Weight Loss Program and Feeling Great
 

Well, I tried dieting, but it's not happening. I figured the cheapest way I could trim 20 lbs of my ride would be to take it off my hide, but that did not work out. So I have turned my attention to seeing what I could do to reduce the weight of the car, here are my estimates of weight reduction efforts so far:


1. Lightweight flywheel, about 15 lbs lighter

2. Braille Lightweight Battery good 30 lighter (it weighs 15 lbs)

3. Replace spare tire with tire plugging kit and pump 25 lbs lighter

4. Headers and high-flow cats 20 lbs lighter than stock


That's about 90 lbs lighter than stock, which on a 2000 2.7L puts the dry weight of the car just under 2700 lbs. With the intake, chip and exhaust I have on the car, I am putting out a little over 200 hp to the wheels on the dyno.

Between the tuning, my new suspension, and the weight savings, this little 2.7L is feeling very spritely these days. So quick that after reading the thread on radar detectors, I think I am well overdue for one. Down the road I have been thinking of new seats, but would want light ones that have back angle adjustment, any recommendations?


Ed

:dance: :dance: :dance:

ed
how do you like the lt wt fly? I love mine, it only chatters at idle, and only a bit.

You can lose weight if you are just disciplined. I have had luck with my most recent efforts – I eat whatever I want and then just make myself throw up afterwards. It’s great and am losing weight fast!

Braille
 

What do you think of the Braille battery? I've been thinking of going with a light weight battery, but my Boxster is a daily driver, and I'm worried about the longevity of the lightweights. BTW, I'm in Charlottesville; did you get the battery locally?

I have a great weight loss plan too - I call it "Hungry"

"3. Replace spare tire with tire plugging kit and pump 25 lbs lighter"

Interesting trade-off. This exact set-up weighs heavy on the mind of many a 987 owner.

If I see you on the side of the road with a punctured side-wall, I'll be sure to get you out of your rut by stopping to tell you about Jack in the Box's new breakfast sandwiches.

(Note: Funnier if you get Jack in the Box televisions commercials in your area).

In response to the lightweight flywheel, I love it. Mine also chatters a little on idle, but only when the clutch is out in neutral. Not only does the engine rev more freely, but it sure feels more responsive. I would recommend it to anyone that is getting a new clutch.

The Braille lightweight battery is pretty cool. I got it directly from Braille in Florida, they included free shipping. The sucker is small, but has 550 cold cranking amps. It has no problem starting the car in low 20's weather. I also have a JL Audio 4X75 watt amp powering 8 JL Audio and Infinity speakers in the car (dash, door, rears).

If the battery is not up to snuff, and you play the system loud with the headlights on, the lights will dim on loud bass passages. That does not happen with the Braille battery, so it does a pretty good job of dumping current. I have not had it that long, so dont know about the longevity, but losing a good 30 lbs of mass that sits high on the car seems to be a good thing so far....

Great way to lose your teeth too!

Be careful!

Ironically we get Jack in the box commercials here and there is not a single Jack within 800 miles of here.

Same thing with Sonic.



So do all boxsters have the spare and stuff? If so, where is it located? I'd definitely like to take it out. I don't know how to change my tire anyways, so I'd rather just call 1-800-porsche.

As for losing weight, I lost 50+ lbs so far...I'm getting there.

Oh Man, you dont know where the spare is? I have to launch a "personal attack!!

haha just kidding bav. It is in the front trunk, at the rear. It is covered up with several covers. There is a pretty cool tool kit in there as well. I took mine out a while ago, then after much reflection about being stuck by the roadside waiting for AAA to save me, when I had a perfectly good spare, I put it back in.

I am all for the battery. I had no idea there was such a thing as a "lt wt battery"
Is it physically the same size as the stock one? If it is smaller, do you need some kind of adapter to hold it on the tray?

987 models have no spare.

...Which is why I made the comment to edevelin that I did.

A Costco battery is maybe half the weight of the Bosch unit. Costs about $52.

Is the Bosch unit marked Bosch?
I found a battery in mine (since replaced) that is entirely black. My thoughts are that it's not original.....

