FFS just how heavy are
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Guest
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ORIGINAL: John Sims
You might find it easier to see the guages if you mount them somewhere around the dash. It could be a little distracting having to turn your head to look to where the passenger seat used to be. Should give plenty of leg room for the back seat passenger though.
Ah but you havnt banked on them being 3 feet across each [
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Diver944
Active member
Jeremy, are your seats fixed or are they on sliders. I have read elsewhere that the leather electrics are a genuine 25kgs each []. Last trackday I did I started to unbolt my passenger seat but then whimped out. I had all 6 bolts undone, but the slider track underneath seemed very loose and I got worried I couldn't put it back easily [8|]
My plan is to get one 7-8 kg bucket seat and then unbolt the 50 kg seats for each trackday - purely to save wear and tear on the brakes and suspension of course []
]. Last trackday I did I started to unbolt my passenger seat but then whimped out. I had all 6 bolts undone, but the slider track underneath seemed very loose and I got worried I couldn't put it back easily [8|]My plan is to get one 7-8 kg bucket seat and then unbolt the 50 kg seats for each trackday - purely to save wear and tear on the brakes and suspension of course [
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Guest
New member
Just undo the bolts and whip them out, then put the bolts back in place so the sliders dont go missing, you could prob do it in less than 10mins!!
Talking of which, if you remove the spare wheel and jack etc. does it alter the 50/50 balance. Are you better keeping it in to keep some weight on the rear end?
Any thoughts?
Talking of which, if you remove the spare wheel and jack etc. does it alter the 50/50 balance. Are you better keeping it in to keep some weight on the rear end?
Any thoughts?
Diver944
Active member
Oh dear, I'm about to reveal just how sad I am. I always remove the spare wheel (16 kilos), boot carpet (3 kilos), rear seat backs (14 kilos), all four floor mats (3 kilos), nearly drain the washer bottle (5 kilos). So thats over 40 kilos there. My dining room looks like an autojumble on trackdays []
Obviously this will affect balance slightly, but at my purely amateur level I do not notice and I presume it's only if you are cornering at 100% that it comes into play, and I don't do that. Besides which the fuel tank holds 70 kilos of fuel and that is changing as the day goes on and it empties. The 944 is so welll balanced that IMO these minor things don't upset it too much, but it means less effort (and wear) when braking and accelerating
I'll be more bold with the seats next time [8|]
]Obviously this will affect balance slightly, but at my purely amateur level I do not notice and I presume it's only if you are cornering at 100% that it comes into play, and I don't do that. Besides which the fuel tank holds 70 kilos of fuel and that is changing as the day goes on and it empties. The 944 is so welll balanced that IMO these minor things don't upset it too much, but it means less effort (and wear) when braking and accelerating
I'll be more bold with the seats next time [8|]
Paul, I'm sorry but I'm going to have to say it..... On a car that weighs 1350 Kg, 40 Kgs isn't going to make a blind bit of difference - 40 Kgs is 3% the weight of the car. A person weighs in the region of twice 40 Kgs and can you honestly say that you can tell the difference if you have a passenger or not?
Don't get me wrong, weight reduction is a good thing but IMHO, on such a heavy car, unless you can find 10% it isn't worth the hassle.
Diver944
Active member
I know, I know [8|] I know exactly what you're saying, but I take out the carpet and the rear seat back to get the track wheels in anyway and the other bits take about 5 minutes.
50 kilos for the front seats is a respectable amount, and when I tracked the S2 I only ever put half a tank of fuel in as it never used that much anyway. That would be a total of 125 kilos.
You're right, I can't tell the difference but the pure physics means there is a differenece and I am the person who is always going on about never having any problems with brakes (and the car now makes more power than ever and runs on much grippier tyres)
50 kilos for the front seats is a respectable amount, and when I tracked the S2 I only ever put half a tank of fuel in as it never used that much anyway. That would be a total of 125 kilos.
You're right, I can't tell the difference but the pure physics means there is a differenece and I am the person who is always going on about never having any problems with brakes (and the car now makes more power than ever and runs on much grippier tyres)
Guest
New member
Paul,
My fullpower seats are leather in the center and vinyl on the back and bolsters (they are actually in perfect shape, I guess they will stay that way since my arse will not be sitting on them while they are stored in my attic------BTW, any tips for storage?). I used the bathroom scale method to weigh them, so there could be a slight inaccuracy, but that is fairly close to the claimed measurements I have seen. Now, my seats aren't heated, so that could be the extra weight difference? Anyway, I installed the forza's on flat brackets, no sliders. I figured that I am the only person that drives my car, and, more importantly, I need the extra clearance for my helmet as I am 6'1" tall with a long torso. Without the sliders I have the same helmet clearance as with the stock seats. I believe my helmet would strike the sunroof if given the extra 1" height increase the sliders would add.
Interesting thoughts on the weigh issue gents. I agree that the best method to removing weight is to take equal amounts from the front and rear. Front seats are basically in the middle of the car so that is free. But all of the stuff in the rear certainly changes things. I am an avid autocrosser (you call them "trials"?) and I can notice a change in handling characteristics with differences in the amount of fuel present in the tank. With all of my spares, tools, airpump, etc removed from the back, the back end does seem to slide around a little more under power as well. I have found the best combination is to run with almost a full tank of fuel with the extras removed from the back. Also, for reference, when I am allowed to take a passenger along for an auto-cross lap, the time is usually 1-2 seconds slower. Certainly not scientific, but that weight is surely making a difference in both the handling and accelleration.
