Striker got weighed today, 600K, lardarse

[The Knobs]

No point going BEC route as my car is on par with R1 cars as it is

I am going to look at wheels uprights and screen loss over the winter and possibly removing some electrical bits that are not really needed.

So can i fit Caterham superlight wheels if i go escort upright route ?

[The Knobs]

Would anyone be able to weigh a 13" wheel and tyre ?

God, obsession is setting in

[Werner Van Loock]

I'll check tomorrow

Got compomotive at the back and minilites copies at the front, both with yokohama A048 tyres on

[The Knobs]

Cheers, i will get and weigh one of mine.

[NeilEverett]

A light 13" wheel and tyre will be in the 10-12kg range. My old 14"s were 12.5 with worn out A539s. My new 15"s with T1Rs are about 14kg, and they were at the lighter end of what's available, I found some 15" combos that were more like 17-18kg. So if your current wheels are particularly heavy, then you could potentially be talking 20-30kg saving just on wheels! Just bear in mind that there is a big variation, even for a given wheel size, so buy carefully!

[The Knobs]

So Mel informs me that 13" wheels wont fit on the rear without changing the uprights. So that would mean a new front and rear setup. What a PITA.

[Strikerxe]

So Mel informs me that 13" wheels wont fit on the rear without changing the uprights. So that would mean a new front and rear setup. What a PITA.

I had the same trouble when I wanted to fit 13" on mine . Settled on 15" OZ wheels in the end as the lightest option I could find ( 5.25kg per wheel )

My car weighs 580 kg with a full tank of petrol so its no lightweight but I have got a screen, wipers and a heavy VX lump up front

I've got ally hubs on the front , with Capri uprights and lightweight calipers front and back as well as a motorcycle battery.

[David]

Mine is a standard road going "Raw" (i.e. heavier aluminium) chassis/body and weighs in at 536kg (wet) with a Vauxhall C16XE engine. < Full spec at http://groups.google.co.uk/group/sylva-chat/web/david-chris-striker >

The car is used mainly for competition, so there are some weight penalties involved:-
-- dry sump tank, pump and pipework
-- oil cooler and pipework
-- 5-speed Tran-X "T9" dog box with cast iron casing
-- Sierra Diff with LSD unit in the IRS set-up
-- ARBs
-- full roll cage
-- full alloy floor from nose-cone to rear lights

However, much of this disadvantage can be offset -- lightening work includes:
-- lightweight rear bodywork/arches, bonnet and nose (from Mel)
-- 13"x7 Team Dynamics Pro-Race 1.2 wheels with Avon ACB10s (11.1 kg each vs 14.9kg for the previous Image Billet 93 15"x7 + Kumho V70A set-up)
Note: You need to rose-joint the standard Raw IRS rear wishbones to fit 13" rims. Fronts are tight on the steering arms, but OK.
-- Alloy front hubs (on standard Capri uprights)
-- Alloy callipers front and rear
-- 10 litre alloy fuel tank (worse than useless on a predominantly road car)
-- aero-screen (ergo, no wiper motor, etc.)
-- small alternator
-- sealed "gel" battery

Lightening work (except for drilling holes in things) is always expensive. Having said that, the most cost effective weight reduction measures IMHO are 13" wheels, front brakes, battery, and lighter-weight bodywork. Each of these can be done easily (possibly except for the rose-jointing), in your own time, and in any order you wish. (For instance, I did the wheels when I was going to have to pay for new tyres anyway (and there was a WSCC "bulk buy" with Team Dynamics), the nose cone after a minor altercation with a tyre wall, the rear bodywork when I needed anyway to go to detachable arches if I wanted to accommodate wider rubber.)

HTH

David

[Werner Van Loock]

(For instance, I did the wheels when I was going to have to pay for new tyres anyway

And not to forget that 13" rubber is seriously cheaper then 15" rubber for the same type of tyre (eg R888's)

[Strikerxe]

Note: You need to rose-joint the standard Raw IRS rear wishbones to fit 13" rims. Fronts are tight on the steering arms, but OK.

David I've rose jointed my rear wishbones as advised by Mel but still can't get 13" wheels on , having said that I've only tried a mate's 13 x 7 CXR Compomotive's . Mel does sell a modified set of Wishbones and uprights to 'guarantee' a 13" wheel will fit .I'd have gone for this when I bought my kit if I'd have known

-- Alloy front hubs (on standard Capri uprights)
-- Alloy callipers front and rear
-- 10 litre alloy fuel tank (worse than useless on a predominantly road car)
-- aero-screen (ergo, no wiper motor, etc.)
-- small alternator
-- sealed "gel" battery

Lightening work (except for drilling holes in things) is always expensive. Having said that, the most cost effective weight reduction measures IMHO are 13" wheels, front brakes, battery, and lighter-weight bodywork. Each of these can be done easily (possibly except for the rose-jointing), in your own time, and in any order you wish.
HTH

David

Agreed .I've done some upgrading on mine over the years and have now got Alloy front hubs , alloy caliphers front and rear , small alternator and battery . I daren't go to a 10 litre fuel tank though

As an aside how much difference in real terms would losing say 25kg from the car make ? Would an 'average' driver even notice it especially on the road ?

John