R666ORY+1

Firstly to start with why I ask and other considerations/actions already taken. I have gone back and forth a million times with this. Increase power v power to weight. The car is 2003 JDM STI. Suspension done, brakes upgraded, standard turbo pretty much maxed out. Uprated CC and light weight flywheel fitted. Been mapped by Andy F @ 369bjp/377Ibft. Looked at bigger/better turbo. Billet VF36/37, SC42. So as a general back story I think it is covered. Car is a semi daily but only ever me & my son in it. That said don’t want to fully strip rear just yet. Weight saving done so far consists of light weight Pro Race wheels, full AC delete (weight saving and less BHP loss to system). All speakers, tweeters, head unit etc removed. Some minor wiring removed. Some minor trim but nothing drastic removed. Weight removal was done to coincide with light weight fly and uprated clutch figment. Can’t remember the exact weight loss but would happily say it was in excess of 40kg. With fly and weight reduction you could easily tell the difference in acceleration. Not interested in taking anything out that affects potential safety. Door bars, cross members and the like. Have priced up 2 x quality light weight front seats, rails etc but bang for buck & weight saving doesn’t really stack up. So a very long winded way of getting to the following!

Anyone give some realistic weight saving on poly windows all round? Price wise for a full set it’s not to excessive. I am aware of their issues with scratching easier and flexing but I’m ok with that. Firstly I would probably ditch rear window motors and save a bit of weight & reduce the dodgy pads scratching them. Would replace front pads to reduce the fronts being scratched (for a while). Would de-activate rear wiper until MOT time (or possibly just pull fuse if an option so not to draw too much attention from the police). I used to own a Megane R26R so know all about poly windows. Sorry for the very very long winded question but I know how easily things can go off topic!

In short any idea on weight saving from
people in the know please?

R666ORY+1

Sorry. Correction (from Andy F graph) 364/385. Just for accuracy!

Henrik

iTrader: (5)

I made my own from a sheet of polycarb.

Good weight saving with fully gutted and cut down rear door, but I hated the flexing etc so much I've gone back to a standard door with regular glass.

From my own experience, I would just say that you should be careful that you don't make your car so bad as a daily that you don't want to be in it on a daily basis.

I've made the IMO mistake of fitting a full weld in cage, with stripped interior, no heater etc etc, and it is probably faster on track for it, but it's also really rubbish on the road.

I'm toying with the idea of chopping the front half of the cage out and putting an interior back in.

Don't end up in the same boat

R666ORY+1

Hi Henrik, thank you for the reply. It’s a fine balance I know and the tipping point can be somewhere you don’t expect! I will do some more digging around and consider my options. I really would like to take more weight out of it and ideally in a cost conscious manner. In reality it’s a bit of a big toy and I have access to other vehicles even though I do daily it. I don’t think I’d ever go down the cage route, but may strip the back in time (I know I said previously not but things change!). Anyone else any experience with these windows? Regards to all.

hedgecutter

iTrader: (5)

For a daily, what about a carbon propshaft and or titanium exhaust?

Henrik

iTrader: (5)

Oh actually, one other thing popped up in my mind...

How do the PC windows attach at the top? I fixed mine to the cage, but would you do that in a road car?

It would be so easy if the doors weren't frameless

stockcar

bear in mind if it isn't the correct material, it splinters into shards on impact and then tends to become a slight issue..........

R666ORY+1

Found this link. Think the idea is now dead in the water for me!
https://www.scoobynet.com/scoobynet-...e-windows.html
Ti exhaust or carbon fibre prop just don’t represent bang for buck in my eyes. Car already has a custom exhaust (not Ti) but there isn’t much to it. Also weight saving v price just doesn’t stack up. Prop shaft only saves a hand full of Kgs for over £1000. I do get it saves the weight in an area that can definitely affect acceleration due to rotational mass though. Back to the drawing board and hours of debating increased power v power to weight 🤨. Oh also forgot electric mirror motors removed. DCCD replaced with a CUSCO 1.5 way LSD. Saves a bit of weight but not a huge amount. Really does shift out of the bends though.

scoobaholic

What about the battery? I found this recently, haven‘t seen any reviews tho. That would lose a chunk of weight at the front and not affect daily-driveabilty. I might give it a go when it‘s new battery time..

https://www.deadweightindustries.co.uk/

R666ORY+1

Now this is worth watching see how they perform! Good find, many thanks. Was only this aft looking at battery options but the car can sit up to 6 weeks without going anywhere (it is rare but does happen). My concern about a light weight racing battery is the messing around on occasions, trickle charging etc. This may just negate some of that agro and save a good amount of weight for the outlay. Bonus is it removes weight from in front of the axle as well which will help reduce understeer. Very marginal I know but all these little things add up over time. Pointing out the obvious I know but braking becomes slightly more efficient, reduced wear on components. Get enough weight out of it & you can soften suspension slightly to improve compliance/comfort and all that good stuff.

scoobaholic

Yeah I‘m thinking along the same lines. I do like my yuasa battery but if this thing can be as durable and reliable at a fraction of the weight I‘ll buy it. 2 years warranty it says. Yuasa is 5.
I‘d like to hear some feedback from a longterm user first or you could be the guinea pig!

R666ORY+1

Oil change and MOT next month. Going to speak to the owner of the garage I use. Not only a mechanic but also does SLS (super lap scotland). Built and drove a car that beat Andy F on occasions. In short I trust his opinion. I will speak to him and see if he has an opinion on them or any other info. I’m very tempted though. I’m happy being the test pilot for many things if it appears to stack up.