6
Article: How I cut my GTI’s weight
- Thread starter david9962000
- Start date
Thumper
Autocross Champion
jay745
What Would Glenn Danzig Do
Good article, if anyone wants the long version I've been on a weight cutting virtue myself in my build thread. When I had it corner balanced last it weighed 2811. That's changed slightly as I've cut more weight but also added 2 braces. Hoping I'm under 2800 now, we'll see....
lots of butt dyno and confirmation bias (I did all this work, it must be better!), not a lot of data. I've everything he did except super lightweight wheels, and it hasn't made a lick of difference in acceleration, steering feel, or fuel economy. Maybe ultralight wheels are the key, but the thing to remember about lightweight wheels is they're also light on strength. They're a lot more likely to bend or crack if you're daily driving them, especially if your roads aren't glass-smooth.
But if dumping a bunch of weight from your daily driver makes you happy, more power to ya I guess.
But if dumping a bunch of weight from your daily driver makes you happy, more power to ya I guess.
jay745
What Would Glenn Danzig Do
There's absolutely no reason to do this unless it's a track car... as you said, it won't make a lick of difference on the street and you're just wasting money. If it's a track car, it matters a lot.
Thumper
Autocross Champion
Stole my words. Trust me, 50 pounds off a car WILL be noticeable in lap times and it can certainly be the difference between being on the podium or being at the snack bar.
jay745
What Would Glenn Danzig Do
Yep. On a 1.5-2 mile long track, every hundred pounds shaved is good for about a second improvement in lap times for a consistent driver.
True, but even at that, driver coaching will shave more lap time than lightweight steering knuckles. This is professional race team stuff.
jay745
What Would Glenn Danzig Do
Well obviously quality training and driver mod is going to outweigh weight savings, that's true on any platform. If you're gtinis a street car and sees the track once a year it's probably not worth it. The folks who have turned their gti into a dedicated track car and chasing down tenths of seconds, it's well worth it. Not everyone uses their car the same as you.
MrFancypants
Autocross Champion
It's really easy to drop a couple hundred pounds off of this car for track days without much effort. All the stuff in the back hatch is about 60-70 lbs (spare tire, jack, etc), it's easy to drop 50-60 with wheels, I'm told the rear seat is 70 lbs and only takes minutes to remove, lightweight AGM batteries no longer cost a fortune so there's another 40. That's over 200 lbs off without getting into seriously expensive stuff or stripping parts that would reduce driver comfort (sound deadening, air conditioning, carpets, exhaust, etc). Hell, doing some of that stuff for regular street driving makes the car a lot more fun at the speeds you're driving at anyway; I briefly had a battery that weighed about 30 lbs less than stock and the difference in front end bite was very noticeable at autocross speeds.
If anything the person in the article is doing it the hard way with control arms and spindles when there's a lot more low hanging fruit to get at first. Getting a two door down to the low 2900s isn't all that difficult or expensive.
If anything the person in the article is doing it the hard way with control arms and spindles when there's a lot more low hanging fruit to get at first. Getting a two door down to the low 2900s isn't all that difficult or expensive.
torga
Autocross Champion
The article was specifically about unsprung mass, that's why the author did all the hard stuff. It wasn't a general lightweighting article.
Well, the topic of the article is a daily driver, owned by a guy who isn't a pro, that appears to see the occasional autocross. I'm glad he's happy with what he did, and I certainly can't tell anyone what to do with their own car, money, and time. Just that if you're serious about shaving lap time, there are more effective ways to go about it.
Thumper
Autocross Champion
But you're missing one important point.
I can do driver training AND weight savings. They aren't mutually exclusive. Now I've shaved time off twice and I'm faster than the guy who just got some coaching.
I don't know about professional race team stuff, it's definitely dedicated track duty but don't see why an amateur weekend racer wouldn't want to do this relative simple and inexpensive upgrade.
jay745
What Would Glenn Danzig Do
Bingo, every pound you take out is free speed