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View Full Version : Should I lose some weight???



dannyt
19-02-2005, 18:39
I was thinking today the difference in power with having another person or two in the car is massive, so

What does everyone think about removing the...

Spare wheel and cage along with jack - only prob is if I get a flat thats too big for tire seal to seal what am I gonna do then, im with the RAC but will I fit on the ramp??? so many questions!

Also remove the parcel shelf, rear seats and bench?

Rear williams carpet?

And is there anything else?

Also how will this affect the handling, when I took my back seats out last time the sound from the exhasut was miles better, however the rear felt twitchy and light, however this might have been because of greasy roads?

So what does everyone think?

Danny

Winston
19-02-2005, 18:45
Strip that mo fo!!!!!

Makes loads of difference imo, mine feels very lite and nible

KingStromba
19-02-2005, 19:03
Stripping on a Williams you gain straight line speed but lose the balance of the car. For country road blasts id stick a full take of fuel in and a sand bag in the back for real handling fun.

Otherwise the back is more like a 172.

If you strip it get a carbon bonnet and stick the battery in the back. Be better to remove the fron passenger seat and keep the rear seats. Losing weight from the front of the car (balanced with fuel load in the tank) is the way to go.

You may gain a few tenths round a track in a straight line by stripping, but im convinced that over a lap a non stripped Williams would be quicker on account of better balance (and of course over the length of a race better more even tyre wear).

dannyt
19-02-2005, 19:21
think ill give it a try tommorow and see how she feels!

Martin
19-02-2005, 21:44
Give it try mate and see what you think...I was hooked as soon as I started stripping my williams out. Got rid of loads of weight at least 75kgs, with regards to handling my car was superb when I went to Oulton and is fine on roads with a reasonable surface. Only time it feels unsettled is on bumpy roads think this may be my coilovers as well though....I've never had a problem with the rear of the car being loose either, maybe I've just got used to it. :?

KingStromba
19-02-2005, 21:46
In the wet my williams is a pig when stripped. Very tail happy. Much more neutral with back seats and a good fuel load.

In the dry the difference will be less noticable as the grip coefficient of the tyres will be higher.

dannyt
20-02-2005, 19:41
verdict - after a clean and taking rear seats out, parcel shelf and thats about it...

noisier...which is good you can hear everything that happens in the arches even when the rear brakes are working, also the fuel pump!

Lighter and more nimble, but best of all, it felt a lot quicker, which i was pleased about!

So if I was ti remove the spare wheel also and boot carpet then i imagine it would be even better, however my only problems are,

the loudness on long motorway drives could get annoying but not such a problem as yet!

and storage space, i've got a cd changer and that would have to be moved as i wouldn't want anyone taking it, also when putting stuff in the back then will it not slide about etc?

And is there anyway to make it look clean and smart i.e one big carpet etc or MDF and carpet over it?

Danny

2 live
20-02-2005, 19:54
get a big pot of same colour or matt black paint....n paint it mate..mdf adds the weight uv jus got rid of...

ditch the cd player....nasty extra holes in shell.not good hehe.....

if u want stuff to put in the back, buy a couple of helmet nets or similar n use them

northy
20-02-2005, 20:09
Danny what u doing pal...all this talk of taking the special williams one carpet out and no spare :shock:

Try it for a week mate....it'll only take a hour to refit back.

dannyt
20-02-2005, 20:21
it's back in at the minute, whilst im over at the miss', i might take everything out, but I am enjoying having the williams one and 2 interior in, it's just i wouldn't mind a bit of extra speed!!!

Danny

Martin
20-02-2005, 21:02
F7R! :wink:

VIPERONE
20-02-2005, 21:51
Danny... be very careful with stripping,,.. with yours being lowered at the back also.. the handling goes to rat shit...

your back end will tend to kick..... just get used to where to get the power down off bends and corners....or else disasters can occur..plus without wide track the risk is higher.. lol

u33db
20-02-2005, 22:27
remove the power steering to compensate for the extra weight - that way you'll keep all your comforts too.

Winston
20-02-2005, 22:30
Strip it.................All out :twisted:

dannyt
20-02-2005, 23:11
gunner - it didn't seem to bad to be honest pal, went over some good twisties today and even chased a scooby on them and it was handling very well, the scoob was braking very early for some of the corners but not pulling an awful lot on the straights! However over the bumps it didn't feel as stable!

u33db - im not gonna bother losing the power steering fella, how much weight do you actually lose anyway, id prefer to rip the back seats out!!!don't like messing around in that engine bay lol!!1

F7R - eventually! new tires first i think!

Martin
20-02-2005, 23:19
Did either of you two guys ever do a sticky on the manual rack conversion..parts/cost etc ?

KingStromba
20-02-2005, 23:20
Weight saved?????

Winston
20-02-2005, 23:30
Weight saved?????

15kg at least

Guide - I will get on the case

u33db
21-02-2005, 10:09
Well, it's not so much the weight saved its the extra go the 16v will now have since it's got less work to do but anyway, it is a big job. As for weight savings, i only got around to weighing the PAS rack before i posted it off - IIRC it came to about 9kg but i'll check the dispatch manifest. In regard to everything else (pump, bracketry, fluid, reservoir) i don't know as i just binned all that crap..

Winston
21-02-2005, 10:27
Yeah 15kg is a bit hopeful lol....it was late

10kg????....Will weigh everything when I get back from uni

Craig
21-02-2005, 14:25
in pgti they stripped 37kg from a 205 gti!

it took about 0.8 off the 1/4 mile

3 secs off the 0-100

and 1.5 secs off the 0-60 (i think)

not bad for free!

dannyt
21-02-2005, 15:08
that doesn't sound bad at all craig, that would mean, if i lost 40kg's using the same thoery, i would run a

14.9 or 15 sec 1/4
around 15 sec 0-100
and 6 seconds to 60!!!!

doubt it would improve it that much on mine however it can't hurt to try!!!

Craig was your old valver stripped out?

Willy 2
21-02-2005, 15:17
Just following on from this, I stripped out the rear boot mat, parcel shelf, spare steel wheel, rear seats, and all car mats. Made a hell of a difference in performance for a standard car bar an piper x filter. You just have to keep the stereo up a bit louder to compensate for the french rattle!! Knocked 6 tenths off my last pod time, but i reckon on another qtr mile or on better weather conditions this will fall even more.

Bottom line is strip it for a weekend cain and put it back again for week use! :D