Your favorite ways to even the weight distribution?

[whitebulat22]

When I start building my 325es I plan to make it somewhere in the range of 50-51% front weighted, because I believe it'll increase response and grip ability while retaining classic BMW balance. With about 53% in the front to begin, I can only find 80 lbs (AC + fiberglass or carbon hood) to take out which is about half what it takes to reach the goal.

I want to turbo this car, which makes it look like I'll need more creativity in reaching this goal. I would like to be able to do this without stuffing weights / water / sand with my spare tire. Are there sneaky ways to move things from front to rear similar to the idea of the rear mounted battery? Is there more to remove from the front?

I assume this is a somewhat common thing so what do you guys like to do?

[Panici]

Rear mounted turbo?

[mitchlikesbikes]

deleting power steering will give you an extra 6 or so HP to the wheels and will also take off a fair amount of weight. you could look into slimming wiring, lighter intake setup, swiss cheesing the front of your bumper like a DTM/drift car, carbon fenders (no idea if anyone even makes these?), cruise delete, and removing all the insulation in and around the bay would help too.


as far as moving things back i don't think there's a whole lot that can be done aside from heavy mods like a rear mounted radiator and stuff.

also rather than adding dead weight like sand to the back, if you're gonna go that route just carry more tools and extra fluid. then the weight being added will also be functional

[klodkrawler05]

What creature comforts can you do without? how much cash do you have to spend on this?

as mentioned deleting the powersteering pump/lines will remove weight.
Removing the ac condensor/lines/belt/pulleys will delete even more.
delete the windshield squirter system if you can live without it
doing the late model e30 euro coolant bottle will move the coolant from right up at the radiator to back near the firewall and shift that weight rearward a touch.

swap out the heavy mechanical fan for an electric SPAL or similar unit.

pull off your front bumper and replace the bumper shocks (they're seriously heavy for how small they are) with some lightweight custom pieces, something like these DTM m3 bumper mounts might do the trick.


swapping from the g260 transmission to the stronger and heavier ZF transmission will shift some of your weight rearward while also holding more power which is a win-win for a turbo setup.

an aluminum bodied coilover like AST/moton/jrz with a 2.25" diameter spring will save a couple lbs over the stock sized spring/strut combo. as will 2-piece rotors and aluminum brake calipers.

another option to consider is using coilovers for what they were intended for, corner/cross weighting the car to achieve the balance you desire. spending $100 on a LiFePo4 battery that weighs 2lbs will save you 40lbs over the stock battery, relocating it to the engine bay will save you another 5lbs worth of factory 0 gauge copper wire. that comes out to a 45lb weight savings with a cost of $2.20 per lb, vs spending $1500 on a big brake setup to save 5-10lbs at a cost of $15 per lb.

[squidrope]

Remove the ABS

[gobuffs]

My car runs 56/44...handling isn't an issue.

[e30_302]

Track car? Just remove as much weight as possible. It's going to be nose heavy. You can adjust the handling balance with shocks/springs/sway bars.