[Unknown User]

JSust wondering how weight plays into the drag racing potention of my 78 280z. Will stripping the interior and removing the ACheater really give me an advantage or will i just end up with cold fingers on the way to work?

 

[Doug Dawson]

Re: quick answer about weight

> JSust wondering how weight plays into the
> drag racing potention of my 78 280z. Will
> stripping the interior and removing the
> ACheater really give me an advantage or
> will i just end up with cold fingers on the
> way to work?

Both.

Doug Dawson
[email protected]

 

[COOTER]

> JSust wondering how weight plays into the
> drag racing potention of my 78 280z. Will
> stripping the interior and removing the
> ACheater really give me an advantage or
> will i just end up with cold fingers on the
> way to work?

I read somewhere that every 100lbs could cut 1/10th off a quarter mile time, but I couldn't verify this.

I think if you really wanted to cut weight you could look into replacing the hood with a fiberglass replacement, also the bumpers are pretty heavy and they make fiberglass replacements for those, but they are the slim 240Z style and might not be legal in all states. Check out Arizona Z-Car.

 

[Unknown User]

> I read somewhere that every 100lbs could cut
> 1/10th off a quarter mile time, but I
> couldn't verify this.

> I think if you really wanted to cut weight
> you could look into replacing the hood with
> a fiberglass replacement, also the bumpers
> are pretty heavy and they make fiberglass
> replacements for those, but they are the
> slim 240Z style and might not be legal in
> all states. Check out Arizona Z-Car.

I've taken the bumpers off my car and what a diiference in looks. I plan to replace them with marine rubber moulding. The stuff is used on boats to prevent damage and is hollow in the middle of it's D cross section. This goes straight onto the body so it's there only for show. Cant be any worse than fiberglass bumpers. Of course this may not be legal but then again it's my toy not a daily driver.

BTW, the bumpers and bumper shocks, brackets, plastic and hardware I've removed has saved me ~125lbs. The main benefit comes from how much better the car looks. I figure I've taken over a foot off the overall length. The car no longer looks wierdly elongated and because of that, looks wider and therefore more aggressive.

I'm also trying to lose as much weight as possible off the car without spending $$$. Any ideas?

Simon

 

[Doug Dawson]

> I've taken the bumpers off my car and what a
> diiference in looks. I plan to replace them
> with marine rubber moulding. The stuff is
> used on boats to prevent damage and is
> hollow in the middle of it's D
> cross section. This goes straight onto the
> body so it's there only for show. Cant be
> any worse than fiberglass bumpers. Of course
> this may not be legal but then again it's my
> toy not a daily driver.

> BTW, the bumpers and bumper shocks,
> brackets, plastic and hardware I've removed
> has saved me ~125lbs. The main benefit comes
> from how much better the car looks. I figure
> I've taken over a foot off the overall
> length. The car no longer looks wierdly
> elongated and because of that, looks wider
> and therefore more aggressive.

> I'm also trying to lose as much weight as
> possible off the car without spending $$$.
> Any ideas?

Re. the bumpers, if you're really keen on saving some weight with them, I'd suggest replacing them with some other material. You've already noted that you replaced them with some rubber moldings, and that's okay. You're kind of defeating their purpose, though: Nissan probably didn't want to add any more weight than is necessary, and engineered the stock bumpers to be relatively light of weight while fulfilling their intended purpose ( or at least I'd like to think so. )

Have you ever heard of the wood 'jelutong'? I'd suggest dropping by your local specialty hardwood dealer and checking it out. I'm quite fond of this wood for how delightful it is to carve, and it is also fairly light. You could really have a lot of fun carving bumpers and other critical structural and safety elements out of a wonderful carving wood such as jelutong. The design possibilities are endless. We KNOW we're never going to run into anything with the car, so there can't be any liability here. The advantage over rubber moldings is that you can be much more creative this way.

Did you know that you can save a substantial amount of weight by removing all of the window glass from the car? Not a bloody window left. The rear window glass is especially heavy. There may be some problems with exhaust retention in the cabin, but you can easily address that by extending the exhaust pipe VERTICALLY out the back of the car to a height of eight feet or so.

Get rid of all the interior furnishings while you're at it. A hammock is far lighter than the stock passenger seat, and is much more fun for the passenger.

Once you've got the windows all out ( perhaps replaced with Raschel netting? ) you might consider using a hole saw to perforate all of the body panels. Say, three inch diameter holes. Saw holes in EVERYTHING that is a solid flat piece of metal. This is a common race-prep technique. Nobody will care if it rains, because if it rains you'll be driving with a tarpaulin over the car anyways.

There are a great many things you can remove from the car in the interest of weight reduction. Be prepared for some stares though. Your limit is your imagination. ( A car doesn't really need that much stuff in it to function properly. )

Did you know that AstroTurf(^tm) is a decent radar absorbant?

