# How much weight can i shave from a Z31?



## quakefiend420 (Jun 1, 2004)

i was thinking of picking up a z31 turbo with a bad interior or some dings or something and making a cheap fast car...here's the basic plan so far, anyone want to add anything?

cheap boost controller
cut off muffler and cat
240sx throttle body
k&n intake
remove ac compressor and components
remove blower motor and venting
pathfinder intake manifold and raise the hood hinges a bit
remove power seats and put in something lighter
remove spare tire and sound deadening
remove door panels and as much of the dash as i can, carpeting, dome lights, trim panels, etc...

any other ideas?

remember, the main theme here is cheap 

would removing the clutch fan and adding an electric one make a difference?

or would the cost outweigh the benefits?

basically i want to get the car as light as possible and get as much bang for the buck out of the engine as i can

i should probably change out the clutch and timing belt while i'm at it, right?

anythng else that's going to be worn enough that replacing it would just be a good idea?

would springing for some decently lightweight rims make a difference? how heavy are the stockers?


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## ga16freak (Dec 31, 2004)

I hope you aren't planning on driving this on the roads. Good light rims can make a difference, maybe not to much of a weight difference but you can also get some wider/lower profile tires that will help with handling. Rota makes some pretty cheap lightweight rims.


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## quakefiend420 (Jun 1, 2004)

ga16freak said:


> I hope you aren't planning on driving this on the roads. Good light rims can make a difference, maybe not to much of a weight difference but you can also get some wider/lower profile tires that will help with handling. Rota makes some pretty cheap lightweight rims.


why could i not drive it on the street?

i was planning on leaving everything necessary for it to be legal...signals, seat belts, etc...

this car will mainly be for quarter mile...i'm not all that worried about improving handling that much...more interested in traction, acceleration, and reducing weight as much as possible


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## nissandrew (Aug 23, 2005)

quakefiend420 said:


> why could i not drive it on the street?


Well, it would probably be noisy and a bit uncomfortable...


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## z31 (Oct 19, 2004)

my friends autocross car was down around 2600 last time I heard.
It's an 84 NA slicktop though, they were a tad under 3000lbs to begin with.


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## Zen31ZR (Mar 24, 2004)

I had my 85 turbo down to 3075 lbs. This was weighed at the track, with me in it and 10 gallons of gas. So about 2800 or so empty, and I wasn't real aggressive with weight reduction. The power driver seat was still in place (80 lbs), but the A/C system was removed, as was the spare tire and all rear sound deadening foam and under carpet inserts.


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## quakefiend420 (Jun 1, 2004)

bump, any recommendations for parts or anything else?


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## quakefiend420 (Jun 1, 2004)

one more bump


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## Zen31ZR (Mar 24, 2004)

You must be aware of what you are removing, and whether you plan to permanently remove it. It would be prohibitively expensive to try to replace any pieces such as a headliner that was damaged during removal...... If you want a somewhat nice stock interior that won't look bad (Believe me, cars with removed interior panels look like crap) then I don't suggest you be too aggressive with weight reduction. Remove all you can from under the hood and in the trunk first, and there is quite a lot. The tool kit and the spare tire are a good 50 lbs. The A/C system alone is about 60-70 lbs for all the pieces, if you remove the condenser from in front of the radiator as well. Ditch the power seat for either an unpowered stock seat or something else, the car will lose 50 lbs minimum. Remove the stock stereo amp from under the passenger seat. 
As far as parts go, there isn't much. You might be able to find a carbon fiber hood if you look around hard enough. If you are brave, you can make your own from raw CF material. Same with the front 1/4 panels. Get some aftermarket rims, most anything is lighter than stock (usually).


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## AZ-ZBum (Nov 21, 2004)

http://www.worldsfastestclown.com/2002.html


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## quakefiend420 (Jun 1, 2004)

AZ-ZBum said:


> http://www.worldsfastestclown.com/2002.html


neat, thx


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## Zen31ZR (Mar 24, 2004)

That's not street legal.......


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## quakefiend420 (Jun 1, 2004)

this will all be removed permanently, so no worries about damaging any of it, really...i'll probably just sell the interior pieces and everything else i remove and make a little bit of money back on them

no input yet on installing an electric fan....i'm figuring i can find one in a salvage yard somewhere for pretty cheaply...how would i go about making it temp regulated?

also, any other cheap mods anyone can recommend?

maybe bigger injectors and fuel pump that will fit that i can yank from something else in a junkyard somewhere?


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## JAMESZ (Mar 12, 2004)

quakefiend420 said:


> maybe bigger injectors and fuel pump that will fit that i can yank from something else in a junkyard somewhere?


