TravisJB Journal

travisjb

Phantom! Thanks for the advice! I can tell you've done this before... I'm going down the path for first time and need all the advice you guys can spare on weight reduction and stiffening, so this is dead on. Many of these I am planning on, but a couple things I'd like more input on:

- on the wiring... how much weight do you think I stand to lose? sure would be nice to have a definitive list of what I shouldn't mess with... I'm a bit worried about de-pining wiring and having secondary effects

- on the fuel tank... I'll get to that eventually... will at some point have to switch to fuel cell and I think you're also suggesting I cut out the extra metal associated with the spare tire... I think I'm going to have my cage guy handle this part for me! I'm useless with a welder!

- bumper supports... I like this idea - seems like a lot of weight tied up in those... just wondering if I ever find my car in a wall down the road if I'm going to wish I had them???

- poly-foam and strut bar to cage ideas... will look into thanks! also, re stiffness, do you think it is worth the trouble to seam weld?

Welcome more input !

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2009 370Z #104
*For Sale*

Phantom

- on the wiring... After seeing the bare interior of a 370z, I would estimate that you could lose around 40-80 lbs. With regards to a list of which wires to remove, I would start by labeling the wiring after you remove their components(antenna, speakers, A/C, radio , air-bags, turn signals, and wipers units). After the those components and wires are removed, each car is different. Each have different systems and safety units, so I would recommend after the big component are de-pined work on the wiring one by one. And if the car doesn't function correctly you can always put it back, that's why I recommend de-pining and not cutting wires. I will try to find a wiring diagram of 370z and I look to see what I would remove.

- on the fuel tank... It looks like the 370z you will not have to remove the extra metal which is normal with a spare tire compartment, it seems to be pretty flat already.

- bumper supports... With bumper supports, I would recommend running them. You never know what can happen on the track, you could run a little hot into a corner or someone else can make a mistake. My recommendation was to make bumper supports out of aluminum tubing, which keeps the protection but loses some weight. Bumper support were one of the last things that I worked on for weight reduction. The interior of a car has a lot of areas to remove weight, and it harder to remove extra metal once that cage goes in. I'm currently looking at the bare 370z's interior to see where some extra metal can be removed, so I'll get back to you with that.

- I recommend Seam weld because it is a common practice in the 240sx world. Seam welding does stiffen the car by not allowing the crumple points to flex and to add more strength to spot welds. If you look at most race car builds you'll notice that they seam weld the chassis. The negatives to seam welding a car is that it takes a fair amount of time and welding shops normal charge by the hour, which means you could be spend some big $$$, I got lucky and had a friend weld my car for a couple cases of beer. Also with seam welding you lose the factory crumple zones, which makes crashes more painful on the driver's body.

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Professor Chaos

travisjb

Thanks again... agree on spare - not like a lot of cars that have dished out panels for spare - already flat... but if there's extra metal there to reinforce, may go after it anyways... 40 lbs of wiring would be sweet... will pursue seam welding... will prob save bumper supports for last, but will keep it in mind

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2009 370Z #104
*For Sale*