/10ths of a second, I'd rather that!

 

[MarkCup]

Definitely 100% makes a difference...whether you're able to feel that difference or not, or if the change is worth it is down to you.

 

[Weeman]

put it this way, if there was nothing in stripping your car, then all race cars would have sat nav a spare wheel and leather seats in the back. Two endge sword to be honest, if your driving it lots on the road it'll be annoying, noisey, inpractical and everytime it rain you'll go half deaf. If your using it for track days and or putting a cage in it, then it wants to be fully stripped, otherwise you'll just make it heavier adding on the weight of the cage. Will effect the handling though, will make it very light on the back and even more tail happy, something you have to be aware of, when pushing it.

That's not really a fair comparison - to a race car a tenth of a second can be winning or losing.

To a road car you make more difference being crap at changing gear than the sod all difference having of having a full fat over a Cup. Personal opinion but if my leather/alcantara seats, HID lights, climate and cruise control cost me 2/10ths of a second, I'd rather that!

I say its a two edged sword. if i had a stripped car and did mega mileage in it, I would be sick of it, But if you use it for what its for, and drive it at its limits on the track, then your gonna see the differences.

 

[Rob_]

Mine is stripped but i also have buckets in the front which are much lighter then standard seats and can honestly say ive noticed the difference.

As for the extra noise just turn your stereo up louder

 

[Martin]

Very much so.....both my last 2 clios had less power than a 182 but were significantly faster..due to them weighing less than 870kgs.

 

[Weeman]

Mine is stripped but i also have buckets in the front which are much lighter then standard seats and can honestly say ive noticed the difference.

As for the extra noise just turn your stereo up louder

if it has a stereo and speakers it isn't stripped now is it, LOL

 

[Rob_]

Well the back is :rasp:

 

[Steve2004]

I stripped 45kg out of my clio once (all out the back). Didn't make any difference in speed, just made the road noise, exhaust and rattles louder!

It also made the handling worse, I didn't have the confidence to push as hard as usual in corners as the back end felt so light.

 

[GordonD]

I stripped 45kg out of my clio once (all out the back). Didn't make any difference in speed, just made the road noise, exhaust and rattles louder!

It also made the handling worse, I didn't have the confidence to push as hard as usual in corners as the back end felt so light.

Yeah, my father used to say that. That a heavy car sticks to the ground better than a light one. That must be why they make formula one cars as heavy as they're allowed to, so they corner better, right? And what you should do to make your Clio handle best is add ballast at both ends. None of this nonsense about carbon fibre bonnets, get a lead one.

 

[vavazoom]

replacing the windows with perspex ones,makes a big difference!imagine how heavy that glass is!:approve:

 

[christurbo]

^^^ True about £300 for a ph2 172^^^

It makes a huge difference - quicker, but also changed the way it handles. Its much more responsive and the turn in is astounding - if not tail happy

I have stripped quite alot out - including unwanted stuff in the engine - aircon, etc.

The only stuff I have left is the front carpet and roof lining. [cant be arsed to take my carbon kevlar buckets out again!] plus a few other bits.

You could go on forever stripping out the car - its upto you where you stop.

Want to compare mine with yours

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n130/renaultsport/Random 172 Bits/Stripping18.jpg

 

[Christopher]

spermy!^^

 

[lusty v-tec]

The reson why when you strip rear seats from the back of the car you notice worse handling is because the rear end flex in the bodywork is increased.

The seats offer extra support to the structure and act a bit like a rear strut brace.

Therefore if i was gonna remove my rear seta then id have a rear strut brace fitted to maintain the handling and reduce the flex.

 

[Rob_]

Removing seats makes for worse handling..........

Are you on crack lad?

 

[Rob_]

I stripped 45kg out of my clio once (all out the back). Didn't make any difference in speed, just made the road noise, exhaust and rattles louder!

It also made the handling worse, I didn't have the confidence to push as hard as usual in corners as the back end felt so light.

Yeah, my father used to say that. That a heavy car sticks to the ground better than a light one. That must be why they make formula one cars as heavy as they're allowed to, so they corner better, right? And what you should do to make your Clio handle best is add ballast at both ends. None of this nonsense about carbon fibre bonnets, get a lead one.

Sounds like your dad should give some advice to the touring and rally cars which are stripped out to f**k :lolup:

 

[Weeman]

lol at Gordon

Light at the back, is easily solved, just put semi slicks on it, bish bash bosh, more grip

 

[lusty v-tec]

Removing seats makes for worse handling..........

