Weight reduction

sparoz · 04-01-2009, 03:25 AM

What do you guys think the best you can do to reduce the kerb weight of the car?

Is 10% possible?

Possible items list without touching the body work?

Wheels
Non-RFTs
Suspensions
Exhaust
Seats
Brakes

shadowiix · 04-01-2009, 03:34 AM

dont forget the battery. im saving for one of those nice lightweight ones.

arrutled · 04-01-2009, 05:38 AM

dont forget about the rotors - 6 lbs from the fronts

Citizen Z · 04-01-2009, 05:43 AM

This is your obligatory

response.

///M1 · 04-02-2009, 11:39 AM

10% is too much. Ordering a car with sunroof delete goes a long way, especially as it lowers center of gravity...

Keep fluids low(e.g. winshield, gas). Exhaust is not that much of a hog as it is single sided, but the cast iron brake calipers are heavy. Battery would be a good one, but it will disrupt the near 50-50 balance.

doveer · 04-02-2009, 01:38 PM

Driver weight reduction

///M1 · 04-02-2009, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by doveer

Driver weight reduction

+1 also may consider tossing your g-friend as a passenger

igom3 · 04-02-2009, 03:29 PM

Stop eating cheeseburgers.

shodanusmc · 04-02-2009, 04:58 PM

Scrap all paint off car....remove all non essential parts, all seats, doors, hood and trunk, glass, carpet, headliner and antenna.......Hire a retired Jockey to drive it for time.

the ZED · 04-02-2009, 07:21 PM

Well the question is really what do you want the weight reduction for? is it for a racing application, gas mileage, autox, or whatever else I'm forgetting.

x97Melbourne · 04-02-2009, 08:51 PM

dont forget the seatbelts.....who needs em

gtaday51 · 04-02-2009, 08:55 PM

Park the car in a big puddle of salt water for a year. Im sure 10% will be gone by then.

1013mm · 04-02-2009, 09:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gtaday51

Park the car in a big puddle of salt water for a year. Im sure 10% will be gone by then.

what?

gtaday51 · 04-02-2009, 09:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jzhang

what?

Do I need to explain the joke. It will become so unfunny if I do that.

randomquickness · 04-02-2009, 09:28 PM

the ltw battery option is a good one but I don't want to do that until I can lose a comparable amount of weight in the front.

The HACK · 04-03-2009, 03:52 PM

10% is roughly 350lbs? It's not unheard of if you're building a race-car (although a 3,100 lbs race car is still quite the fat pig. Just ask Scott Cary who runs a 135i in BMW CCA Club Racing).

First, lets look at some of the more obvious weight savings. First, the seats themselves weigh about 65-90 lbs, depending on option. Replacing both front seats with lightweight race buckets could save anywhere from 40-70 lbs per seat. Let's just go conservative and say you save 80 lbs total with 2 CF Sparcos. Battery weighs about 50 lbs, a light weight gel type batter can weigh as little as 20 lbs. That's another 30 lbs there. Right there you save about 100 lbs.

BMW OEM wheels weight about 24 lbs. Run flat tires weight about 30 lbs. If you were to go with a light-weight forged 18" wheel, there's potential to shave 5 lbs from each corner on wheel alone, and swapping out for a traditional tire like a Michelin PS2 could yield another 5 lbs of saving. So far we're up to a total of 140 lbs (almost half way there).

Now things get progressively harder. You can remove the rear seat padding if you have no need for rear passengers. The seat base and back weighs about 40 lbs total. Dash and the stuffing underneath the dash weighs about 30 lbs. Door panels weigh about 15 lbs each. If you remove all that you lose another 100 lbs (we're now up to 240!)

