That strange weight in the vert's trunk

[warmseth]

They might not have had the battery in the trunk on US models because of trunk space. Yuppies were often concerned about whether a set of golf clubs would fit in the trunk and perhaps with the reduced capacity of the vert trunk and a battery, there just wasn't room for the precious sticks.

[Nsquared97]

How the hell could I have missed this. This is my second vert! I feel ashamed. Does it really weigh 70 lbs?

Not that much haha. But it is pretty heavy. When I was tearing apart my parts car and came across it I was seriously confused.

[MAXELHOFF]

no top

It gets worse. From memory, there is a carpeted, pressed steel plate bolted over the weight. Lots of space under the weight...for water.:crazy: BMW logo cast into weight. See last image.

[Vivek]

^But when water gets in, it all rusts away and weight is no longer an issue!!

But seriously I never knew about this, so the right side of the trunk? I'll take mine out this weekend.

[TobyB]

F1 did this a few years ago- what, the 'mass damper?' Renault got told it was verboten...
Racecar Engineering did a bit on the math- it was actually pretty fantastic.

That said, I pulled a 30 lb chunk of rubber- suspended steel out of the back of a Nissan
convertible something- or- other a couple of years back... it made a good... doorstop.

t

[Raxe]

Seriously though, BMW isn't retarded. It's there for a reason. If you want to pull everything out because race car go ahead, but much like the trunk tar, it serves a legitimate purpose.

[e30shmobberr]

Seriously though, BMW isn't retarded. It's there for a reason. If you want to pull everything out because race car go ahead, but much like the trunk tar, it serves a legitimate purpose.

exactly just like how the spare tire well is shifted to the right and the battery is in the trunk on the right to help off set the weight of the driver.

[Dozyproductions]

So what about all the people removing their harmonic balancers from the driveshaft? It's useless as well right?

[AndrewBird]

exactly just like how the spare tire well is shifted to the right and the battery is in the trunk on the right to help off set the weight of the driver.

Pretty sure the spare tire well is shifted to allow room for the muffler...

[Bearmw]

Removed my weight a while ago and used the top sheet metal piece as the base for the approximately 29lb. battery that is now located there. Used a coupe battery cable and snaked the cable through the vert. That cable was just barely long enough and I had to move it around several times to get the correct fit. Put some protective grommets on holes the cable passed through and also had to put some extra protective sheath on the cable in a couple spots to prevent it from chafing on the body. Drilled a hole in the body and used a bolt epoxied on to secure the ground cable to. To secure the battery on to the sheet metal base plate I made some extra hole in the plate and am using some large (like 36") heavy duty zip ties until I come up with a cleaner method. Where the battery was now sits my coil and a small washer reservoir.

Like every thing on these cars I think the original purpose of the weight was a compromise; in this case to keep the super discerning sophisticted luxury consumer happy that their car had ultimate smoothness and a feel of solidity but maybe at the expense of all out performance.

[MAXELHOFF]

flexi-vert

But seriously I never knew about this, so the right side of the trunk? I'll take mine out this weekend.

Cool. Yes, the right side. Let us know if you notice any more cowl shake or vibrations, please.

[Just Scott]

I recycled mine right after buying the car. Weight doesn't make sense to me. Generally 5-10 lbs = 1 hp.

Might consider going on a diet too.

[devon.818]

dude, you notice tons of fucking cowl shake! been paying attention the last few weeks. worth it? fuck no!

[Raxe]

dude, you notice tons of fucking cowl shake! been paying attention the last few weeks. worth it? fuck no!

Yeah man but think of how much faster the car is now! ;)

[GT BMW E30]

i removed mine 3 years ago. My parents used it in their car for more traction in the winter. I do not like the shake but have dealt with it. I noticed mine in the trunk cause I saw that my vert looked lower on that corner. There is an issue of water gather there.


Quote:
Originally Posted by devon.818
dude, you notice tons of fucking cowl shake! been paying attention the last few weeks. worth it? fuck no!

Yeah man but think of how much faster the car is now! ;-)