The weight saving thread

[Phil West]

I see their lightest seat is the sprint lightweight which comes in at around 4kg without cover (pic attached hopefully).  I like the drilled look!

PAS have you run without the cover?  Is is comfortable?  Neil you mentioned your mate's was ok - without the cover?  I reckon there's got to be an extra pound or two in a cover.

[BeetleBug]

They are suprisingly comfy with the cover. Without the cover they are race only but you can always buy a padded cycle shorts.

BB

[Pas]

PAS have you run without the cover?  Is is comfortable?  

No not yet, I have only sat in it for mock up purposes so far (I did find it pretty comfortable without a cover on though). Like BB suggested, for racing I am not using a cover but for the street I am getting a seat pad made up by Bernie.  

[tikimadness]

I have a kirkey without padding in my oval and it's much more comfortable then you would think. 

Michael

[Lids]

In the interests of getting a decent time in the summer, I am heading up stairs to go on the cross trainer, think the 5 stone excess i'm carrying needs to be shed first!

[Basti]

I like this version! 9 kgs less with a new battery!
And it has the same power tha a standard 65ah!

Let me know if you like one

[ Attachment: You are not allowed to view attachments ]

[Fasterbrit]

Phil, avoid giving yourself asteroids and go for the cover. To offset the slight weight disadvantage you could always trim your beard, get titanium spectacle frames or go for a good dump before you race... 

In all seriousness, this is my favourite thread by far and long shall it continue 

[Diederick/DVK]

I was reminded of this thread when I swapped my stock starter for my Skoda starter last Sunday. Minimal effort, huge weight reduction.

[AntLockyer]

I was reminded of this thread when I swapped my stock starter for my Skoda starter last Sunday. Minimal effort, huge weight reduction.

How much reduction? What Skoda was it from?

[Diederick/DVK]

i didn't actually weigh it on a scale, but it's almost half the size.

http://cal-look.no/lounge/index.php/topic,6655.msg187097.html#msg187097

[AntLockyer]

Cool, I wonder what it will be like on a high comp motor.

[Rocket Ron]

I'm told by a friend that they work better than my hi torque starter motor, he tried both 

[Lee.C]

Hmmmm anyone got a Part No: for this starter Or better still a link to a supply  

[Diederick/DVK]

those are listed in the link i provided. got mine off german eBay over a year ago 

[Lee.C]

those are listed in the link i provided. got mine off german eBay over a year ago 

Cool cheers dude 

[Pas]

I think this is what we need.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=390173135566&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Brise starters are top quality and the lightest available (I think) at 2.5 kg but cost nearly £400 with delivery, the Skoda units weigh 3kg and cost £90.

http://www.brise.co.uk/Porsche_starter_motors.html

[Elnef]

I had a high torque starter on the weight yesterday 3,9kg

John

[Jon]

Cool, I wonder what it will be like on a high comp motor.

That would depend on your cam.

[Diederick/DVK]

i prefered a used OEM starter over a (possible China-made) replacement part.
those old skodas don't last very long anyway, so i bet a used starter deserves a second life in a proper car 

[Pas]

i prefered a used OEM starter over a (possible China-made) replacement part.
those old skodas don't last very long anyway, so i bet a used starter deserves a second life in a proper car 

I emailed the seller yesterday asking who the manufacturer is and if they are new or recon, I will let you know what the reply was.

[Zach Gomulka]

Porsche 356 Carrera GT brakes with aluminium shoes and RSK Spyder aluminium wheel cylinders



And the RSK drums that cover them up




http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=706514

[Pas]

i prefered a used OEM starter over a (possible China-made) replacement part.
those old skodas don't last very long anyway, so i bet a used starter deserves a second life in a proper car  

I emailed the seller yesterday asking who the manufacturer is and if they are new or recon, I will let you know what the reply was.

I had a reply from the seller today and they are not OEM but new copy units, so I presume they are Chinese.

[Rocket Ron]

Porsche 356 Carrera GT brakes with aluminium shoes and RSK Spyder aluminium wheel cylinders



And the RSK drums that cover them up




http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=706514

look cheap and nasty better send them to me , I'll pay the postage 

[kingsburgphil]

Porsche 356 Carrera GT brakes with aluminium shoes and RSK Spyder aluminium wheel cylinders



And the RSK drums that cover them up




http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=706514

Wow!  Did you win the Lottery?  That stuff was rare and expensive thirty years ago when we ran a
set up like that on our Formula V/slalom car.  Needless to say I'm pea green with envy 

[Zach Gomulka]

No no no, they aren't mine! I wouldn't have a clue what to do with parts like that, that setup is worth more than my car. I just saw the pics on a 356 site, and put them here.

[kingsburgphil]

You never know, perhaps some day you might have the means to purchase a set of brakes like those. 

[Pas]

Sorry folks I have nothing to contribute at the moment, instead I have a couple of weight saving questions that hopefully some of you will be able to address.

Firstly a question on fasteners, I am planning to use aluminium fasteners wherever possible on my build, i.e anything that is not safety critical, wings, doors, trim etc. For the safety critical areas, suspension, steering, engine/gearbox mounts etc. I am going to use titanium as much as possible. So what is my question? Well in an attempt at keeping costs down I wonder if I can use aluminium nuts with titanium bolts ? I know Porsche, for example, use alloy wheel nuts with steel studs, so can this thinking be reapplied to other components ? I am thinking spring plate/axle bolts, front trailing arm/stub axle bolts etc. Can I replace the steel gearbox casing nuts for alloy? Also is a particular grade of Ti and ali required?

Lots to think about there I know and would appreciate any input.

My second question is a little more straightforward, has anyone compared the weight of different brake set ups ? I am planning on using stock 5/205 drums all round but if I were to switch to disc brakes would I see any weight saving ?  

Again thanks for any input.

[Lightning]

Interesting idea using alloy hardware. As long as you keep your car out of salty water, there shouldn't be a problem to mix materials. When it comes to strength there might be some issues depending on the alloy and heat treatment. In general, both aluminium and titanium has a lower tensile strength and hardness than steel, this limits how much tension they can handle. E.g. if an M8 bolt needs 30Nm torque, this might snap an aluminium bolt or stretch a titanium bolt beyond it's elastic limit. The suppliers I know for alloy bolts clearly advise not to use these fasteners for important components like brakes and suspension.

Have not weighed discs vs. drums, but would say that discs have more stopping power per kilo than drums!

[Pas]

Interesting idea using alloy hardware. As long as you keep your car out of salty water, there shouldn't be a problem to mix materials. When it comes to strength there might be some issues depending on the alloy and heat treatment. In general, both aluminium and titanium has a lower tensile strength and hardness than steel, this limits how much tension they can handle. E.g. if an M8 bolt needs 30Nm torque, this might snap an aluminium bolt or stretch a titanium bolt beyond it's elastic limit. The suppliers I know for alloy bolts clearly advise not to use these fasteners for important components like brakes and suspension.

Have not weighed discs vs. drums, but would say that discs have more stopping power per kilo than drums!

Thanks for the input lightning, I agree about using alloy bolts for brakes/suspension etc, a strict no no.

I will try and get some info on the strength of the nuts below.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280668167297&var=580030238469&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

I have looked into titanium strength grades, grade 5 is the most commonly used grade in the aerospace and automotive industries and is an alloy of Titanium aluminium and vanadium (Ti-6Al-4V). It has a tensile strength of around 1000 Mpa and hardness of Rockwell 36, which I think, is comparable to high tensile steel.

[Carsten]

Some more :
http://www.isa-racing.com/index.php/cat/c851_Aluminiumschrauben.html

;-)