Hi guys.
I am looking at options to reduce weight on a Stuart Taylor BEC with a 918 (or 919 if you'd like) engine in it.
I have been looking into the lightweight lithium iron batteries as an option and I'm thinking of trying to reduce the weight by eliminating any
wiring not required. I will probably change the front brakes (Escort I believe) to some Wilwood Dynalites at some stage also. Any other tips and
tricks on reducing weight?
Dan.
[Edited on 10/4/12 by DANMAN]
Don't waste your money on the Lithium Ion battery.
One of the guys in the RGB series tried one, and had lots of problems with cranking and it may be a coincidence, but his Power Commander packed up.
The thinking is it may have been a spike from the battery.
If you do decide to use one, you will need to pay for the special charger and charge it regularly, as we don't believe that the bike charge
system is correct for this type of battery.
Willwoods all round are a good save, and also front alloy hubs.
Have a look at your uprights as well, if your uprights are Cortina based, MNR do a steel fabricated upright thats lighter than the Raceleader alloy
ones.
[Edited on 10/4/12 by amalyos]
Let's be realistic too. Think about how much weight you can save on the wiring. Maybe a couple of pounds max?? Be easier and more effective to
drive naked. Concentrate on the heavy stuff, ie you, seats etc and then work your way down. There is plenty of wiring options too, thinwall etc that
will help, but the gains will be tiny.
Also, have a look at wheels/tyres, unsprung weight is often overlooked. Smaller tyres can be much lighter.
hi,
not a huge saving in its self but, one of the first jobs I did was to go round all the bolts on the car. Ensure that they where the correct length.
This then got me looking more critically at everything witch has identified a number of items I will be spending more time on.
Semi-serious suggestion.
Go for a wee and a poo before you drive the car.
The weight saved will be about the same you can hope to achieve by other real world weight saving advice.
And its free.
personally I think very small weight savings are not really worth it. If you are saving grams then don't bother. A gust of wind on your journey
will probably have more affect on the performance of the car.
Just being doing this to a westie, my list for attention was:
Smaller diff/better ratio which then allows for smaller tyres
Lighter paneling
Chassis changes/bracket removal
Smaller springs
Gear change mechanism
Seat Mounts
Silencer
Steering Column
Cooling
Net result was ~35kg loss at cost of ~£35/kg depending on how you account for some things like tyres which I wwas going to need to buy anyway. I made
a lot of smaller changes as well but these in total account for <5kg.
Junk the Diff brackets that STM supplied, they are heavy and crap, so two birds with one stone etc 
Dunno what wheels you have on, but one of the biggest weight savings can be had by switching to lightweight 13" wheels.
If you're not racing, junk the roll bar and get one made in T45.
Alloy calipers all round, and smaller/lighter discs... Iv'e got bike discs on the back.
Alloy front hubs.
Al.
Whats sort of shocks have you got - if they're 2.25 inch steel, going to 1.9" alloy ones will save quite a lot.
Regards
Hugh
quote:
Originally posted by cliftyhanger
Be easier and more effective to drive naked.
- Well, I only drive naked during summer so that's out
- Pees and Poos sound easy enough
- I will probably convert the rear drum setup to disc. Does anyone know what Disc to use and which Wilwood rear calipers to use? Also which Wilwood
front calipers will fit?
- It has an 11L alloy fuel tank already fitted so I may stick with that and it also has a lighter silencer fitted although I might try to find a
carbon fibre jobbie or titanium
- It has no windscreen so I don't need to worry about that
- I will trim down any overly long bolts and change any steel brackets for alloy ones (unless they are structural)
- I will remove the seats and see what they weigh and replace with lightweight options if necessary
- The wheels on it are apparently lightweight ones (Mk1 RS Escort four spoke looking things) although I am thinking of changing to some minilites
- I'm using alloy seat mounts in my other Locost so I will do the same in this one if they're not already alloy
- I will probably still do the wiring as I did save about 3kgs in my other Locost when I did it but the guy that built it had used a wiring loom from
a Mitsubishi Starion! I am also going to ditch some of the gauges I don't require and make a new lightweight dash
- I am going to race it so I will probably use the existing roll bar but I havn't ruled out going to Chromoly
- I am going to change the gearshift from lever to paddle style, not sure if I will save any weight there or not, I wouldn't think so but
I'll be doing it regardless
Any idea where to get the replacement diff brackets from so I can ditch the STM ones?
I'm also curious about the bike rear disc option. Is there a kit available or do you have any info/pics on what you have done?
Any links to where I can get the lightweight alloy hubs, uprights, shocks, etc?
Sorry for all the questions. I have only just bought the car and this is all quite new to me
Cheers,
Dan.
Does anyone know what the standard Escort Mk2 uprights and hubs weigh?