Weight Saving Items? Please list.

[Detonate]

Can you list weight saving items for the Audi S4? The car is heavy and would like the feel more of the torque with weight saving items.

I'll start the list:
Carbon Fiber Hood
Carbon Fiber Trunk
New Rims

Those are the common ones. Can anyone think of anything else? Please list the original weight of the OEM equipment compared to the weight saving items.

Are there any other popular sites besides this regarding the 2.7 S4 based in America? So far this is the best board I've found next to audiworld (which I do not prefer because of the board layout). Please list links too, to sites that have information or other boards I can get more input. Thank you.

[Andiroo]

Until you post your name i will call you Mr Deto then [img]images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

Apart from what you have mentioned, I would consider the following as easy weight saving items [img]images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

Recaro racing fronts seats (2) - 35kgs saving against OEM
Rear seats out (rear seat tensioners weigh a ton) [img]images/graemlins/ooo.gif[/img] - 18kgs saving

Now the ££ stuff,

Front wings C/F or F/G = 8kgs saving
Door skins outer/inner C/F or F/G + dispose of driver protection bars (but you will need a full cage) - 18kgs saving
Drivers airbag + Passenger = 4kgs saving
For 1/4 mile go for a bag tank (fuel) = 6kgs saving or more
Aircon unit = 2kgs
Plexiglass all windows = 15kgs

Now for the £££££££££££££ stuff;

Lightweight block = unknown
C/F driveshafts/propshafts = unknown
Sequential Box/lightened flywheel/paddle clutch = unknown
Ally tube front chassis with one piece flip front = unknown

And if you manage all these please call me because this is what I plan to do with my RS4, funds allowing, and any advice would be appreciated [img]images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

BTW if you use ceramic parts in strategic places you could probably change your name to 'Didnotdetonate' [img]images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

Also found that scraping all the sh*te out of the footwells and emptying the ashtray, for ME, was good for 2kgs [img]images/graemlins/roflmao.gif[/img] (and you think I'm joking [img]images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img])

Good luck mate,
Andiroo

[bjacks]

I was having an email chat with Martyn at VAGPARTS a while back and I've dug it out and found this when he was talking about his S2 Avant:- " Hope to fit a kevlar bonnet!!! soon, vented to get heat out of the engine bay and weighs about 6 kilos rather than the 26 stock bonnet!"

Perhaps he may be worth a try.
VAGPARTS Link

Cheers

Ben

[toasty]

What about a smaller battery?
They must weigh about 10kgs, go for one half the size, and save 5kgs.

[fade2grey]

I'm new to the S4 but the same should apply as most cars. For static weight, Calipers & disc\hub assembly - a fair bit of weight normally lurks in the standard setup. Scrape the underseal off the bottomw of the car & loose all the plastic [email]cr@p[/email] like dust\mud shields. It all depends on how far you want to go & what the car's intended use is. It's better to have more weight low down & in the right places than no weight at all.

just my 2p [img]images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

Cheers,
Alex

[Nige_RS4]

Can anyone recommend some 'light' wheels then - preferably ones that look good to [img]images/graemlins/nodder.gif[/img] !!
Thought about removing a few spokes from my current 9-spoke alloys .... [img]images/graemlins/tung2.gif[/img]

[toasty]

What about ceramic brake disks? Apparently they are about half the weight of iron ones...

[fade2grey]

OZ superlegera's (spelling) are pretty light, but there are lots of MAG wheels & motorsport wheels which are a lot lighter than std.

removing lot's of creature comforts helps too.. do you really need an electric motor to do things for you? [img]images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[Joshie]

Adding all of your suggestions Andy the saving is about 100 Kgs.

How significant do you think a weight saving of 6% really is?

I guess when you get into serious (££££) reductions you're gonna really feel it but surely the way to go is extra power although as I write this I'm thinking that all the power in the world won't get you around the next corner any quicker. But then even really significant weight loss will surely be relatively insignificant compared to some of the lightweight racers about.

Just my thoughts.

[Andiroo]

Totally agree with you Joshie, it's the unknown (££££££) really expensive ones which will save you alot of weight. I believe the modified S4 Avant racer (RS4 lookalike) we saw at Hockeheim last year was around 1350kgs with airjacks, so it is possible to lose a lot more. Whether it's worth it is debatable, but hey it has to be done [img]images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

Andiroo

[TimJMS]

A wise old bugger once told me that with more power you gain only once : acceleration. With weight saving you gain three times : acceleration, braking and handling [img]images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[TimJMS]

This would be the car Andy is referring to

here?

[Joshie]

They even threw the centre caps away - probably saved them about 6oz - these guys really mean business. [img]images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[Carps]

There is a fabled duo in the aircooled VW world that once attempted to lighten their race car (Deanos Dynosaur, IIRC) by acid dipping the panels to thin out the metal. Whilst the acid did it's work, they were watching football or baseball, and in the excitement forgot to check on their little experiment. The result was lightweight panels, as desired, but with some rather ugly holes [img]images/graemlins/ooo.gif[/img]

I may be able to dig out some pictures if anyone is interested...

[DavidT]

1350 kg is heavy for a racer but light for a modern road car.

It costs less to get power on a turbo car than it does to lose weight, up to a point.

Horses for courses ?