e30 weight loss guide

[postmaster]

Losing Weight For Fun and Profit

--BODY--
-Ahead of Firewall-

I. Hood
A. Fiberglass Ireland Engineering Race Hood (-32lbs)
II. Fenders
A. Fiberglass or Carbon Fiber Custom (-15lbs)
III. Valance
A. Strategic lightening of stock (-5lbs)
B. Custom f/g or c/f (-12lbs)
C. Aftermarket (-7lbs)
IV. Bumper ('84-'88)
A. Euro bumper swap (-20+lbs)
B. For '88, plastic bumper swap (-20+lbs)
V. Wipers
A. Single wiper conversion (-4lbs)

-Firewall to Trunk Bulkhead-

I. Windows: All the windows are up relatively high, thus all weight saved from them will help lower cg, raising handling limits.
A. Mashaw Lexan Side Windows (-7lbs)
B. Euro Crank conversion (-5lbs)
II. Sunroof: Again, up high, so losing weight will help handling.
A. Custom Closure, gutted (-4lbs)
III. Side Mirrors
A. F/g or c/f small rectangular (-2.5lbs) (Speaking of which, did you see the c/f ones on the race-prepped e30 M3 at the SD autocross? They were friggin tiny. Maybe 2.5x5")

-Trunk Bulkhead Back-

I. Trunklid: Up high, affects cg.
A. F/g Ireland Engineering Race (-12lbs)
II. Bumper ('89-91)
A. Strategic Lightening (-7.5lbs)
III. Bumper ('84-'88)
A. Euro bumper swap (-20+lbs)
B. For '88, plastic bumper swap (-20+lbs)
IV. Window: Up high, affects cg.
A. Mashaw Lexan (-4lbs)
-Underside-
I. Undercoating
A. Full undercoating removal, replacement with clear coat. (For
those of us who live on the beautiful West coast and in the
deserts of the Southwest. (-25lbs)

--Engine Related--
-Accessories-

I. Air Conditioning System
A. Removal of compressor and brackets (-45lbs)
B. Removal of associated lines and wires (-5lbs)
II. Fan
A.Replacement with electric aftermarket (-5lbs)
-Bolt Ons-
I. Air Intake
A. Pipercross/iTg foam CAI w/ heat shield (-0.5lbs)
II. Headers
A. Ireland Engineering Ceramic Coated Shorty (-7lbs)
III. Exhaust
A. Custom 2.75” headers back, no cat (-20lbs)
IV. Flywheel
A. TMS/someone else lightweight flywheel (-8lbs)

--Interior--
-Passenger Compartment-

I. Seats
A. Sparco Evos (-58lbs for both)
B. Back seat removal (-26lbs)
II. Trim
A. Center console removal (-2lbs)
B. Rear quarter panel trim removal (-6lbs)
C. Door trim removal, replacement with c/f (-9lbs)
D. Parcel shelf removal, non-gloss coating (-3lbs)
E. Carpeting Removal (-15lbs)
III. Ducting
A. Leftover A/C ducting removal (-3lbs)
IV. Sound Deadening
A. Removal of sound deadening in cabin and trunk (-55lbs)
B. For 318iS, removal of sound deading in cabin (-20lbs)
V. Dashboard
A. Glovebox removal (-4lbs)
B. Custom dash (-10lbs)
VI. Steering Wheel
A. Sparco Racer 2 (-2lbs)
VII. Headliner: Any weight saved up here will help the cg, regardless of how little it may seem.
A. Removal (-4lbs)
B. C/f remake (+1.5lbs)
-Trunk-
I. Battery
A. Lighter, smaller (-8lbs)
II. Trunk Stuff
A. Removal of jack, trim, etc (-12lbs)
B. Removal of spare and replacement with space saver spare
(-15lbs)

--Suspension and Wheels--
-Suspension-
I. Control Arms
A. M3 control arms, aluminum (-8lbs together, four pounds
apiece)
II. Wheels
A. OZ Superleggera 15x7” (-12lbs combined, three pounds
apiece)

Now, to add a little weight: 6pt roll cage and triangulated
strut tower braces (+110lbs)

What you have been waiting for: Total Weight Lost, '89-'91- 332 lbs, '84-'88- 364.5lbs
On a 318iS with no sunroof, that equals (going by 2600lb curb weight) 2282lbs, fully fueled.
On a 1990 325i, that equals (going by BMW published 2811lbs curb weight) roughly 2454lbs

[mrsha007]

cool. what about m3 numbers?

[L8APX]

You forgot the 5 pounds of Hundred dollar bills you'll be lighter after buying all that trick C/F stuff.

[AndreNY]

Originally posted by L8APX
You forgot the 5 pounds of Hundred dollar bills you'll be lighter after buying all that trick C/F stuff.

[e30 evo]

hehe

[Bimmer_boyIS]

Great post man, I never knew that the sound deadening was so heavy. I weighted my car at the track and it was 2750 with me in it and that was interior gone except for two race seats, trunk striped and the bmp bumper conversion on my '87 iS. I'd say that got me down to 2600lbs or so.

[TOLOFOU]

Nice. Good job..

Rob

[Sleeper]

Do you feel it when you hit the gas?

[Digitalwave]

Originally posted by Sleeper
Do you feel it when you hit the gas?

I think its a theoretical 10hp for every 100lbs you take off, but I could be terribly wrong.

[e30 evo]

wow. thats quite a bit

[Bimmer_boyIS]

I know in the drag racing world it's 1/10 a second for every 100lbs. Im sure it would transfer to ever more of a gain when on a road track due to the fact that you are lowering the center of gravity etc.

[sirmonkey]

sound deading stuff is crazy, the night before a drag race we stripped my trunk and back seat.... i think at least 70 pounds. probably even more. reason being. my back end sat at the stock ride hieght. :-)

[nickmpower]

anyone have one for e36?

[STREETSPEC_iS]

Originally posted by postmaster
Removal of spare and replacement with space saver spare
(-15lbs)

does anyone know of a space saver thattl fit 4lug e30s? VW maybe?

[uberpanzer]

VW or Honda. I've seen quite a few older Civics running e30 bottle caps, so they have to be the same bolt pattern. Just not sure of the offset, hub issues, etc, etc. I'll ask one of my friends though, since he had to deal with this (see pic). He had a tread seperation at about 80mph. His g/f had to 'rescue him' in her Honda with the 13in donut.




BTW, '91 318iS seats weights are:
Pass/Driver: 45lbs
Rear (both parts): 30lbs

'90 M3 bits:
Pass/Driver: 43.5lbs
Rear: haven't gotten them out of storage yet.

I forgot to get weights of the sealed beams I took off the 318 and put on the M3, same for the Euro Ellipsiods I took from the M# to go to the 318. The Euro's also had Angel Eyes on them, about 5 lbs worth of gear. Next going on the 318 is the large case 4.10 LSD and the suspension bits that are 'easy'.

Oh how I long for the day when I can put this stuff back on the M3.....