Losing weight,

[MOFO]

Have seen a thread on here saying loosing weight is the equilivant to addind mods in terms of bhp,

am looking at taking back seats out, spare wheel and all the stuff i dont really need in the back,

will i notice a difference in handeling,acceleration..........

also i raced my bro on my private runway today, cant believe my 1.2 clio did a golf 1.6fsi, well had him until we got to 70ish but then we hit the twisties and i really lost him then,

(also this was after he was boasting he raced a fiesta st and 'i quote' {LODGED IT} muppet)

have it :rasp:

 

[GordonD]

Re: Loosing weight,

Reducing weight is equivalent to increasing horsepower.

But its difficult to take much weight out easily. The rear seat weighs almost nothing. You wouldn't notice any effect if you took it out except that the car would be noisier. The spare wheel and tools are a bit heavier, but they still don't weigh a lot. You have to find components that have significant weight to have a noticeable effect. For example the front seats weigh 35 kgs each. replacing both of them with carbon fibre racing seats would gain you 50 kgs. That's the sort of weight loss you'd notice. But there aren't that many things you can take out that weigh that much. If you want a light Clio you have to start from the other direction, of buying a base model Clio, one that doesn't have stuff like air conditioning, and swapping a 2.0 litre into it. And of course if you do both at the same time, weight loss and power increase, you start seeing noticeable benefits.

And you are fighting the laws of physics. No matter how much weight you take out it makes no difference to aerodynamic drag, and that's what uses up most of your power at higher speeds. At the top end its only power that makes any difference. And a 10% increase in power to weight only improves quarter mile time by 2.5%. And a 10% improvement in cornering power only increases the speed you can get through a corner by 5%. Incidentally the best way to get better cornering power is with sticky tyres.

What you notice on a lighter car is the same as you notice if you personally lose weight. You feel a pleasant nimbleness. Chuckability.

 

[MOFO]

Re: Loosing weight,

Reducing weight is equivalent to increasing horsepower.

But its difficult to take much weight out easily. The rear seat weighs almost nothing. You wouldn't notice any effect if you took it out except that the car would be noisier. The spare wheel and tools are a bit heavier, but they still don't weigh a lot. You have to find components that have significant weight to have a noticeable effect. For example the front seats weigh 35 kgs each. replacing both of them with carbon fibre racing seats would gain you 50 kgs. That's the sort of weight loss you'd notice. But there aren't that many things you can take out that weigh that much. If you want a light Clio you have to start from the other direction, of buying a base model Clio, one that doesn't have stuff like air conditioning, and swapping a 2.0 litre into it. And of course if you do both at the same time, weight loss and power increase, you start seeing noticeable benefits.

And you are fighting the laws of physics. No matter how much weight you take out it makes no difference to aerodynamic drag, and that's what uses up most of your power at higher speeds. At the top end its only power that makes any difference. And a 10% increase in power to weight only improves quarter mile time by 2.5%. And a 10% improvement in cornering power only increases the speed you can get through a corner by 5%. Incidentally the best way to get better cornering power is with sticky tyres.

What you notice on a lighter car is the same as you notice if you personally lose weight. You feel a pleasant nimbleness. Chuckability.

cheers fella,

:approve: :approve:

 

[toasty]

Re: Loosing weight,

what would be the best sticky tyres then? I have alloys so can take a 195 or 205 width tyre. Preferably 195 though

 

[jayxx83]

Re: Loosing weight,

My car gives more mpg with the standard seats out. So if the standards weight 35kg each, cobra say that the misano weighs 13kg each, and say 2kg per subframe.

35 x 2 = 70kg
-
13 x 2 = 26kg
+
4kg subframes

Equals 40 kg weight loss in total. s**t thats alot. So if 5kg loss = 1bhp gain equivalent, then Ive gained the equivalent of 8 bhp?

If this is the case i make the power to weight ratio up from 167 bhp p/tonne to 173 p/tonne.

Standard 182 at 1080 kg, now reduced to 1040 kg.
180 / 1.04 = 173.07

Not bad at all!

 

[Frasers Cup]

Re: Loosing weight,

If you want a light Clio you have to start from the other direction, of buying a base model Clio, one that doesn't have stuff like air conditioning, and swapping a 2.0 litre into it.

Or you could buy yourself a 172 cup which doesnt have air con and has the 2.0 ltr engine and save yourself the hastle!