If you can live without the audio system, you can remove all the speakers, the head unit, and all the associated wiring for another 20 lbs or so. You can go with light-weight fabricated aluminum bumper supports and replace the 5mph bumper shocks with lightweight CF or aluminum rods for another 10 lbs of saving. Now comes the REALLY hard part. All the interior sound deadening can be removed to save another 40 lbs. AC condenser and compressor weighs another 15 lbs total. A lightweight, custom fabricated cat-back exhaust can save you anther 15-20 lbs.

There. ~340 lbs and we haven't even had to replace any body panels with CF.

Tom K. · 04-03-2009, 04:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The HACK

BMW OEM wheels weight about 24 lbs. Run flat tires weight about 30 lbs. ... swapping out for a traditional tire like a Michelin PS2 could yield another 5 lbs of saving.

According to Tire Rack, the OEM 050A RFT 215/40 fronts weigh 24 lbs. each and the 245/35 rears are 26 lbs. each.

Tom

the ZED · 04-03-2009, 04:20 PM

do these cars come with a spare and/or tool kit? I dropped that on mine and saved about 50lbs. Also the Z's came with these bumper weights located in the rear to normalize bumps and they were 30lbs total, don't know if the 1 has anything like that also but there is some potential to save some weight without sacrificing too much.

lib · 04-03-2009, 04:59 PM

You may be able to save some weight with a CF hood & trunk as well.

The problem will be finding a true lightweight CF hood & trunk setup.... I believe the current options are primarily cosmetic and not as light as they could be (I may be wrong though)

akak1997 · 04-03-2009, 05:10 PM

Anyone interested in a one piece Carbon Fiber Drive Shaft? I've always wanted a mod like that. I've taken a look at our stock drive shaft, and I think it might be possible to fit a one piece shaft in there w/o having to hack the floor board. Anyone making one for the 135? The down side is the 135 doesn't share the same drive shaft as the 335 (different length), so it'd be tough to get some manufacturer to invest just on the 1er.

Mad Dragon · 04-03-2009, 05:20 PM

If you want a lightweight "race" car, buy a Miata.

axoid · 04-03-2009, 05:42 PM

-Loose the air conditioning.
-Swiss cheese the bumper supports
-Replace non-structural bolts an nuts with aluminum

