Need Weight Reduction Help

[Jiveslug]

Ok, so now that I am back in research mode, I have been looking at a slew of vehicles as potential racers. There is one thing (well, one of a couple), that I cannot really pin down when it comes to figuring out if a car might be good to race, and that is weight reduction. I am trying to make my final car decision be based partially on a mathematical formulae which takes into account the viability of a given car to meet its spec weight. Let me show the equation that I am working with:

curb_wt + wt_adders – removed_items = race weight

Here, curb weight is the weight of the vehicle with full fuel, sans driver. The wt_adders are the driver, safety equipment, fuel load under race conditions (i.e. 5 gallons), and any additional items that will add weight when the car is on the track. The removed_items are any items that have been removed from the car (including the full fuel load) that it had when it left the factory. Make sense? So, for an example that pertains to me with a hypothetical vehicle:

3000lbs + 425 – 400 = 3025lbs

I am sure you can see my problem. One, is that I am pretty heavy at 240lbs. I am estimating that extra equipment and fuel will be approx 150-225 lbs. That is a lot of weight added to a car. Based on that, am I correct in assuming that if I want to make the spec weight for a give vehicle, in general, its curb weight should be no more than 100lbs over its spec weight? How much weight can be pulled from a grand tourer with full power amenities, sound insulation, back seats, and various gimmicky do-dads (for example E36, MKIII Toyota Supra, etc.)? What about for a car with only 2 seats and few power amenities with little insulation (MR2, CRX Si, Miata, Fiero)?

Any thoughts or real world measurements would be really helpful. Thanks all!

Ryan

[Andy Bettencourt]

I think you would be more successful (and accurate) to pick 5 of your favorite potential new rides and ask in the specific forums if they can make minimum. The drivers who have built them can tell you for sure.

AB

[lateapex911]

I agree with Andy...the actual weight reduction is all over the map. Cars like BMWs can lose 400 pounds of stuff, whereas cars like the MR2 struggle to hit a quarter of that.