MINI2

Richard22b · Apr 17th, 2006, 05:19 PM

I have a MINI One.
How do i reduce the weight of the car without removing seats.

All suggestions welcome.

Paul · Apr 17th, 2006, 05:24 PM

Get down the gym.

Seriously though, how much weight, what budget do you have, what do you want to achieve?

In general, best places to start are wheels, suspension and tyre, and the front of the car where most of the weight is at, but it really depends what budget your on and what (apart from simply "weight loss") you want to achieve.

Richard22b · Apr 17th, 2006, 05:34 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by Paul Mullett

Get down the gym.

Seriously though, how much weight, what budget do you have, what do you want to achieve?

In general, best places to start are wheels, suspension and tyre, and the front of the car where most of the weight is at, but it really depends what budget your on and what (apart from simply "weight loss") you want to achieve.

ha ha. althought the gym might help a bit.

No budget really. just looking for pratical ways to reduce weight just to improve all round performance of the car.

Paul · Apr 17th, 2006, 05:38 PM

Lots of things you can do. Unsprung weight (as in wheels, tyres, brakes etc) makes a HUGE difference. Anything you can safely replace with light weight versions of (in the suspension) is a good idea.

There's plenty of sound deadening you can pull out from all over the car, but of course that'll make it noisier.

Carbon fibre bonnet (pricey, questions over quality), carbon fibre a-panels (although they're aluminium anyway I believe, so not so heavy anyway).

Sure there's more you can do too (waits for others to chime in...)

obehave · Apr 17th, 2006, 05:39 PM

Lighter aftermarket exhaust, lighter aftermarket brakes and lighter battery are about the last of the easy DIY type mods.

After that it takes commitment.

bigcoyote · Apr 17th, 2006, 09:57 PM

Hey there,

Like they said - use light weight parts ( wheels, tires, suspention ) , you can get rid of all the sound insulation, non essential interior parts ( carpet, door panels, etc.. ) , smaller battery, etc. It just depends on how light you want it and how you want it to look?

As a rule ( old drag racing & SCCA racing days ) every 10 pound reduction of unsprung weight is the same as losing 100 pounds of sprung weight and will give you about 1/10th second improvment in the 1/4 mile.

Hope this helps

greyghost2004 · Apr 19th, 2006, 01:40 AM

You can lose about 35 lbs removing the rear seats and at least 10 lbs going to a smaller battery.

mark

LMB · Apr 19th, 2006, 01:44 AM

Dump your fat girlfriend.

Paul · Apr 19th, 2006, 09:33 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by Richard22b

I have a MINI One.
How do i reduce the weight of the car without removing seats.

All suggestions welcome.

Quote: Originally Posted by greyghost2004

You can lose about 35 lbs removing the rear seats and at least 10 lbs going to a smaller battery.

Seats not an option.

St00ge · Apr 19th, 2006, 09:37 AM

35 lbs losing the rear seats? I was told it was almost 40 kg (88 lbs) !

uncle albert · Apr 19th, 2006, 10:22 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by etalj

35 lbs losing the rear seats? I was told it was almost 40 kg (88 lbs) !

There's no way they're going to weigh anywhere near 40kg.

James

P.S. Thinking of taking the rear seats out myself.

EDIT: You could also replace the front seats with lightweight items, which is what I'm considering.

Paul · Apr 19th, 2006, 10:33 AM

For the sake of the thread originator can we stop the talk of seats?

St00ge · Apr 19th, 2006, 10:55 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by uncle albert

You could also replace the front seats with lightweight items, which is what I'm considering.

is this a possibilty for you, richard?

PortRhombus · Apr 19th, 2006, 11:09 AM

I ended up putting a superchip on my one. that help alot. Apparently on paper it pushes it past a cooper but never official raced one to see.

PortRhombus · Apr 19th, 2006, 11:11 AM

out of interest, in terms of physics, whats the difference between sprung and unsprung weight?

Richard22b · Apr 19th, 2006, 03:42 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by etalj

is this a possibilty for you, richard?

Yer i guess light weight seats are an option. never thought of that.

As for the fat girlfriend. how rude............

Hat · Apr 19th, 2006, 03:47 PM

changing wheels & tyres is the easiest & most effective way to lose weight

Richard22b · Apr 19th, 2006, 03:50 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by Hat

changing wheels & tyres is the easiest & most effective way to lose weight

problem is i just bought new alloys and tyres.

rubyredmz3 · Apr 19th, 2006, 04:03 PM

a distinction needs to be made here. . .

cutting 10 lbs of unsprung weight is NOT equivalent to cutting 100 lbs of static weight. cutting 100 lbs of ROTATING mass is equivalent (approximately, although it depends on the distribution of the mass). Reducing unprung weight has its own benefits other than the static weightloss, mainly an improvement in ride quality and less stress on the suspension, but cutting rotational mass is much bigger for performance than cutting unsprung mass. This is why lightweight wheels are a win win, b/c cutting weight off the wheels is cutting both rotational mass AND cutting unsprung mass.

