So in my quest to build a SM car....REMOVE EVERYTHING

[DSP74]

.........

[nando]

call me crazy, but I wouldn't remove things like the exhaust heat sheilds, unless you plan on replacing them :p

I believe min. weight for your car is around 2300lbs (1800lbs + 200x2.5l)? if I were doing the same, i would be strategically removing weight in order to balance the car out - removing just anything and everything might not be such a great idea. things high up and at the ends of the car would be first on the list - closer to the CG and the middle of the car would be last.

[jlevie]

Carpet, sound deadening material, sunroof cassette and mechanism, power steering pump, hood liner, rear seat parcel shelf is a surprising amount of weight. I'm of the opinion that a working heater core is worth the weight penalty just to have a defroster. And the OE seats are weighty items. replacing them with race seats is close to 40lb/seat.

[nando]

anyone actually autox on a regular basis without a PS pump? I know std. E30s have really light steering, but that seems to me like it would suck on a tight/technical course.

agreed on the seats - sport seats are more like 50lbs each!

[91bimmahVA]

anyone actually autox on a regular basis without a PS pump? I know std. E30s have really light steering, but that seems to me like it would suck on a tight/technical course.

agreed on the seats - sport seats are more like 50lbs each!

In all honesty I thought the same thing about the power steering at first, but Ive done 3 events w/out PS and love it. Its a much nicer feel through any corners at speed, and as long as your moving (even at 5 mph) youre good to go. Parallel parking is a different story tho...

Id advise to remove your PS belt and give it shot, you can always throw it right back on. Overall its a nicer tighter feel than the light, somewhat sloppy powersteering.

[nando]

from what I understand, the sound deadening isn't all that heavy anyway. and later years didn't have trunk tar so you're safe there if it's considered part of that :p

the ix's steering is quite a bit heavier - I never knew what everyone was talking about until I drove a 318is for a couple months.

[Jean]

Under the dash, well maybe the a/c evaporator and the lines ? not very heavy. The a/c compressor under the hood and the condenser was most of the weight. I am using the a/c fan as the electrical fan, you can find oem bmw brackets to make it fit right infront of the radiator w/o using the a/c condenser.

I am keeping PS though, I tried running w/o it and it was too much at low speeds and it's all low speeds/ tight corners in autox anyway ... my 2 cents.

[DSP74]

I saw you posted pictures of that....Care to post the info on the fan brks again?

[Jean]

I saw you posted pictures of that....Care to post the info on the fan brks again?

Here you go , you'll need parts 4-13.

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...73&hg=17&fg=10

[Mike B.]

I can't remove carpet or any of the sound deadening-unless other models didn't come with it stock.

The 318is have almost no sound deadening under the carpet. There is some across the tunnel behind the e-brake, and some on the tunnel around the dash. That's about it.

Can you replace the carpeting with different carpet? I am making a lightweight carpet kit similar to the Porsche 911 RS carpet kits (perlon felt). The full carpet set will weigh all of 5 to 7.5lbs when done and the interior will still have a finished off appearance.

[Mike B.]

I can take some shots of the interior without carpet for your reference.

I am doing the carpet myself, but making templates as I go. I already have a source for the perlon felt and I'm not sure if I'm going to have the edges bound or not. I may put a couple pieces in to see what the seams look like first.

[DSP74]

YES by all means post a picture without carpet!:up::bow:

[Mike B.]

Here are some interior pics of the sound deadening in a 318is. This is a bit more in the footwell of the passenger side (1 sqft), but it is was removed and covered with heat shield material.

[Mike B.]

Here are a couple shots of the lightweight carpet (charcoal gray):





I have a little bit of roll bar work to finish up, then the carpet goes in. I'll post some pics of the finished product.

[DSP74]

THANKS for the interior shots....Don't know if it's just for me, but the carpet pictures aren't showing up. Just red X's.