Since I am losing some weight from the rear by getting rid of that dreadful US-spec rear bumper (approx a 14kg savings), and have also removed the back seat upper and shade (14.5kg), I am removing some weight in the front to balance that out. Deleting the AC (which I never use) should net an equivalent weight loss, plus relocate the alternator lower in the engine bay.
I'll find out if my attempts are spot-on when I take the car to the Posche specialist for a total re-alignment and corner balance.
A local 944 expert/racer once told me that for every 7.7Kg that is shaved from the car, it is the equivalent of adding 1 horsepower (at the wheels). My hope is that the car will be a total of 91Kg lighter, so that would be a supposed eq. gain of 12hp. Not much, but on a non-turbo car, every little bit helps! (fingers crossed).
I'm not going to go crazy and get rid of the carpets, heater, etc. I still want the car to be streetable, so I am just getting rid of the little non-used bits. I can always put it back to stock if I need to, although with all of the money I have spent on this car, they will probably need to bury me in it![:-]
Jeremy
My fullpower seats are leather in the center and vinyl on the back and bolsters (they are actually in perfect shape, I guess they will stay that way since my arse will not be sitting on them while they are stored in my attic------BTW, any tips for storage?). I used the bathroom scale method to weigh them, so there could be a slight inaccuracy, but that is fairly close to the claimed measurements I have seen. Now, my seats aren't heated, so that could be the extra weight difference? Anyway, I installed the forza's on flat brackets, no sliders. I figured that I am the only person that drives my car, and, more importantly, I need the extra clearance for my helmet as I am 6'1" tall with a long torso. Without the sliders I have the same helmet clearance as with the stock seats. I believe my helmet would strike the sunroof if given the extra 1" height increase the sliders would add.
Interesting thoughts on the weigh issue gents. I agree that the best method to removing weight is to take equal amounts from the front and rear. Front seats are basically in the middle of the car so that is free. But all of the stuff in the rear certainly changes things. I am an avid autocrosser (you call them "trials"?) and I can notice a change in handling characteristics with differences in the amount of fuel present in the tank. With all of my spares, tools, airpump, etc removed from the back, the back end does seem to slide around a little more under power as well. I have found the best combination is to run with almost a full tank of fuel with the extras removed from the back. Also, for reference, when I am allowed to take a passenger along for an auto-cross lap, the time is usually 1-2 seconds slower. Certainly not scientific, but that weight is surely making a difference in both the handling and accelleration.
Since I am losing some weight from the rear by getting rid of that dreadful US-spec rear bumper (approx a 14kg savings), and have also removed the back seat upper and shade (14.5kg), I am removing some weight in the front to balance that out. Deleting the AC (which I never use) should net an equivalent weight loss, plus relocate the alternator lower in the engine bay.
I'll find out if my attempts are spot-on when I take the car to the Posche specialist for a total re-alignment and corner balance.
A local 944 expert/racer once told me that for every 7.7Kg that is shaved from the car, it is the equivalent of adding 1 horsepower (at the wheels). My hope is that the car will be a total of 91Kg lighter, so that would be a supposed eq. gain of 12hp. Not much, but on a non-turbo car, every little bit helps! (fingers crossed).
I'm not going to go crazy and get rid of the carpets, heater, etc. I still want the car to be streetable, so I am just getting rid of the little non-used bits. I can always put it back to stock if I need to, although with all of the money I have spent on this car, they will probably need to bury me in it![:-]
Jeremy
Being US spec the battery is in the front?
You could get all the bits from a RHD car and fit the battery in the rear left 'cubby' where it is on all UK cars, that would shift a fair few kilograms back to the rear.
I extect it would just be the positive cabling and clamping kit you'd need (the clamp isn't there already is it?)
You could get all the bits from a RHD car and fit the battery in the rear left 'cubby' where it is on all UK cars, that would shift a fair few kilograms back to the rear.
I extect it would just be the positive cabling and clamping kit you'd need (the clamp isn't there already is it?)
I think the battery tray / clamp is unique to RHD cars. When I last changed my battery, I was sad enough to make a mental note that the clamp has a '945' part number.
Going back to the weight saving topic, I can definitely tell the difference between passenger and no passenger, in acceleration and braking. Admittedly as we all know the 'butt dyno' can be deceiving [
]Jeremy would need to obtain one then, but it should still fit straight in.
Is it attached by bolts through the inner side of the well or is it spot welded to the body? Having a part number would suggest it's removable - welded in I would expect it just to be a feature of a '945' bodyshell.
Is it attached by bolts through the inner side of the well or is it spot welded to the body? Having a part number would suggest it's removable - welded in I would expect it just to be a feature of a '945' bodyshell.
Guest
New member
The battery is in the front on mine. I looked in the rear cubbies this weekend, there are no other mounting provisions there for it.
That would be the way to go. Anyone care to take a look in their car and see how it is mounted back there (and the part#) And furthermore, does the mount look like it could be installed in the opposite cubby (as mine is LHD I'd like to mount it in the right rear cubby. Thanks!
[
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From memory there is a kind of (I assume) welded in shelf with a clamp down bracket shaped to the left (facing forward) rear well.
Where do the other (LHD) Euro cars have their batteries?
If your 2 wells are the same - both full depth I would of thought it would be tricky move (well not difficult but requiring welding / painting).
Tony
Where do the other (LHD) Euro cars have their batteries?
If your 2 wells are the same - both full depth I would of thought it would be tricky move (well not difficult but requiring welding / painting).
Tony
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