Nova vrs Corsa minimum shell weight

[steg1970]

My Nova rally car is nearing the end of it competition life. I am on the look out for another Nova shell. As a contingency I am doing some research on moving to the more plentiful Corsa B shell. Most of my parts will move straight over but I was wondering if it is possible to loose enough weight from the Corsa shell to get it down somwhere near the Nova therefore remaining competitive.

The Nova is very light using fibreglass bonnet and hatch also polycarb windows and is obviously stripped out. I will take the Corsa to this level but I would think it would be impossible to get down to light weight Nova levels.

Has anyone made the change? How close did you get to Nova weight?

Are there any other advantages/disadvantages to doing this?

Discuss

[mowgli]

my guess is that stripped down, a corsa shell will be not much more than 30kg heavier. remember the wider track will be an improvement in stability immediately

[Edd]

^^^ corsa b's look gash tho, plus I'd rather rally a nova than them horrible bubbles lol

Wider track would be better and you will probably find a mint corsa shell for half the price of a nova shell.

[mowgli]

and be less upset if it gets rolled

[AlexW]

I doubt you would get a corsa shell to the weight of a nova shell.

I stripped a SRi last year, the bare shell weighed a blooddy lot, the metal in corsa's is thicker in places and theres lots of metal in the first place.

I think you would be better off with a corsa anyway.

[mowgli]

AW06, that is hardly a scentifically proven statement........ did you have a weighbridge ticket?

i weighed my last nova in with the glass,back seat, front wings & doors, but no rear beam or front mechanical bits and it was 450kg

[AlexW]

i know its not, but i could lift the front of my nova when it was stripped, i couldnt lift the corsa so well. Again hardly a scientifically proven statement.

Corsa do weigh more though.

[burgo]

remember though there are alot more corsa fibreglass panels on the shelf, check out eurorally

[AlexW]

True true, think you can get fibreglass roof skins!

[mowgli]

True true, think you can get fibreglass roof skins!

i would much prefer metal myself.... it might bend, but it doesn't shatter.......

[AlexW]

pros outweigh (pun not intended) the cons in my opinion. Providing you have a cage ofc!

[steg1970]

remember though there are alot more corsa fibreglass panels on the shelf, check out eurorally

On a stage rally car only the bonnet and boot can be changed all doors and roof skin must remain in the standard material.

[Stuart]

more metal to begin with = more that can be removed :)

[Mieran]

DaveB from mig has lost every bit of weight from his Corsa and his car is 850kg iirc and Ollys Nova was 727kg, so there is more than 100kg difference

Both have c20xe engines

[MattBrown]

DaveB from mig has lost every bit of weight from his Corsa and his car is 850kg iirc and Ollys Nova was 727kg, so there is more than 100kg difference

Both have c20xe engines

Colin smiths 1.0 hillclimb car is about as light as it gets 570kg isnt it?

That really is light, and I imagine putting it in the woods, something may bendlol

[Stuart]

you can easily make up weight with wheels and tyres etc.... so unless ollys and davves car had the same wheels/tyres/brakes its a mootish point as you can get 20-25Kg from wheels/tyres and brakes can be 10Kg either way etc.

[GDN16v]

more metal to begin with = more that can be removed :)
Not strictly true!;)

Nova is lighter to start with so is always going to be an advantage, in the weight / strength wars especially for a rally car!

[djbrowney]

my guess is that stripped down, a corsa shell will be not much more than 30kg heavier. remember the wider track will be an improvement in stability immediately

Thats not sure, there on 20 mm its hardly going to make any differnce if any at all !!! :roll:

[mowgli]

all increases in track make for increases in stability, you can also run the offsets out further... thus more width, thus more stability.

[Jon_nova1]

Of course you can make the corsa shell weigh the same as a nova shell, its just one shell you'll have to take to more extremes than the other lol

[Mike]

There are far more trick lightweight parts avaliable for Corsa's then Novas, even with Nova's weighting more to start with.

Out of the two, I know which one id prefer to be in when going through a tree line at 90mph tho....

[djbrowney]

all increases in track make for increases in stability, you can also run the offsets out further... thus more width, thus more stability.

20 mm is not going to make **** worth of differnce :tard:

I have driven a corsa and a nova in exactly the same state

ie supsension wheels polly bushes and there is nothing between the two imo

[Mike]

20 mm is not going to make **** worth of differnce :tard:

Will on a tarmac car tho.