Doug Dawson
[email protected]

 

[Unknown User]

> Re. the bumpers, if you're really keen on
> saving some weight with them, I'd suggest
> replacing them with some other material.
> You've already noted that you replaced them
> with some rubber moldings, and that's okay.
> You're kind of defeating their purpose,
> though: Nissan probably didn't want to add
> any more weight than is necessary, and
> engineered the stock bumpers to be
> relatively light of weight while fulfilling
> their intended purpose ( or at least I'd
> like to think so. )

> Have you ever heard of the wood 'jelutong'?
> I'd suggest dropping by your local specialty
> hardwood dealer and checking it out. I'm
> quite fond of this wood for how delightful
> it is to carve, and it is also fairly light.
> You could really have a lot of fun carving
> bumpers and other critical structural and
> safety elements out of a wonderful carving
> wood such as jelutong. The design
> possibilities are endless. We KNOW we're
> never going to run into anything with the
> car, so there can't be any liability here.
> The advantage over rubber moldings is that
> you can be much more creative this way.

> Did you know that you can save a substantial
> amount of weight by removing all of the
> window glass from the car? Not a bloody
> window left. The rear window glass is
> especially heavy. There may be some problems
> with exhaust retention in the cabin, but you
> can easily address that by extending the
> exhaust pipe VERTICALLY out the back of the
> car to a height of eight feet or so.

> Get rid of all the interior furnishings
> while you're at it. A hammock is far lighter
> than the stock passenger seat, and is much
> more fun for the passenger.

> Once you've got the windows all out (
> perhaps replaced with Raschel netting? ) you
> might consider using a hole saw to perforate
> all of the body panels. Say, three inch
> diameter holes. Saw holes in EVERYTHING that
> is a solid flat piece of metal. This is a
> common race-prep technique. Nobody will care
> if it rains, because if it rains you'll be
> driving with a tarpaulin over the car
> anyways.

> There are a great many things you can remove
> from the car in the interest of weight
> reduction. Be prepared for some stares
> though. Your limit is your imagination. ( A
> car doesn't really need that much stuff in
> it to function properly. )

> Did you know that AstroTurf(^tm) is a decent
> radar absorbant?

> Doug Dawson
> [email protected]
So I guess I should get rid of the grass I've grown all over the car and go to a light weight
and low maintenance astro turf?
:^)
I hate mowing the car anyway, real pain to get the riding mower around the side mirrors.
jeff

 

[Unknown User]

Stick it up your a**!

> Re. the bumpers, if you're really keen on
> saving some weight with them, I'd suggest
> replacing them with some other material.
> You've already noted that you replaced them
> with some rubber moldings, and that's okay.
> You're kind of defeating their purpose,
> though: Nissan probably didn't want to add
> any more weight than is necessary, and
> engineered the stock bumpers to be
> relatively light of weight while fulfilling
> their intended purpose ( or at least I'd
> like to think so. )

> Have you ever heard of the wood 'jelutong'?
> I'd suggest dropping by your local specialty
> hardwood dealer and checking it out. I'm
> quite fond of this wood for how delightful
> it is to carve, and it is also fairly light.
> You could really have a lot of fun carving
> bumpers and other critical structural and
> safety elements out of a wonderful carving
> wood such as jelutong. The design
> possibilities are endless. We KNOW we're
> never going to run into anything with the
> car, so there can't be any liability here.
> The advantage over rubber moldings is that
> you can be much more creative this way.

> Did you know that you can save a substantial
> amount of weight by removing all of the
> window glass from the car? Not a bloody
> window left. The rear window glass is
> especially heavy. There may be some problems
> with exhaust retention in the cabin, but you
> can easily address that by extending the
> exhaust pipe VERTICALLY out the back of the
> car to a height of eight feet or so.

> Get rid of all the interior furnishings
> while you're at it. A hammock is far lighter
> than the stock passenger seat, and is much
> more fun for the passenger.

> Once you've got the windows all out (
> perhaps replaced with Raschel netting? ) you
> might consider using a hole saw to perforate
> all of the body panels. Say, three inch
> diameter holes. Saw holes in EVERYTHING that
> is a solid flat piece of metal. This is a
> common race-prep technique. Nobody will care
> if it rains, because if it rains you'll be
> driving with a tarpaulin over the car
> anyways.

> There are a great many things you can remove
> from the car in the interest of weight
> reduction. Be prepared for some stares
> though. Your limit is your imagination. ( A
> car doesn't really need that much stuff in
> it to function properly. )

> Did you know that AstroTurf(^tm) is a decent
> radar absorbant?

> Doug Dawson
> [email protected]

Hey Doug,

Take your snarky response and stick it up your ass man. Like I said, it's my toy and I don't care if my Z is as pretty or as perfect as yours.

