View Full Version : need to loose more weight
not me the car :lol:
i've just got back from the garage were my nova is being kept and i cut out and drilled out, nearly everything that i didn't need.
seat brackets on the inner wheel arch
spare wheel bracket in the wheel well
i drilled out the spot welds holding the seat brackets on the floor pan
started stripping the dash out.
what else can i cut out of the shell?
i've been thinking of cutting out the top part of the fire wall (metal that seperates the battery from the engine bay)
and the spare wheel well will go in time.
theres got to be something else lol :lol:
TBH i would keep the wheel well.
Especially if its rot free.
But apart from that, there aint much left to cut out. :lol:
the wheel well isn't too bad tbh adam, i'm just thinking that when if i cut it out, the bracing MIGHT put all the weight back in
Yer, thats why i would keep it.
You could cut the firewall part out the engine bay tho, that looks pretty good me thinks.
just in front of the gear shifter is a plate that goes over the exhaust tunnel which the dash board bolts to and the centre console sits on, that can be removed
Chris
You could also cut away arond where the Gear lever, a bit footery but if you're that keen, why not? The Bar in the middle of the Slam panel could go, bracing on the door, although this will require Perspex Windows, and these will also lower weight.
jamie gsi16v
17-08-05, 11:10 PM
inside the rear quarters? front inner wings? sunroof? inside boot door? remove bumper brakets the list goes on and on
dhdev (Oli)
18-08-05, 07:54 AM
rear seat belt reinforcers in the rear qtr
boot lock (replace with ally pins)
drill door handles
replace plastic grill with mesh
fit bucket seats and harnesses (if already done, remove seat brackets in floor and seat belt reinforcers in b-pillar)
remove bonnet catch/ lever and cable (replace with ally pins)
remove unnecesary wiring from loom
remove heat shields fom exhaust tunnel (extra warmth helps when the heater's removed)
cut firewall out as suggested and vent bonnet then fit smaller rad
change standard fan for pacet or similar
drill bumpers
as you can tell i've had some experience in weight loss for nova's :lol:
i think jauta botu all sensible suggestions have been listed here lol.
i cut my wheel well out and replaced it with an X brace and a strut brace (that was going in anyway though), the covered the hole in the floor with polycarb...... i doubt its lost any weight but its less steel to have rot away lmao.
replace plastic grill with mesh
I would have thought the mesh would be the same weight, if not heavier
just depends what mesh surly...or run without a grill
Would fibreglass bumpers be any lighter than the plastic ones?
maybe but only if they were replicas of a standard one not like the cacky evo one you had would have weighed more the bar the bumped attachs to is the heavy part
have you gutted the doors? and fitted polycarbonate windows?
boredbloke
18-08-05, 08:52 AM
How about ditching the all windows and the roof?
then fit lil push bike stabilisers just in case it ever nearly rolls....
imho id never gut the doors unless you had door bars.........
which technically negates gutting the door in the first place lol
fiberglass/carbon doors if your that serious about it
if your that serious then build a spaceframe chassis with proper suspension geometry, RWD and then put a very very light carbon shell that looks like a nova on that lol.
there are sensible limits that are set more or less by budget in making a nove light. and most of us have found the cost effecetive limit. its only the more minted people that can push things that little bit further withc arbon pannels, titanium components etc...
could you make the shell out of rice paper
jamie gsi16v
18-08-05, 10:41 AM
dh dev (oli) wrote
as you can tell i've had some experience in weight loss for nova's yet you still have all the sound deadening tar stuff in your drivers and passengers footwell! alot of weight to be lost there when removed.
NovalutionGSi
18-08-05, 01:10 PM
Jamie, you tried or managed to get that shity stuff off??? if you have and you know an easy way then PM it to me as thats my next lil job, passenger and drivers footwells, rear passenger footwells and the spare wheel well!
Next question thou, what happens to all the bits and bobs on the firewall once you remove it?? cause i think thats another plan to go for aswell.
maybe but only if they were replicas of a standard one not like the cacky evo one you had would have weighed more the bar the bumped attachs to is the heavy part
Yup, I meant a remould of a std item.. altho my evo one wasn't that heavy, but the brackets to fit it were... and so were the lamps lol. Bloody good though those lamps were...
Jamie, you tried or managed to get that s**t stuff off??? if you have and you know an easy way then PM it to me as thats my next lil job, passenger and drivers footwells, rear passenger footwells and the spare wheel well!
LMFAO, I'm amazed how many people suffer with getting this stuff off. Leave your car out in the sun with the windows up and all your carpet removed so that all the sound deadening is on display. Take all your Interior out too. Leave it for a few hours, then try removing it again. Mine peeled off with ease and I had it all removed in a few hours (with the little help of some friends). If that still doesn't work then get a hair dryer or heat gun on it.
Jim
NovalutionGSi
18-08-05, 01:27 PM
Cheers Jim, did find a well placed screw driver lifted enough to get hold of it in the spare wheel well, hadnt tried the foot wells yet. was thinking of using a hairdryer/heat gun but that might be too hot.
WARNING be very very very very carefull with a heat gun on the drivers side ;) thats where the fuel liens run and i set fire to a barn/car when i did mine and melted the lines.
Take out the engine, that'll help a bit. Like the boys are saying, use your head and you'll be alright mate, but dont gotooo far, my Nova lifts all fours on a regular basis and seems to enjoy the bounce afterwards, makes for interesting cornering!!!
