No life (a.k.a. DattoMaster)  
Joined:
2002/8/6 2:24
From Brisbane, Australia
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My L series coupe weighed in at 840 or 850kg (can't remember off the top of my head) with an extensive steel rollcage and half a tank of fuel. With a pretty big rad, 70series gearbox, and BorgWarnwer diff.
790kg is not too bad if it includes all the turbo gear I reckon. Very Light for a 2L IPRA car.
about the radiator, alloy rads can be expensive, but the heavy part is the amount of water it takes to fill it, obviously. So don't overspec the rad - just big enough to do the job and no more. ANd remember that a wider frontal area will be more efficient than a thicker core, meaning less weight for the same cooling capabilities. My L series rad was just enough - take the front spoiler off and it would overheat on the track, but it was fine with the spoiler on.
Getting the weight down once all the unnecesary stuff is removed is really about what the rules allow, and how much you are prepared to spend. It's hard to make suggestions on what to do without seeing the car...You can remove unnecesary brackets off the body under IPRA regs. That won't count for much but it all adds up, and there are a few of them on the firewall and in the back of the coupes. Call me a cynic, but there are some cars up here with holes cut in doors and trim cards apparently where speakers used to be, and are just covered over with speaker grills. I'm not suggesting you do this though - just an observation...
Dry cell batteries are nice and light, but a bit exxy. But they can also be mounted in the cabin without a vented enclosure, which saves a bit more weight.
You've obviously already got the driveline, so there's no sense telling you to stick clear of the big, heavy, overspecced H190 diff for example...
Other suspension components you add should be as light as possible too. Eg - for circuit racing there's no need to upgrade the castor rods with big heavy Torana ones as I have seen some people do. And don't add unnecesary linkages to the rear end as you are allowed - focus on setting the leaves up to handle the job themselves.
Same goes for brakes - don't go and fit the biggest thing you can squeeze in, alot of sport sedans brake absolutely fantastic with brakes that fit inside 13" wheels. And your car is quite light.
Expensive stuff can include things like chrome-moly strut legs, alloy hubs etc etc depending on how serious you want to get. I've heard that some leading RX7's use magnesium diff housings...
oh, an abvious one is the lightest seat you can afford, with the lightest mounts you can find (if side mounted). but you've probably already got a race seat in there.
Lightest, shortest exhaust you can fit. ie with the lightest, smallest muffler that does the job.
Posted on: 2005/4/12 5:35
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