> 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