Hat · Apr 19th, 2006, 04:05 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by Richard22b

problem is i just bought new alloys and tyres.

they're likeley to be lighter than the standard mini items though - did you get non-run flats?

Apr 17th, 2006, 05:19 PM	#1
Richard22b Yellow Mini Man My Classifieds Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Bristol (North) Local Time: 10:34 PM Posts: 499 Offline	How do i reduce weight I have a MINI One. How do i reduce the weight of the car without removing seats. All suggestions welcome.

Apr 17th, 2006, 05:24 PM	#2 (permalink)
Paul Trained Monkey My Classifieds Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Bedfordshire Local Time: 09:34 PM Posts: 40,354 Online	Get down the gym. Seriously though, how much weight, what budget do you have, what do you want to achieve? In general, best places to start are wheels, suspension and tyre, and the front of the car where most of the weight is at, but it really depends what budget your on and what (apart from simply "weight loss") you want to achieve. Our trials and tribulations living in a "bleeding edge" eco house... Oxley Woods Living

Apr 17th, 2006, 05:38 PM	#4 (permalink)
Paul Trained Monkey My Classifieds Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Bedfordshire Local Time: 09:34 PM Posts: 40,354 Online	Lots of things you can do. Unsprung weight (as in wheels, tyres, brakes etc) makes a HUGE difference. Anything you can safely replace with light weight versions of (in the suspension) is a good idea. There's plenty of sound deadening you can pull out from all over the car, but of course that'll make it noisier. Carbon fibre bonnet (pricey, questions over quality), carbon fibre a-panels (although they're aluminium anyway I believe, so not so heavy anyway). Sure there's more you can do too (waits for others to chime in...) Our trials and tribulations living in a "bleeding edge" eco house... Oxley Woods Living

Apr 17th, 2006, 09:57 PM	#6 (permalink)
bigcoyote HOT Arizona Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Mesa, Arizona, USA Local Time: 02:34 PM Posts: 113 Offline	Hey there, Like they said - use light weight parts ( wheels, tires, suspention ) , you can get rid of all the sound insulation, non essential interior parts ( carpet, door panels, etc.. ) , smaller battery, etc. It just depends on how light you want it and how you want it to look? As a rule ( old drag racing & SCCA racing days ) every 10 pound reduction of unsprung weight is the same as losing 100 pounds of sprung weight and will give you about 1/10th second improvment in the 1/4 mile. Hope this helps "Never follow a MINI, They do weird things" View My Photo Gallery

Apr 19th, 2006, 01:44 AM	#8 (permalink)
LMB Toon Toon.. <div><a href= Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Up North Local Time: 09:34 PM Posts: 23,727 Offline	Dump your fat girlfriend. Global Moderator

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Apr 17th, 2006, 05:34 PM	#3 (permalink)
Richard22b Yellow Mini Man My Classifieds Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Bristol (North) Local Time: 10:34 PM Posts: 499 Offline	Quote: Originally Posted by Paul Mullett Get down the gym. Seriously though, how much weight, what budget do you have, what do you want to achieve? In general, best places to start are wheels, suspension and tyre, and the front of the car where most of the weight is at, but it really depends what budget your on and what (apart from simply "weight loss") you want to achieve. ha ha. althought the gym might help a bit. No budget really. just looking for pratical ways to reduce weight just to improve all round performance of the car.

Apr 17th, 2006, 05:39 PM	#5 (permalink)
obehave Mini Mod Join Date: Sep 2002 Local Time: 04:34 PM Posts: 9,315 Offline	Lighter aftermarket exhaust, lighter aftermarket brakes and lighter battery are about the last of the easy DIY type mods. After that it takes commitment.