Simon

 

[Unknown User]

Doug, what are you smoking man??

I think you need help, what was that all about? Do you have a problem with him??

> Re. the bumpers, if you're really keen on
> saving some weight with them, I'd suggest
> replacing them with some other material.
> You've already noted that you replaced them
> with some rubber moldings, and that's okay.
> You're kind of defeating their purpose,
> though: Nissan probably didn't want to add
> any more weight than is necessary, and
> engineered the stock bumpers to be
> relatively light of weight while fulfilling
> their intended purpose ( or at least I'd
> like to think so. )

> Have you ever heard of the wood 'jelutong'?
> I'd suggest dropping by your local specialty
> hardwood dealer and checking it out. I'm
> quite fond of this wood for how delightful
> it is to carve, and it is also fairly light.
> You could really have a lot of fun carving
> bumpers and other critical structural and
> safety elements out of a wonderful carving
> wood such as jelutong. The design
> possibilities are endless. We KNOW we're
> never going to run into anything with the
> car, so there can't be any liability here.
> The advantage over rubber moldings is that
> you can be much more creative this way.

> Did you know that you can save a substantial
> amount of weight by removing all of the
> window glass from the car? Not a bloody
> window left. The rear window glass is
> especially heavy. There may be some problems
> with exhaust retention in the cabin, but you
> can easily address that by extending the
> exhaust pipe VERTICALLY out the back of the
> car to a height of eight feet or so.

> Get rid of all the interior furnishings
> while you're at it. A hammock is far lighter
> than the stock passenger seat, and is much
> more fun for the passenger.

> Once you've got the windows all out (
> perhaps replaced with Raschel netting? ) you
> might consider using a hole saw to perforate
> all of the body panels. Say, three inch
> diameter holes. Saw holes in EVERYTHING that
> is a solid flat piece of metal. This is a
> common race-prep technique. Nobody will care
> if it rains, because if it rains you'll be
> driving with a tarpaulin over the car
> anyways.

> There are a great many things you can remove
> from the car in the interest of weight
> reduction. Be prepared for some stares
> though. Your limit is your imagination. ( A
> car doesn't really need that much stuff in
> it to function properly. )

> Did you know that AstroTurf(^tm) is a decent
> radar absorbant?

> Doug Dawson
> [email protected]

 

[Doug Dawson]

Re: It's a JOKE, son.

> Hey Doug,

> Take your snarky response and stick it up
> your ass man. Like I said, it's my toy and I
> don't care if my Z is as pretty or as
> perfect as yours.

Like I said, it was a JOKE, kiddo. There are all kinds of extremes you can take weight reduction to, and some of them are perfectly okay! I was exxagerating for comic effect in some places.

The dangers in replacing the bumper assembly by a piece of rubber are real, OTOH. With what you've done, you're much more likely to suffer frame damage requiring expensive body shop time, from low speed collisions ( that you might otherwise not see any damage from. )

I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings, it wasn't my intention.

Drive your car very carefully in the parking lot.

Doug Dawson
[email protected]

 

[Joshua L.]

Hey Doug, No Problem

Sorry Guys but it was easy to see it was just a joke. Take it as one. I personnally thought it was pretty funny, sorry you guys are so dry. It IS your car, do what you want with it, but he is right, even it is not frame damage, think about the hood and front wings. They are thin and dent VERY easily! Have fun with your cars and lighten up, will ya?
Joshua L.

 

[Unknown User]

Re: Hey Doug, No Problem

> Sorry Guys but it was easy to see it was
> just a joke. Take it as one. I personnally
> thought it was pretty funny, sorry you guys
> are so dry. It IS your car, do what you want
> with it, but he is right, even it is not
> frame damage, think about the hood and front
> wings. They are thin and dent
> VERY easily! Have fun with your cars and
> lighten up, will ya?
> Joshua L.

It is easy to see how Doug's comment can be takin' as something other than a joke. It sounds like he is basically saying how stupid it was to remove the front bumbers. You could easily take it either way, so please don't jump on people for being insulted by his comments. Don't take this the wrong way. I said please. Have a nice day everyone.

 

[Doug Dawson]

Re: Hey Doug, No Problem

> It is easy to see how Doug's comment can be
> takin' as something other than a joke. It
> sounds like he is basically saying how
> stupid it was to remove the front bumbers.

I thought it was gentle ribbing, myself, but then, I was laughing as I was writing it, so I guess mebbe I wasn't being objective.

> You could easily take it either way, so
> please don't jump on people for being
> insulted by his comments.

Now that I've eliminated the possibility that I was acting in lurid malice, nobody should feel insulted.

Doug Dawson
[email protected]

Just say, Okay, I laugh at my own jokes, is that sad or what? Wanna make something of it? Etc.