[Hiboost]

Have you weight loss fanatics seen this yet?

http://www.evoxforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=5122361&postcount=42

STM Front Cross Member Brace: 2.9 pounds
OEM Cross Member (With Torque Solution Mount): 7 pounds

4 lb savings off the front end never hurts. :amen:

 

[Hiboost]

Probably best way to determine if that center strut bar attachment point is worthwhile is to place a go pro camera aimed at the bolt hole with bolts removed and a light shining on it. If there is significant flex it will be obvious when playing back video of going around corners at higher G's. I was considering just cutting off that center attachment point completely but keeping the strut bar itself.

 

[Hiboost]

whaaaat?1 If that were the case, then we would barely be able to do anything in terms of weight reduction!! My personal limit is $30/lb on pure weight reduction items, and $50/lb on items relating to unsprung/rotational mass. Girodisc rotors are actually above the $50/lb limit, but i'm making an exception once my stock 2pc rotors die.

It's just my own personal guideline that seems to be the average gains in the power side and equivalent that you could get for straight line performance for dropping weight. If a carbon fiber driveshaft costs $1000 for about 10 whp of performance I would pass but if it's around $500 for 10 whp or equivalent performance I would probably do it. Obviously everyone will have their own thresholds or goals and sometimes you have to make exceptions because they serve other purposes such as improving braking/handling or being a supporting mod.

Pulling your front and rear passenger seats, rear jack, spare tire and such are all freebie weight removal items. Lower weight batteries save around 25 lbs and might cost $50-$100 more than a standard battery it would replace so it fits in line with being a smart use of money. $5000 on carbon parts that save 20 lbs, well that definitely doesn't make as much sense but when you are going all out things like money don't matter as much, to each their own.

I like the Girodisc rotors in that once you have the center hats you are buying replacement rotor rings that are about the same as the factory maybe even a bit less. Do they cost more than generic 1 piece replacement rotors? Sure, but they also perform better and are lighter so they are worth it in that case.

 

[Hiboost]

Yeah considering 10 lbs = roughly 1 whp at least for straight line performance I really don't like to spend more than $50 per 1 whp or shedding 10 lb.

That's $500 for 10 whp or 100 lbs...

$2500 for 50 whp or 500 lbs...

Or $5000 for 100 whp/1000 lbs. That seems to be a good rule of thumb for a street car in my book although

 

[Hiboost]

I used grade 10.9 bolts/nuts on the intake manifold and torqued them to spec. They have not came loose at all after 3500+ miles and 2 full track days

Probably with thread locker red they would have held better for me. Did you have a heat spacer gasket in there or just stock? Probably it took a bit compress the heat spacer gasket given they are only like 20 ft lbs.

 

[Hiboost]

Be careful with the Intake Manifold brackets if you also installed one of those heat spacer gaskets as no brackets tend to cause your manifold fasteners to lose torque. I tried re-torquing them for a week on a daily basis but they just weren't holding, after installing the bracket closest to the throttle body they never loosened up again.

 

[Hiboost]

I filled out a price quote for a fully built motorsports Evo X and had it sent to Murlo, it might even cost more than his build. :nerd:

 

[Hiboost]

I wouldn't assume you can compare those horsepower ratings between difference cores on an apples to apples basis but shedding that weight would be nice. Keep in mind that the heavier core might also resist heat soak better as well but as long as there is good airflow that shouldn't be an issue.

I ditched a bunch of heat shields and brackets installing a high flow cat and O2 Downpipe combo yesterday. Any areas that needed heat deflection were covered in DEI heat reflective material. I also wrapped the O2 Downpipe with the DEI Titanium exhaust wrap.

I also found that weight mounted right below the output of the transfer case. Is that supposed to be a "catch" for the drive shaft in case it breaks off right at the transfer case output? Since I'm not laying down 600+ WHP I doubt it will ever become an issue but I removed that! :thumbup:

 

[Hiboost]

The windshield is already thinner than the one on the regular Lancer. Not sure how much thinner you can get.

Wow, didn't even know that ours was thinner. After my front windshield developed a crack last summer I had it replaced but now I have to start wondering if I got a lancer replacement windshield. It also has "wave" effect looking through it and the slope is not consistent... drives me crazy sometimes to be honest.

 

[Hiboost]

You can buy thin sheet aluminum that is plain or etched with a leather stamp finish that works quite well as custom heat shielding. Home Depot or Lowes sells it in 24" x 24" up to 36" x 36" sheets. It cuts reasonably well with sheers and if you mock up a cardboard test piece you can cut it close to size and trim as needed.