Z32TT pump...injectors are more of an issue...what are you going to use for management if you upgrade the injectors? Don't get the pathy intake, get a gutted stock plenum (if you can find a used Engloid get one; if not they are all over ebay, or you can make one yourself.) Get an intercooler if you plan on running more then 8-10psi.


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## quakefiend420 (Jun 1, 2004)

JAMESZ said:


> Z32TT pump...injectors are more of an issue...what are you going to use for management if you upgrade the injectors? Don't get the pathy intake, get a gutted stock plenum (if you can find a used Engloid get one; if not they are all over ebay, or you can make one yourself.) Get an intercooler if you plan on running more then 8-10psi.


will a gutted stock lenum give me better results than the pathy?

i saw them going for $400 on ebay...i'm figuring i can find a pathfinder intake for a lot cheaper than that in a salvage yard, i don't have the expertise to gut and reweld it myself...

so far as management, can't i have the stock ecu reburned for something like 100 bucks?

i seem to remember hearing something about that on here a while back


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## AZ-ZBum (Nov 21, 2004)

quakefiend420 said:


> will a gutted stock lenum give me better results than the pathy?
> 
> i saw them going for $400 on ebay...i'm figuring i can find a pathfinder intake for a lot cheaper than that in a salvage yard, i don't have the expertise to gut and reweld it myself...
> 
> ...


No. But it will fit under the hood.


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## quakefiend420 (Jun 1, 2004)

AZ-ZBum said:


> No. But it will fit under the hood.


i'm ok with raising the back end of the hood a bit for clearance...remember the key word here is cheap


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## JAMESZ (Mar 12, 2004)

quakefiend420 said:


> so far as management, can't i have the stock ecu reburned for something like 100 bucks?


You could get a socketed ecu, but as far as getting the ecu reprogrammed it isn't only 100 dollars haha...


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## quakefiend420 (Jun 1, 2004)

JAMESZ said:


> You could get a socketed ecu, but as far as getting the ecu reprogrammed it isn't only 100 dollars haha...


so how much am i looking at for a new ecu?


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## Zen31ZR (Mar 24, 2004)

quakefiend420 said:


> so how much am i looking at for a new ecu?


A JWT ECU can push $500, but I've heard mixed reviews on those. You could simply use an injector controller such as a Super-AFC, but it needs to be dialed in on a dyno for maximum effectiveness, and can also lose its settings fairly easily....


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## JAMESZ (Mar 12, 2004)

500 and up basically. But if you get a JWT ecu expect to possibly wait around 6 months to get it back. Also with just an ecu you can't really tune. Best option is to go standalone...but that exceeds 1k.


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## AZ-ZBum (Nov 21, 2004)

quakefiend420 said:


> key word here is cheap


Hope you like working on it all the time.

cheap, fast, reliable

pick 2.


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## nissandrew (Aug 23, 2005)

Somebody posted this in another forum once...I thought it was kinda cool:

If you want it to be cheap and reliable, it won't be fast.
If you want it to be fast and cheap, it won't be reliable.
if you want it to be fast and reliable, it won't be cheap.


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## quakefiend420 (Jun 1, 2004)

nissandrew said:


> Somebody posted this in another forum once...I thought it was kinda cool:
> 
> If you want it to be cheap and reliable, it won't be fast.
> If you want it to be fast and cheap, it won't be reliable.
> if you want it to be fast and reliable, it won't be cheap.


i'm not all that worried about reliability...i don't mind tinkering with it


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## JAMESZ (Mar 12, 2004)

quakefiend420 said:


> i'm not all that worried about reliability...i don't mind tinkering with it


You will when it costs several thousand to fix something. If you modify and don't make certain provisions you will pay for it later.


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## AZ-ZBum (Nov 21, 2004)

you'll pay for it in parts or time. or both.

hope you have another car for a daily driver. if you're going cheap, it's probably because you don't have a whole lot of cash on hand. and you'll constantly be needing parts. so your car will constantly be sitting.

seen it happen all too often.


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## quakefiend420 (Jun 1, 2004)

AZ-ZBum said:


> you'll pay for it in parts or time. or both.
> 
> hope you have another car for a daily driver. if you're going cheap, it's probably because you don't have a whole lot of cash on hand. and you'll constantly be needing parts. so your car will constantly be sitting.
> 
> seen it happen all too often.


yeah, i also have my n/a z and my buick(which hopefully will be being replaced with a bmw soon  )

i plan on building this right, so that i don't run into issues i could have avoided later...that's why i'm asking so many questions


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