NovalutionGSi
18-08-05, 04:15 PM
dont worry i know where the fuel lines run, had to replace the ones on the GSi and dad set fire to my old SR when he was welding up the floor for the mot!
hum, i just want to shed a few pounds off the old girl, i aint going major strip out, my roads are bumpy enough as it is without bouncing! :o
hum, i just want to shed a few pounds off the old girl, i aint going major strip out, my roads are bumpy enough as it is without bouncing! :o
If you're not going to do it to the extreme, then don't bother. Keep the creature comforts like sound deadening and carpet. A friend of mine stripped his Nova out, but put it all back in again because he couldn't stand the extra noise.
If you're going to do it, do it properly! :)
Jim
i hated my stripped out nova, fucked me right off
bloody hell, lol.
i've only been at work a day and the post has grown a bit lol :lol:
right, i've ordered a fibre glass bonnet, so the catch and bits in the slam panel can be skipped, i'm on the look out for fibre glass wings, also.
i might hollow out the doors, strip them of the window mech and so on
dhdev (Oli)
19-08-05, 07:58 AM
dh dev (oli) wrote
as you can tell i've had some experience in weight loss for nova's yet you still have all the sound deadening tar stuff in your drivers and passengers footwell! alot of weight to be lost there when removed.
did have the sound deadening in, left it there for nurburgring, its all gone now!
NovalutionGSi
19-08-05, 09:53 AM
hum, i just want to shed a few pounds off the old girl, i aint going major strip out, my roads are bumpy enough as it is without bouncing! :o
If you're not going to do it to the extreme, then don't bother. Keep the creature comforts like sound deadening and carpet. A friend of mine stripped his Nova out, but put it all back in again because he couldn't stand the extra noise.
If you're going to do it, do it properly! :)
Jim
theres Properly and then theres Extreme! theres no carpets already, had the battery tray go, so had a look under the carpet to find the underlay was soaked so that when in the bin, carpets sat in the shed now but things like the heater etc will stay...... i'm a whimp in the cold weather!!!
theres Properly and then theres Extreme! theres no carpets already, had the battery tray go, so had a look under the carpet to find the underlay was soaked so that when in the bin, carpets sat in the shed now but things like the heater etc will stay...... i'm a whimp in the cold weather!!!
To me, doing it properly means stripping it to the extreme :) I'll be the first to admit mine isn't as stripped as it could be, but it's on the list of things to do :)
Dan, Oli, Benji, Chris T and Stu have taken weight loss to new levels (well, with their cars anyway ;))
Jim
lol - I too have been stripping my car. However I've kept the dash and the heater in the car because I like them.
In my view if its a trackday car then its good to have it as lite as possible but there is no point in going too mad because I don't think you would notice that much of an improvement after you have done the major stuff like the windows, bonnet etc.
Also keeping the heater matrix in does make sence. We took my mates trackday car to the ring and we got passed by everything (I think you could have passed us on a push bike!) in the wet because his windscreen steamed up so we had to drive the car with our heads out of the windows. With me shouting instructions to him.
It was fun but its embarrsing when a family car comes past you with the kids in the back waving :oops:
http://www.nfauto.co.uk/demist.htm
thats why ive got one of those ;) its only 500ish gramms VS 10Kg of heater matrix.
Nice one Stu :) - How well does it work?
Surely a heated screen is an even better solution?
Jim
thats a cheaper way though
Arn't the heated screens quite pricey though?
The ultimate solution would be to lose 10kg in weight ;) or don't take passengers they weigh loads!
This was something I was mulling over the other day. Even a small passenger is going to weigh 60kg. So once you are two up in a car all that money you have just spent on making the car lite has just been added by the person sitting next to you. Also after saying this my lap times where not that much different with or without a passenger last year.
Although I have refused to take some really chunky people out :oops: They wouldn't fit in to the seats anyway :P
i rmemeber playing football a while back and some fat guy asked for a lift home and i said no im erm going somewhere else tonight, it was only as he wouldnt fit in my seats :lol:
The heated screens are quite pricey, but you're not adding any extra weight by installing heaters :) It all comes down to how far you want to take it.
Jim
Yup, and how much money your willing to spend. I always go for value for money. In general there is always the ultimate item to purchase but if you lower you sights slightly you can get something that does the job almost as well but for a lot less dosh.
Hence why I have a Nova. If I had more money I would have built a more expensive trackday car, but the Nova is cheap-ish and works well enough.
NovalutionGSi
19-08-05, 01:58 PM
i've seen the pics of dan's car as i was going to set his car as the aim for me to beat (1/4 mile time) but after seeing what isnt in there and what i'd use my car for i decided to get real and aim a little lower! :lol:
my car, i want to be a fast road car that can be put on the track for fun and still keep up with some of the track cars.
and on the note of people not getting in Seats..... one of the guys at work he's well how shall i put it...... Bit tubby...... ok very tubby, he dropped off the van to another work mate and wanted me to take him home...... needless to say he didnt sit in my seats but on them! :lol:
the main reason why the shell needs to loose the weight, is because its going to be a 1.2 track car, i know how i want the engine, so i figured that it needs all the help it can get lol
no idea how well the demister works, but if it can get a car through an SVA test, im sure it works fine lol.
Ste_Nova
20-08-05, 07:05 PM
Arn't the heated screens quite pricey though?
i got one... good value..
i hated my stripped out nova, f**k me right off
when i replaced all my seats and carpets it was the worst thing i could have ever done, i got bored with the nova and sold it,
i still recon id have it now if it was still stripped caged and carbed
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.