I got the idea the try the Braille lightweight battery from another member. The batteries are quite small and light http://www.brailleauto.com/ , mine cost 190.00 delivered. They have two sizes, if you are not in a cold climate they say you can get away with using their 11 lb battery, I opted for the 15 lb unit.

I also thought about not having the spare in the car, but if I get a flat I cannot repair, I have no place the put the flat tire anyway, time will tell.

BTW, I had always noticed that the car was a little quicker when the gas tank was almost empty (6 lbs/gallon). With the weight trimming, it feels like I always have an empty tank and then some. I dont know if that difference is as pronounced in those big hp "S" models, but this little 2.7L likes to run light....

Ed

:dance:

Hi,

@ edevlin - I think it's great you undertook this approach. Unlike simply adding more power, lightening the car not only makes it quicker, but improves the handling in the twisties as well - double bang.

Most of your weight savings have been from the front, are you concerned about weight distribution? Have you noticed any adverse effects?

You mention feeling a difference when the Tank is empty. I read that Porsche purposely set the Fuel Low/Reserve light to come on at 2.6 gal., or 10 Ltr. (approx. 16.5lbs of Fuel) in order to preserve the handling, that the car needs a certain amount of weight up front for everything to work right...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

"Most of your weight savings have been from the front, are you concerned about weight distribution? Have you noticed any adverse effects?"

I was also wondering about most of the weight comming off the nosel, but so far I have not been able to tell a difference about it being lighter in the nose, just that when it is lighter, it is quicker. It may have to do with the fact that I first lost the weight, then had the car setup with a new PSS9 suspension which was dialed in to the new weight distribution.


Ed

:cheers:

u know what, that was the same thing that i tought, like im gonn get a flat. so i took my spare out, and 2 days later blew a tire. had a buddy go to my house and bring it where i was 'parked' hehehe

I drive my car with a remote control!
185lbs lighter!

:D

JK

Hi,

Here's one that could use a little Weight Loss Program... :rolleyes:

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

Yuck, im grossed out by it... its like seeing a very very fat german lady naked

I've never understood why the Braile isn't stock in all sports cars. Its a big weight savings and a battery lasts a long time.... Dead weight pointless..

as for the flywheel that seems unclear to me. I'm hesistant to deviate from stock in the drivetrain. I had several light flywheels and clutch in previous cars like the Fidanza and ClutchNet, an excellent mod for an powered car in particular.

Those Braille Batteries are great, they actually tip the scales just over 11 pounds. I have an Odyssey 680 which is just around 15 pounds in my MR2 Spyder. We sell both batteries; the Odyssey is cheaper but not quite as scant.

Braille/Recaro also offers a fixed back seat customized to your dimensions and cloth/color preferances. These dont weigh much more than their batteries. :D

I removed my entire front trunk and plastic cladding in efforts to cut the weight.

The Spyder is about as stable on the freeway as a cigar boat on the Bering Sea...

Next time I'll just hit the treadmill.

PS: Has anyone weighed a Boxster 986/987 Seat?

No, but I heard they are like 40 pounds.

Is there a special tray or mounting to hold the smaller battery in place?

I am definitely gonna buy that battery!



And whoever said seats....I always wanted to remove my passenger seat. Is that hard to do? :D

So will any of their batteries fit in my car or do I need a special battery?


It says they fit in most vehicles.

Does anyone have the weight on the stock boxster seats?
Specificly the standard seat with no heat and only the two elect adjustments.
I have a potential buyer for these stock seats and the GT3 seats are lookin' pretty schweeet.

Jeez, are you serious? Ive had mine in the for sale section forever now.

Yes, (possible) buyer. And this is at a "blow out price"

Just wanted to add that losing 100lbs off the car is roughly equivelent to adding 10hp so I've heard.

Hmm, maybe. I always heard it as 100 LBs will give you a tenth in the quarter mile. To some extent at least. What was this "blow out price"?

It depends what car we're talking about.



So no one knows if any of their batteries will fit my car? I am looking at the 11.5lb one and the 15lb one.

