Weight Reduction Techniques

Colin: curious on why 2 point harness driving to and from track vs. 5 point? Especially with a racing seat.

[QUOTE=Nughuffer;2262625]I wouldn’t recommend complete removal of the bumper supports. In the event that you get in a low speed accident the damage done will be considerably more without the beams. Anyway, I’m in the slow process of building an SCCA ITA / NASA Honda Challege track car out of my 92 DB2. Accumulating the go fast parts is the slow part but I’ve been pulling things out here and there that the rules allow. So far I’ve deleted/removed:

  1. ABS system (wheel sensors, wiring, abs controller & dust shields). Rules mandate that ABS be disabled so I just deleted it altogether.
  2. A/C system minus the EVAP core (rules wont allow removal)
  3. Radio antenna and wiring
  4. rear wiper, bracket, wiring
  5. rear seats, seat belts
  6. Relocated battery to the rear
    7.Spare & Jack
  7. Cruise control
  8. Stupid intake bracket
    I’ve got a spare set of doors that I’ve gutted minus the door bars and mirrors. What are you AutoX/track guys doing about the auto seat belts and window net mounts? I’m still driving this thing pretty regularly so I’m waiting on removing PS, sunroof, radio etc… but those seat belts suck and I need a better setup and don’t want to put harnesses in it before the cage is built.[/QUOTE]

i thought HC rules stated a stock size & weight battery in the stock location? and that sucks about the evaporator core. mine is gone and i may want to do H4 in the future.

Simple. Comfort, and to a certain extent, safety. If worn correctly a 5pt harness isn’t comfy for a 3hr drive to the track. Plus, you can’t check your blindspots or reverse very well at all which can be a little dangerous. Of course, OEM belts plus a race seat is also less than ideal for safety either. Since that last comment I’ve removed my OEM belts and only have the harnesses now. Reason? More weight reduction.

As far as random weight is concerned, the tow hooks under the front (basically 2 big steel plates with 3 oversized bolts on each) were removed to mount my traction bar. Those tow hooks, besides being completely useless, were easily a few pounds each, and are a piece of cake to remove.

Really? Those plates are critical to getting your car out of the dirt/mud/weeds/gravel/etc. if you have some
kind of off road/track experience and/or mechanical issue the requires flat/flatbed towing… there is no other
solid/secure place to hook up without the risk of damaged/bent suspension or axles… don’t trust your tow guy
to know how to hook you up…

That’s true about the tow hooks, but personally I think there’s a way you can have your cake and eat it too. The stock tow hooks aren’t actually as functional as they should be. If you get stuck in some deep silt or mud it could be a pain to hook up down that low. An attachment point higher off the ground and easily accessed is handy. You can ditch the stock tow hooks in favor of a fabric tow strap which both saves weight and gives you a more practical tow point.

This reminds me Colin. Ive been meaning to get a hold of you and ask you how yours is setup. Care to email me some info or perhaps even elaborate a little more in this thread…

Mine is attached to the bumper support, this is probably the most common attachment method I found when talking to guys with track cars. I would however like to be able to remove the bumper support for weight. I’ve seen it done with a bar welded between the two bumper support mounting blocks.

Here are some pics of my setup http://www.flickr.com/photos/clen/sets/72157624933025177/

Excellent work sir!

[QUOTE=Colin;2280652]Mine is attached to the bumper support, this is probably the most common attachment method I found when talking to guys with track cars. I would however like to be able to remove the bumper support for weight. I’ve seen it done with a bar welded between the two bumper support mounting blocks.

Here are some pics of my setup http://www.flickr.com/photos/clen/sets/72157624933025177/[/QUOTE]

It would be inspirational to see a picture of a custom lightweight DA bumper support… either modified OE USMC or pure custom. I am familiar with the JDM versions but they seem to be tough to find.

i want to put my battery to the trunk to save some save weight on front
i havent seen any road race teg doing on this forum i like to now opinions from you guys
before i attempt on doing it…

[QUOTE=skull_leader;2311058]i want to put my battery to the trunk to save some save weight on front
i havent seen any road race teg doing on this forum i like to now opinions from you guys
before i attempt on doing it…[/QUOTE]
Not sure what sort of input you’re looking for. It’s a great way to shift weight and IMO there are virtually no downsides to moving the battery out of the engine bay and putting it further back. I want to move mine but the location I want it is such that I’ll need a custom mount and I haven’t had time to make one myself or have someone else do it. It’s on a long to-do list of mine… If you are going to do it, then I’d suggest 2 things: make sure it’s a small battery, not a full size one; and make sure it’s a sealed battery.