Are you on crack lad?

it makes it lighter which makes it faster round corners etc but the rear end does flex more due to less support by the seats. This rear end flex makes the car more unstable which is why a rear brace is essential

 

[Weeman]

If your stripping it the job aint done unless a cage goes in, then you have no lack of stiffness issues

 

[Rob_]

Removing seats makes for worse handling..........

Are you on crack lad?

it makes it lighter which makes it faster round corners etc but the rear end does flex more due to less support by the seats. This rear end flex makes the car more unstable which is why a rear brace is essential

Rear seats dont stop the rear suspension turrets flexing :nono:

Strut braces are a waste of time on a clio

 

[lusty v-tec]

it makes it lighter which makes it faster round corners etc but the rear end does flex more due to less support by the seats. This rear end flex makes the car more unstable which is why a rear brace is essential

Rear seats dont stop the rear suspension turrets flexing :nono:

Strut braces are a waste of time on a clio

not the turrets. im talking about the bodywork.

 

[christurbo]

^lol^

Do you honestly think the rear seats act as a brace/cage???? They are not even bolted to the sides of the car let alone welded!!! Plus they are made of wood!

I have to admit that made me chuckle!

I have no problems with the way my 172 handles - its perfect, very little understeer and a little oversteer when i want it. Its really balanced.

It must be good - I hit a 57.2secs run at RAF Barkston Heath sprint course ... [that would have got me 3rd in the last championsip]

 

[bendee]

christurbo i had mine stripped exactly like yours certainly made driving it more fun.
ive just been out and put the seats ect back in dunno why im sure im gonna be less impressed with the car now.
i dont think apart from noise witch didnt really bother me there was anything that was made worse from removing everything. i did consider a rear strut brace infact id probly still get one.

 

[bendee]

another thing chris, i think you should be a man with your car go all out sumin id love to do is rip absolutly everything out even the dash ect.
you have a type r for *****ing about in, get the carpet out atleast.

 

[lusty v-tec]

^lol^

Do you honestly think the rear seats act as a brace/cage???? They are not even bolted to the sides of the car let alone welded!!! Plus they are made of wood!

I have to admit that made me chuckle!

I have no problems with the way my 172 handles - its perfect, very little understeer and a little oversteer when i want it. Its really balanced.

It must be good - I hit a 57.2secs run at RAF Barkston Heath sprint course ... [that would have got me 3rd in the last championsip]

u understand its what a friend told me.

 

[christurbo]

I did remove the dash top but it weighed nothing so put it back on. It needs to be MOTable so Im not removing the dash completely! Its made of french tat so doesnt weigh much!

The carpet will come out when the weather gets better - I want to give it an interior respray the same time so timing is everything!

Remember my front seats weigh 5kgs each - a marked improvement over the REALLY heavy airbag filled std seats - check my blog for exact weights

The only 2 x things you can do to tighten up the rear is weld bar into the suspension struts - or fit a roll cage.

Fitting a cage will add at least 30kgs dep on what one you buy.

 

[Mike_182]

Yeah, my father used to say that. That a heavy car sticks to the ground better than a light one. That must be why they make formula one cars as heavy as they're allowed to, so they corner better, right? And what you should do to make your Clio handle best is add ballast at both ends. None of this nonsense about carbon fibre bonnets, get a lead one.

Sounds like your dad should give some advice to the touring and rally cars which are stripped out to f**k :lolup:

 

[Mr.AdamB]

stripping is ther best mod imp[rooves EVERYTHING but makes car a bit wrattly and loud etc.

before my car was a bout 150 bhp z tone now i took ovwer 100 kg out and its about 170 bhp\ tonns thats y my valver is so fast for a valver cuz it weighs fk al.

 

[Mike_182]

stripping is ther best mod imp[rooves EVERYTHING but makes car a bit wrattly and loud etc.

before my car was a bout 150 bhp z tone now i took ovwer 100 kg out and its about 170 bhp\ tonns thats y my valver is so fast for a valver cuz it weighs fk al.

Speak English you r****d! I got bored trying to decode that s**t.

 

[bill]

stripping is ther best mod imp[rooves EVERYTHING but makes car a bit wrattly and loud etc.

before my car was a bout 150 bhp z tone now i took ovwer 100 kg out and its about 170 bhp\ tonns thats y my valver is so fast for a valver cuz it weighs fk al.

Speak English you r****d! I got bored trying to decode that s**t.

a bit harsh.............................but f**king funny lol!