04-01-2009, 03:25 AM	#1
sparoz Brigadier General 225 Rep 4,848 Posts Drives: VO 1///M; Macan Turbo Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Sunshine Coast iTrader: (0)	Weight reduction What do you guys think the best you can do to reduce the kerb weight of the car? Is 10% possible? Possible items list without touching the body work? Wheels Non-RFTs Suspensions Exhaust Seats Brakes __________________ Macan S Diesel - Carrera White Macan Turbo - White 1///M - Valencia Orange
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04-01-2009, 03:34 AM	#2
shadowiix Second Lieutenant 21 Rep 204 Posts Drives: 128i Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: irvine iTrader: (0)	dont forget the battery. im saving for one of those nice lightweight ones.
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04-01-2009, 05:38 AM	#3
arrutled Colonel 118 Rep 2,474 Posts Drives: Olsa Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Western Mass iTrader: (0)	dont forget about the rotors - 6 lbs from the fronts __________________ AW 135i w/ blackette, performance short shift kit, BMW alarm, Performance rotors, APEX ARC-8 wheels, Direzza Star Spec 235/275, Dinan stage 3 suspension, M3 wishbones/tension rods/front sway/rear subframe bushings and thats all folks!
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04-01-2009, 05:43 AM	#4
Citizen Z Alpine Master 128 Rep 1,310 Posts Drives: '08 135i AW Sport Join Date: May 2008 Location: Kansas iTrader: (1)	This is your obligatory response. __________________ Alpine White with Taupe Leather 135i, Sports Package, Heated Seats, Comfort Access, iPod Adapter Fastness: http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=252727
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04-02-2009, 11:39 AM	#5
///M1 Brigadier General 291 Rep 3,164 Posts Drives: Many Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: North of 7K RPM iTrader: (1) Garage List 2020 BMW M2 CS [0.00] 1994 Audi RS2 Avant [0.00] 2021 Audi RS6 Avant [0.00] 1988 BMW E30 M3 [0.00] 2011 BMW 1///M [0.00] 2017 BMW F80 M3 30 ... [0.00] 2018 Porsche 991.2 GT3 [0.00] 2015 Porsche Macan ... [0.00] 1998 Porsche 993 C4S [0.00] 1994 Lancia Delta I ... [0.00] 2008 Audi RS4 [0.00]	10% is too much. Ordering a car with sunroof delete goes a long way, especially as it lowers center of gravity... Keep fluids low(e.g. winshield, gas). Exhaust is not that much of a hog as it is single sided, but the cast iron brake calipers are heavy. Battery would be a good one, but it will disrupt the near 50-50 balance. __________________ *2011 BMW E82 1///M: AW, all options; Renntech, Akrapovic, Forge, P3, RevoZ CF bits, many mods 1988 BMW E30 M3: Hennarot, S14, stock 2018 Porsche 991.2 GT3: PtS, CXX, LWBS, PCCB 1998 Porsche 993 C4S: Zenith Blue, last aircooled widebody, Bilstein PSS10, Fister II + Fabspeed exhaust 2008 Audi B7 RS 4*: Sprint Blue, Audi Exclusive Euro Bucket Interior, Premium+Titanium, many mods
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04-02-2009, 01:38 PM	#6
doveer Private First Class 11 Rep 196 Posts Drives: PLAID EZ Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: NYC iTrader: (1)	Driver weight reduction
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04-02-2009, 03:29 PM	#8
igom3 Major 78 Rep 1,147 Posts Drives: 02 E46M3 15 F80 M3 16 X5 35d Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: San Diego iTrader: (1) Garage List 2016 X5 35d [0.00] 2015 BMW M3 [0.00] 2002 E46 M3 [0.00]	Stop eating cheeseburgers.
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04-02-2009, 04:58 PM	#9
shodanusmc Captain 24 Rep 774 Posts Drives: 09 135 Vert Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Chicago burb iTrader: (0)	Scrap all paint off car....remove all non essential parts, all seats, doors, hood and trunk, glass, carpet, headliner and antenna.......Hire a retired Jockey to drive it for time.
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04-02-2009, 07:21 PM	#10
the ZED New Member 0 Rep 9 Posts Drives: 1999 Z3 2.3 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Merced, CA iTrader: (0)	Well the question is really what do you want the weight reduction for? is it for a racing application, gas mileage, autox, or whatever else I'm forgetting.
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04-02-2009, 08:51 PM	#11
x97Melbourne Molar World 68 Rep 916 Posts Drives: 2016 435i Coupe Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Florida iTrader: (0)	dont forget the seatbelts.....who needs em __________________ Current: 2016 435i Coupe Previous: 2014 335i Sedan; 2013 328i Cv, 2011 335i Sedan Gone But Not Forgotten: 2008 135i Convertible (my favorite)
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04-02-2009, 08:55 PM	#12
gtaday51 gone but not forgotten 39 Rep 985 Posts Drives: gone 135 - Hello 1M! Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: The Big Apple iTrader: (0)	Park the car in a big puddle of salt water for a year. Im sure 10% will be gone by then. __________________ Our Lady of Blessed Acceleration don't fail me now.
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04-02-2009, 09:28 PM	#15
randomquickness Brigadier General 258 Rep 3,668 Posts Drives: 996tt Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Georgetown, TX iTrader: (13)	the ltw battery option is a good one but I don't want to do that until I can lose a comparable amount of weight in the front. __________________
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04-03-2009, 03:52 PM	#16
The HACK Midlife Crises Racing Silent but Deadly Class 1864 Rep 5,339 Posts Drives: 2006 MZ4C, 2021 Tesla Model 3 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Welcome to Jamaica have a nice day iTrader: (1)	10% is roughly 350lbs? It's not unheard of if you're building a race-car (although a 3,100 lbs race car is still quite the fat pig. Just ask Scott Cary who runs a 135i in BMW CCA Club Racing). First, lets look at some of the more obvious weight savings. First, the seats themselves weigh about 65-90 lbs, depending on option. Replacing both front seats with lightweight race buckets could save anywhere from 40-70 lbs per seat. Let's just go conservative and say you save 80 lbs total with 2 CF Sparcos. Battery weighs about 50 lbs, a light weight gel type batter can weigh as little as 20 lbs. That's another 30 lbs there. Right there you save about 100 lbs. BMW OEM wheels weight about 24 lbs. Run flat tires weight about 30 lbs. If you were to go with a light-weight forged 18" wheel, there's potential to shave 5 lbs from each corner on wheel alone, and swapping out for a traditional tire like a Michelin PS2 could yield another 5 lbs of saving. So far we're up to a total of 140 lbs (almost half way there). Now things get progressively harder. You can remove the rear seat padding if you have no need for rear passengers. The seat base and back weighs about 40 lbs total. Dash and the stuffing underneath the dash weighs about 30 lbs. Door panels weigh about 15 lbs each. If you remove all that you lose another 100 lbs (we're now up to 240!) If you can live without the audio system, you can remove all the speakers, the head unit, and all the associated wiring for another 20 lbs or so. You can go with light-weight fabricated aluminum bumper supports and replace the 5mph bumper shocks with lightweight CF or aluminum rods for another 10 lbs of saving. Now comes the REALLY hard part. All the interior sound deadening can be removed to save another 40 lbs. AC condenser and compressor weighs another 15 lbs total. A lightweight, custom fabricated cat-back exhaust can save you anther 15-20 lbs. There. ~340 lbs and we haven't even had to replace any body panels with CF.
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04-03-2009, 04:20 PM	#18
the ZED New Member 0 Rep 9 Posts Drives: 1999 Z3 2.3 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Merced, CA iTrader: (0)	do these cars come with a spare and/or tool kit? I dropped that on mine and saved about 50lbs. Also the Z's came with these bumper weights located in the rear to normalize bumps and they were 30lbs total, don't know if the 1 has anything like that also but there is some potential to save some weight without sacrificing too much.
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04-03-2009, 04:59 PM	#19
lib Major 170 Rep 1,401 Posts Drives: <This space for rent> Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: ATX iTrader: (0)	You may be able to save some weight with a CF hood & trunk as well. The problem will be finding a true lightweight CF hood & trunk setup.... I believe the current options are primarily cosmetic and not as light as they could be (I may be wrong though)
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04-03-2009, 05:10 PM	#20
akak1997 Major 78 Rep 1,159 Posts Drives: BMW 135 @ 135mph Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Los Angeles iTrader: (2) Garage List 2008 135i [0.00]	Anyone interested in a one piece Carbon Fiber Drive Shaft? I've always wanted a mod like that. I've taken a look at our stock drive shaft, and I think it might be possible to fit a one piece shaft in there w/o having to hack the floor board. Anyone making one for the 135? The down side is the 135 doesn't share the same drive shaft as the 335 (different length), so it'd be tough to get some manufacturer to invest just on the 1er.
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04-03-2009, 05:20 PM	#21
Mad Dragon . 31 Rep 932 Posts Drives: 2010 GTI Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: MD iTrader: (0)	If you want a lightweight "race" car, buy a Miata.
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04-03-2009, 05:42 PM	#22
axoid Private First Class 13 Rep 194 Posts Drives: '09 128i Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Columbus, Oh iTrader: (0)	-Loose the air conditioning. -Swiss cheese the bumper supports -Replace non-structural bolts an nuts with aluminum __________________ Bill [92 Camaro RS (Autocross ESP / Trackrat) \| 09 BMW 128i Sport Package]
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