I'm sure it will fit, but I don't wanna just buy it and have it not fit.

Yes, I've heard that too, losing 100lbs or adding 10hp should lower the car's 1/4 mile time approx a tenth of a second but it depends on a lot of variables. Cutting a 100lbs off a 1,900lb Elise is going to make a more profound difference compared to say a 4,000lb M5.

The 100 pounds per 10th or per 10 hp is a VERY rough rule of thumb but has been used in the past mostly with the musclecar guys. Its very similar to the 5 psi of boost is safe for any engine; or 11.5:1 A/R ratio will give the most horsepower at the safest tune.

The only problem with the 100 pound rule is it works *pretty* well when determining V-8 rwd 1.5-2.0 ton vehicles. Torque moves weight easily and most of those vehicles have a ton to start with (torque and weight).

A Boxster losing 100 pounds with its smaller engine and less initial weight is losing a higher percentage of mass as compared to a Mustang or Chevelle. Better yet, my 2100 Corolla-powered MR2 Spyder losing 100 pounds which is close to 5% of its entire weight.

The better solution is to calculate a vehicle with a very similar powertrain and play the power vs weight game. If you have a Boxster 2.5L compare whp with a Boxster S and try to get accurate weights of both vehicles. Then take off 100 pounds and recalculate the new power/weight ratio of both vehicles and contrast them with stock quarter mile times (take these with a grain of salt too as they vary depending on the day, car, and magazine).

Ready for more frustration? Two vehicles with equal power-to-weight ratios and drivetrain configurations can be vastly different. Depending on cam changes, aerodynamics, gearing, etc one car can be significantly faster from 60 mph upwards than another. This is why vehicles like the Boxster, S2000, and RX-8 can destroy some of the bigger dogs on the track. Of course there are other factors with that as well.

As for the Braille battery or the Odyssey PC680...both have custom battery trays available for those who dont want to weld and hack like I did to my box. I am adding those to the site as I write this.

Gearing is probably the best mod you can do aside from FI, but people don't do it.


I hate my 5 speed because of this. I want closer gears...


:(



Will order the battery in a couple days!

At least you dont have Toyota Corolla gears, lol.

Sounds good to me.

Don't forget about the impact of wheels. Porsche wheels are very heavy by design.

The CCWs I just picked up are strong, and they weigh 12-14lbs less per corner than the stock ones. You get double bang for your buck because you're removing unsprung weight which is also inertial. Big improvement!

My '00 S is 2960 with the CCWs on and about 5 gallons of fuel in the tank. With no exhaust and minimal fuel for competition it's closing in on 2900. Not light, but better than a lot of cars.

Also lightweight wheels will free up horsepower :)

Besides the reduction in unsprung weight making the vehicle more throttle responsive/quick in a straight line, it also helps braking and suspension agility.

A great practice is to also check the specs of tires when it comes time for replacement. Find current tire diameter and weights from a website like Tirerack.com or from the manufacturer site. Sometimes squeezing a really wide tire on a rim that would better use a narrower tire isnt a great practice:

*Increases weight
*Ineffective contact patch
*Pinched sidewall leads to less responsive handling
*Many times increased rolling diameter

Setting our 2006 Altima SER up for G-Stock we have realized that using a 225/40/18 Hoosier A6 rather than a 245/45/18 is a better match for our 8" wheel. The tire is also 3 pounds less and 3 inches shorter than the 245 effectively decreasing our long second gear. The 245's will look MUCH better but thats not always the fastest way around the cones especially with soft rubber.

Boxster's dont always have the same luxury as tire brands/sizes are harder to come by and more expensive. However, if you can still work a staggered combination and effectively utilize your wheel widths the car will simply be faster than the "steam roller" crowd unless they are running 12" wheels, etc.

Light wheels and rotors help a ton; tires and wheel width can increase/decrease the most rotational mass from your equation since they are on the furthest point from the axles. Narrow and soft is better than wide and hard especially if you can drop some weight.

Then again, on a daily driven vehicle we cant always be replacing tires every 6k miles. There is definitely a fine-line to walk.