Losing Weight

I was thinking today about how you could reduce the weight of a Supra. The usual/simplist way would be to strip out any unneccessary parts such as rear seats, air con, carpet, sound proofing, trim, spare wheel, ICE, heater etc. Yes this could lose you quite a bit of weight and would be fine if using the car for nothing else other than track days or drag racing but it doesn't really appeal to me on a road car, it's too big a compromise; weight vs comfort.

This lead me to thinking about the various materials used to construct a Supra and what materials/parts you could change to reduce weight. For example I have a full titanium exhaust system on my car which is a fraction of the weight of a regular SS exhaust.

So the theoretical question is if you wanted to keep the creature comforts of a road going Supra, what parts could 'practically' be swapped for lighter alternatives and how much weight could this save?

Thought I'd start a list of parts and the weight that could be saved. Add to the list any other ideas that could be swapped/removed without compromising comfort/performance/looks. The parts I have included are those that are already available, it might be that there are other parts that could be changed that aren't currently available.

Parts/Weight Saving:

1. Titanium Exhaust System/weight saving?

2. Magnesium Wheels/weight saving?

3. Carbon Fibre Bonnet/weight saving?

4. Carbon Fibre Rear Door/weight saving?

5. Carbon Fibre Doors/weight saving?

6. ...

Single kit, about a 13kg saving

Titanium bits. How much is the stock exhaust? 35kg? to a 9lb one! Thats a good saving

Junk any subs?

Get the J-spec recaros instead of the full leather seats?

Only fill the fuel tank half full

Single kit, about a 13kg saving

I left that one open and had bets on you posting Terry

always rely on me Nic, better than harrassing people by PM

In an aerotop you could do a CF roof. Mind you the stock one doesn't weigh that much and personally I'd want steel crossbracing inside it to retain the chassis stiffness.

Best way is to stop eating burgers..That will save few kgs

 

Only fill the fuel tank half full

That is probably THE best way of weight saving. Whats the capacity of the fuel tank 80L? Must be a fair bit of weight, can't say I've noticed any difference though in performance driving with the tank full or empty. I guess a full tank must help a fair bit with traction. Will make mental note when I fill up next time.

Nic you are removing weight from the wrong place then ( need it over the rear axle, depending on what you are doing).

Seriously:

Turbo kit ( just for you Nic)

Bonnet

Stock wings weigh nothing

Nosecone

Aluminium Bar Behind nose cone

Battery in the boot or a lighter one in the front

Change driver seat ( very heavy)

Lightweight wheels

Lightweight suspension.

Try those for a start

Dont forget the exhaust oh great one.

You dont want that heavy stainless steel stuff.

Bobbeh give mate a shout I need a chat

Nic you are removing weight from the wrong place then ( need it over the rear axle, depending on what you are doing).

 

Seriously:

Turbo kit ( just for you Nic)

Bonnet

Stock wings weigh nothing

Nosecone

Aluminium Bar Behind nose cone

Battery in the boot or a lighter one in the front

Change driver seat ( very heavy)

Lightweight wheels

Lightweight suspension.

 

Try those for a start

I understand the reasoning behind keeping the weight over the rear wheels for traction, but isn't weight distribution also important for overall handling?

Absolutely, lowering the unsprung weight will have the biggest effect on handling.

You could go to the loo and squeeze one out after a big meal, before you go out in the car...........that would save about half a pound LMAO !!

You could go to the loo and squeeze one out after a big meal, before you go out in the car...........that would save about half a pound LMAO !!

ROFL thats how I bet on the dogs at the track I got 1 winner from using that technique

I reckon I could loose a stone on some days! EASILY

Titanium bits. How much is the stock exhaust? 35kg? to a 9lb one! Thats a good saving

hehe, love the comparison using metric and imperial measurements!

Active spoiler would be another good one to go.

Well I couldnt be arsed to work out 9lb in K? Whats that? 4-5kg?

2.2lb per kilo

So yes, you're right - 9lb would be just over 4kg.

You could go to the loo and squeeze one out after a big meal, before you go out in the car...........that would save about half a pound LMAO !!

actually its about 2lbs mate

Single kit, about a 13kg saving

Terry your starting on the same line as Paul E getting plugs in threads

Replace brakes with Brembo, carbon drive shaft, JIC coilovers, that bar behind the bumper, empty out glove box flywheel, engine pullies.

I would say keep the SMIC but when i replace mine with a front mount there what's a huge differenece may be 1-3kg.

Sorry mate it was not meant to be a blatant plug. People often forget the singles represent a weight saving..now where did I put that link to our website

Is stainless steel back box system much heavier than titanium?Does it worth getting it replaced? Now carbon drive shaft,was thinking about it but dont think makes much difference..too expensive as well

Is stainless steel back box system much heavier than titanium?Does it worth getting it replaced? Now carbon drive shaft,was thinking about it but dont think makes much difference..too expensive as well

Yes a SS system is quite a lot heavier, I couldn't believe how light my ARC exhaust was when I took it off for the first time, it looks heavy but then you pick it up and it just feels too light.