 

[Hiboost]

here is one of the projects my evo is undergoing right now. I cut away a lot of the metal that extends from the firewall which bolts to the black plate that many have removed. I did keep the places that the windshield wiper motor bolts to though.

I am painting it all now with color matched paint so nothing rusts, and all the holes will be covered so no unwanted smells will go into the passenger compartment

I am contemplating converting the main wire harness where it goes into the firewall to a mil-spec harness

I'm thinking about cleaning up my rear firewall as well now.

 

[Hiboost]

What strut tower bar are you using Chris?

It's a Cusco that's all aluminum and the center bar can be removed separate which is a nice feature.

 

[Hiboost]

There are some heavy metal brackets under the Intake manifold, you can easily get rid of one of them.

The metal support for the stock intake is metal and quite heavy as well.

Still thinking about that metal plate below the wipers, I would probably find a way to bolt in a sheet of aluminum to deflect heat and water away from that area. I use an aluminum strut tower bar that is much lighter than stock that can be removed without taking off the strut tower bolts. Sure makes access to the turbocharger area much easier if pulling a turbo, totally worth the 15 minutes to remove that first either way given that you can avoid trying to angle the turbo around to wedge it back there otherwise.

The metal piece below the intercooler really isn't needed if you have good attachment points everywhere else for the intercooler pipes. I think on 2008-2010 models there was even a strange block of metal down there that made no sense to be there and was removed in 2011+ models.

The crash bars seem like the likely next place to remove weight for me and crashing at over 10 mph isn't going to make much of a difference if it relies on the crumple zone of the engine compartment.

 

[Hiboost]

You could probably place a Go Pro under the hood with a light source and attach one side of a strut bar and leave the other side sitting on top of nuts/studs to see how much it moves around. I'm betting several mm of play from strut tower flex but that is just a guess. :shades:

 

[Hiboost]

Maybe Hydrogen? Although I only see that ending in disaster...

http://www.airships.net/helium-hydrogen-airships

http://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/everyday-myths/question185.htm

Somehow I could still see chetrickerman find a way to drop another 20 lbs though!

 

[Hiboost]

I understand that, but i have been following the steps as much as i can without proper technical guidance, and just wondering if there is anything that i missed other than the 2 weights. I read many people claiming 50lbs by clearing the trunk, i dont how that works out

Pretty much hv done 30% of what chet posted especially the rear side but sp far it doesnt seem much

Try removing the rear tow hooks, those are pretty heavy.

 

[Hiboost]

Next step: remove the driver. Install remote controls

LOL!

Well there are different ways to skin a cat for performance.

If I dropped 500 lbs off current weight it's possible that 11.9x @ 114 quarter mile performance might improve to as much as 11.5 @ 118-119 mph which is quite a nice jump.

Now I could also leave the weight alone and get a larger turbo like an FP Green and get similar results although there would be a slight spool penalty and braking/cornering wouldn't be improved. Losing 500 lbs weight is overall probably more effective than increasing horsepower by 50 assuming your gearing can take advantage of it, but you have to compare the pros and cons of each. Not everyone wants to ditch AC, heated seats, and other creature comforts so sometimes a little of each works out better.

 

[Hiboost]

There is some weight in the rear seat area, and it's easy to remove the entire rear seat for track events. The child safety seat brackets aren't needed if you don't plan on strapping in kids, there are also two crossbars for stiffness but honestly they don't look like they don much, better off with an aluminum rear strut tower bar. That weight between the intercooler and frame is missing on my 2011, but was brick of a weight on my old car with no use for it. You can safely remove one of heavy brackets bracing the intake manifold. The airbox bracket seems heavy for what it does, removing that and replacing with a lightweight shield for your filter helps as well. The crash beams are seriously heavy, but haven't removed those yet.

 

[Hiboost]

Impressive, I for sure thought you wouldn't be able to hear your self think let alone talk to some one on the phone.

I have an MR and in 6th it cruises at 3250 @ 80 mph, pick a quieter exhaust like the Buschur Crossflow and even that stuff removed probably wounldn't be so bad.

On my GSR the higher RPM's on the highway and louder exhaust I had would have been killer though. I swear that ETSv1 exhaust was one step from having no mufflers at all.

 

[Hiboost]

Odd, I don't even know where the driveshaft balance weight would sit, I'll have to take a look.

chetrickerman: We visited the High Plains Raceway just east of Denver this year for the One Lap, seemed like a really fun course although I only had 5 laps on it as my co-driver ran the morning session. Not sure where you are in Colorado as the state is pretty big. :thumbup: