Slarty!

[rt172]

Hello, Joe. After the fun I had at York (what with winning "Fastest 172 Ever" prize) Ive decided to make my nitro-fuelled-drag-car-beatin 172 even faster than ever before. I cant really afford to go mad on dubious engine mods (NOT meaning your turbo, of course!) so I decided to go for guaranteed power increases by losing as much weight as I feel I can without irrepairabley stripping out the car. Ive already been dumping things out of it and Ive decided I can live without and have now removed the following:

Spare Tyre/Wheel - 17.1kg

Tool kit - 4.0kg

Engine rocker cover - 0.6kg

Rear head rests - 3.1kg

Rear seats (all of) - 14.8kg

Parcel shelf - 2.1kg

Bonnet insulation - 0.6kg

Running total - 43.93kg



Thats enough to make the car feel really responsive and beautifully easy to handle. Its making me fall so much in love with the bloody car that I can see myself keeping it into its old age. Its also making me think how I want it to be to make it perfect (for now, of course).

What I need to know is how to get at any insulation material. The car sounds amazing inside with very little upholstry soaking up the sounds and Im happy to remove sound insulation material providing I can get it back in again if I ever want to sell her.

The seatbelts rattling are pissing me off too. Am I allowed (legally that is) to remove my rear seats and seatbelts? Is that one to get insured as a modification?

You also mentioned that you could fix up my suspension for me (camber / castor) for a reasonable price. Is that offer still on? Its part of my plan so far. Other items Im thinking of removing are:

Rear seat belts, seatbelt mountings (all if legal to do), plastic linings (such as the rear passenger bins), possibly carpets if theres a suitable alternative. I also intend getting some OZ alloys of some description. Id like F1 cups because they look great on 172s, but if Im after lightweight, I suppose I should get superleggera (Maybe that would save another 16kg or so?) And anything else suitable for removal that crops up. Hmm...a sealed induction kit is probably lighter than the standard airbox/filter housing....

I do, however, insist on keeping my toys, certainly for the time being....

Any ideas anyone?

Rhys

 

[Simon172]

Sounds like some good plans. I dont think you should remove your rocker cover, that is unless you want loads of oil urinated all over your bonnet!

A few other things you can remove are:

- car jack

- passenger seat

- car speakers/stereo (unless you class that as a toy. (learn to sing)

- make sure you use all of your windscreen washer water/fluid as you arrive/before you go up the strip.

- take a large dump before you blast up the strip and also, strip! - ya might get a few funny looks from the other participants.

- have a grade 0 hair cut

- cut your nails

- fill tyres with helium

- chop off your left leg - (learn how to do clutchless changes - crunch)

- if you dont care about your clutch keep your accelerator nailed to the floor all the way up the strip and the surge when you engage the clutch in each gear gives a little extra, and also when youre flat out in 3rd towards the end dip the clutch slightly and get another slip/surge (bit like a kick up the butt) I did this all the time in the courtesy boat and could achieve better acceleration this way! or maybe it was my imagination.......the technique seems to work as i beat my friend in his VTS when i was driving my dads 1.8 T golf a la not releasing the accelerator through shifts....although i wouldnt trust my gearbox as it crunches all the time anyway....great.

 

[matt4478]

Youre just jealous of my lightweight bonnet Rhys!

Ooohh, and carrying on from Simons post, why not go shaven down there too? Got to save a few precious grams!?!

I think I remember reading that someone on the French ClioRS site replaced their Mk1 172 front seats with bucket jobbies as they thought the seats were really heavy, then stripped out everything else they could think of and saved 90kg (!) Maybe its time to learn French...

 

[Captain Slarty]

Rhys lol.. nice one !!.

there is no legal problem in removing rear belts as long as you remover the seats.

did you actually weigh those items ?? or just guessed ??. - I would be intersted to know the actual weights...

as for the suspension, yep no probs.. mail me off line.

way to go dood..

I am considering ditching the rears also as I intend to fit buckets and harnesses..

as for losing 25 kg more, it would be easy for me.. its called a diet lol !

Joe.

 

[maciek]

oh my.. simon that one was good. Did you test those mods yourselv?

 

[m@thew]

youve got a bit to go to beat my friend, heres his 205



http://homepage.ntlworld.com/mathewroberts/g%20001.jpg

 

[Simon172]

Maciek - yep, all tried and tested and prove to be very benificial, especially the non-clothed approach, i can beat everyone using that mod! (no one wants to drive anywhere near me!!!)

That 205 interior looks very similar to this rather tasty looking Lexus is200 that was at the Brooklands Airfield cruise. On the outside was a gorgeous flip-paint with a nice body kit and inside was a monstrocity! totally destroyed a nice car.....automatic too...?? interesting.

 

[m@thew]

this was taken during work on the car, he totally stipped the car down.He has a cage on order and other parts before he can rebuild the interior

 

[172rob]

dont forget to remove the ashtray and ciggy lighter

 

[172rob]

last but not least dont forget too go for a leak and quick knuckle shuffle......you dont want a full sack slowing you down over the 1/4

 

[rt172]

matt4478 - how do you know I havent shaved....ahem....down there...?! As you say, "Got to save a few precious grams".

172rob - nice one. I dont smoke so those can come out of the car too

Joe - Ill drop you a mail, but for the record, those weights are pretty much spot on to the nearest 10th/kg. Weighed them on a reasonably good set of bathroom scales. Ditch those rears now!

PS: Have a picture! The other 40% of the rears have had to be put in tonight so I can ferry peeps around tomorrow but they are coming right back out again. The 205 GTi will be running as of next monday (fingers crossed) so Ill be able to use that if I ever need a car with back seats.

Rhys

http://www.blindassassins.com/weight_loss_01.jpg

 

[maciek]

we had a discussion on that topic on one of PL tuning forums - how to go (quicker)lighter - and guys came up with almost the same ideas . performance improvements dont differ between cultures then... hahah

 

[Simon]

I wonder how much the front seats weight in the 172??

 

[Captain Slarty]

Nice one Rhys !!.

that is a considerable weight saving m8 !!.

Joe