Weight Reduction: Best Bang for the Buck

A&Q about Lotus

Q:
Lots of updates to the table on page 1 (found the quicksilver -- Ragnorak lists it on their site, added a few links to threads with more info, etc)

Among SELOC's favorite weight reduction items seem to be hubs and the fuel tank. Not sure if either exists for non-Rover Elises, but worth a bit of searching.
A:
Heh heh, I hope you don't mind me 'stealing your info and playing with it.
Since some of us have the STD wheels and suspension, let me modify the chart a bit to reflect that.

All my data reflect savings from the STANDARD wheels, NOT the LSS.

All the stuff in green is UNSPRUNG, so buy that first!
A:
Nice! I didn't think of doing it as a graphic so didn't know how to handle the "touring wheels."
A:
Originally Posted by Taxcheat Nice! I didn't think of doing it as a graphic so didn't know how to handle the "touring wheels."
lol, here comes Tim!

I have the Excel spreasheet zipped.
A:
How about the foam mat under the trunk carpet. 1 pound savings and more trunk space, free!
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The PC625 saved me 13.5 pounds over my very late 05 sealed battery and terminals.
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Originally Posted by Buz How about the foam mat under the trunk carpet. 1 pound savings and more trunk space, free!
What trunk carpet?
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Added a bunch of expensive interior carbon toys from this German website -- worth a look. It also has quite a few engine/exhaust/wheel items for the 111R.


For the low, low price of $2738 for the whole carbon interior package saves 3.88 lbs.

Andrikos, is there an easy way to save that long list to jpeg? I kludged it with gimp, and it shows. Thanks for the spreadsheet, it rocks.
A:
Hi Taxcheat,
I use 'snagit' to capture the Excel spreadsheet into .jpg
I'm sure there are sharewares or freeware that do the same (www.download.com)



Here's my latest... :
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Put the car on a treadmill. Don't feed it too much.
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Rota Slipstreams are looking pretty good!
Anybody has problems with them?

As you can see I'm focusing on 15" and 16" wheels with some good tires for an AutoX (and maybe HPDE) setup.
A:
Ok kids, this is today's latest and greatest version.

I added a "Power Gain" column and also a "Lotus Equivalent Power Gain from Weight Loss" column that combines both the weight loss and power gain into net power gain. I multiplied all unsprung components (in Green) by a factor of four (rule of thumb, let me know if this is wrong).
A:
I'm skeptical of those power gain claims. With every car they're usually overstated (not to mention dyno differences), but the Lotus ECU's habit of taking back gains after a while makes it not particularly useful to chart. The one factor that can never be disputed is the weight difference. Intake/exhaust changes, etc. are also not additive. A "+5 hp" exhaust and a "+5 hp intake" doesn't necessarily mean you get +10hp.

Is there a way to display the unsprung weight as, e.g., "4 (16)" so people aren't confused into thinking it's a net 16lb savings?

Gotta look up savings from lighter tires with those 15" wheels... that's big savings. There was a thread where someone did that already for a few different tires.
A:
Good points, I agree with the 'optimistic' power gains and the 'non-additivity' (?word?) of the mods.

The column "weight savings" shows the actual weight loss, there's no correction factor for unsprung components.
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what about the stuff you can take out for free?
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what about never filling the gas tank more than half full?
A:
Originally Posted by 2sporty what about the stuff you can take out for free?
The chart is meant as a tool for economic cost/benefit analysis. E.g., given a fixed amount of cash, where is it best spent for weight reduction purposes? It's also meant as an excuse to search out weight reduction items that may have been overlooked -- like this. (trying to get more info)

Taking stuff out for free doesn't require analysis -- just do it.
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okay so how many pounds "COULD" someone save toatal if money were no object. and what would it cost. if the original poster has this in excel format they could give us an easy total.

oh and horsepower gained would be nice too...do i ask to much???

total weight of car, cost including stock new elise and pound per horsepower would be good.
A:
Originally Posted by flyguyskt okay so how many pounds "COULD" someone save toatal if money were no object. and what would it cost. if the original poster has this in excel format they could give us an easy total.

oh and horsepower gained would be nice too...do i ask to much???

total weight of car, cost including stock new elise and pound per horsepower would be good.
I have all that you ask and more in the excel spreadsheet above (post #52).
I'll be updating it soon with tire choices for both 15"F 16"R and 16"F and 17"R wheel combos.
A:
Originally Posted by Andrikos Ok kids, this is today's latest and greatest version.

I added a "Power Gain" column and also a "Lotus Equivalent Power Gain from Weight Loss" column that combines both the weight loss and power gain into net power gain. I multiplied all unsprung components (in Green) by a factor of four (rule of thumb, let me know if this is wrong).
Isn't the rear panel eliminator a 5.25 lb. loss?
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