Apr 19th, 2006, 01:40 AM	#7 (permalink)
greyghost2004 MINI2 Regular Join Date: Jul 2004 Local Time: 02:34 PM Posts: 95 Offline	You can lose about 35 lbs removing the rear seats and at least 10 lbs going to a smaller battery. mark

Apr 19th, 2006, 09:33 AM	#9 (permalink)
Paul Trained Monkey My Classifieds Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Bedfordshire Local Time: 09:34 PM Posts: 40,354 Online	Quote: Originally Posted by Richard22b I have a MINI One. How do i reduce the weight of the car without removing seats. All suggestions welcome. Quote: Originally Posted by greyghost2004 You can lose about 35 lbs removing the rear seats and at least 10 lbs going to a smaller battery. Seats not an option. Our trials and tribulations living in a "bleeding edge" eco house... Oxley Woods Living

Apr 19th, 2006, 09:37 AM	#10 (permalink)
St00ge 8/10 on the Stoogometer Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Melbourne Local Time: 07:34 AM Posts: 2,835 Offline	35 lbs losing the rear seats? I was told it was almost 40 kg (88 lbs) ! Black MCS

Apr 19th, 2006, 10:22 AM	#11 (permalink)
uncle albert MINI2 Master Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Hereford/Cwmbran Local Time: 09:34 PM Posts: 797 Offline	Quote: Originally Posted by etalj 35 lbs losing the rear seats? I was told it was almost 40 kg (88 lbs) ! There's no way they're going to weigh anywhere near 40kg. James P.S. Thinking of taking the rear seats out myself. EDIT: You could also replace the front seats with lightweight items, which is what I'm considering.

Apr 19th, 2006, 10:33 AM	#12 (permalink)
Paul Trained Monkey My Classifieds Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Bedfordshire Local Time: 09:34 PM Posts: 40,354 Online	For the sake of the thread originator can we stop the talk of seats? Our trials and tribulations living in a "bleeding edge" eco house... Oxley Woods Living

Apr 19th, 2006, 10:55 AM	#13 (permalink)
St00ge 8/10 on the Stoogometer Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Melbourne Local Time: 07:34 AM Posts: 2,835 Offline	Quote: Originally Posted by uncle albert You could also replace the front seats with lightweight items, which is what I'm considering. is this a possibilty for you, richard? Black MCS

Apr 19th, 2006, 11:09 AM	#14 (permalink)
PortRhombus MINI2 Irregular Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Notts Local Time: 10:34 PM Posts: 618 Offline	I ended up putting a superchip on my one. that help alot. Apparently on paper it pushes it past a cooper but never official raced one to see.

Apr 19th, 2006, 11:11 AM	#15 (permalink)
PortRhombus MINI2 Irregular Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Notts Local Time: 10:34 PM Posts: 618 Offline	out of interest, in terms of physics, whats the difference between sprung and unsprung weight?

Apr 19th, 2006, 03:42 PM	#16 (permalink)
Richard22b Yellow Mini Man My Classifieds Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Bristol (North) Local Time: 10:34 PM Posts: 499 Offline	Quote: Originally Posted by etalj is this a possibilty for you, richard? Yer i guess light weight seats are an option. never thought of that. As for the fat girlfriend. how rude............

Apr 19th, 2006, 03:47 PM	#17 (permalink)
Hat ITS RAINNIN' SIDEWAYS My Classifieds Join Date: Oct 2002 Local Time: 09:34 PM Posts: 15,920 Offline	changing wheels & tyres is the easiest & most effective way to lose weight

Apr 19th, 2006, 03:50 PM	#18 (permalink)
Richard22b Yellow Mini Man My Classifieds Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Bristol (North) Local Time: 10:34 PM Posts: 499 Offline	Quote: Originally Posted by Hat changing wheels & tyres is the easiest & most effective way to lose weight problem is i just bought new alloys and tyres.

Apr 19th, 2006, 04:03 PM	#19 (permalink)
rubyredmz3 Mazda3 Visitor Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Cary, NC Local Time: 05:34 PM Posts: 14 Offline	a distinction needs to be made here. . . cutting 10 lbs of unsprung weight is NOT equivalent to cutting 100 lbs of static weight. cutting 100 lbs of ROTATING mass is equivalent (approximately, although it depends on the distribution of the mass). Reducing unprung weight has its own benefits other than the static weightloss, mainly an improvement in ride quality and less stress on the suspension, but cutting rotational mass is much bigger for performance than cutting unsprung mass. This is why lightweight wheels are a win win, b/c cutting weight off the wheels is cutting both rotational mass AND cutting unsprung mass. Minis rule, but so do Mazda3's, thank goodness I'm running in H-stock now though (only gotta deal with the regular Coopers now). . .

Apr 19th, 2006, 04:05 PM	#20 (permalink)
Hat ITS RAINNIN' SIDEWAYS My Classifieds Join Date: Oct 2002 Local Time: 09:34 PM Posts: 15,920 Offline	Quote: Originally Posted by Richard22b problem is i just bought new alloys and tyres. they're likeley to be lighter than the standard mini items though - did you get non-run flats?

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