M1tch's long term 1ZZ build - Project 11

[jonty]

I like a car to be fast enough that the straights on track are still entertaining - in my 300bhp/1250kg 200sx it is quite fun, in the 190bhp/1000kg 2zz MR2 it's just about OK, in stock 140bhp MR2 it's dull (especially when other cars just disappear the moment they get on throttle out of a corner), so I understand where you're coming from Mitch.

I'm more interested in how I can progress in lap time at the local circuit (drag strip in anything other than a car that I'm genuinely scared of doesn't appeal) but what you're doing is probably the best objective way to compare. I'm interested to see how you get on with this project!

[m1tch]

I like a car to be fast enough that the straights on track are still entertaining - in my 300bhp/1250kg 200sx it is quite fun, in the 190bhp/1000kg 2zz MR2 it's just about OK, in stock 140bhp MR2 it's dull (especially when other cars just disappear the moment they get on throttle out of a corner), so I understand where you're coming from Mitch.

I'm more interested in how I can progress in lap time at the local circuit (drag strip in anything other than a car that I'm genuinely scared of doesn't appeal) but what you're doing is probably the best objective way to compare. I'm interested to see how you get on with this project!

This is why I am wanting to go the turbo route as I can run the car at lower boost for 95% of the time to keep the car balanced but then still crank it up for the times that I do go drag racing - on the RX7 I had a 'scramble boost' option on the AVC-R boost controller which would enable extra boost for a set amount of time - say for overtaking.

I need to build the car up to be reliable in terms of the top end power I will be looking for meaning that its over engineered for most of the time - will look to upgrade the gearbox to take the extra torque plus the rods and pistons internally.

Now that I have a baseline run of 15.86 my 1/4 mile goal for this project will be to run a 12.86 pass, using the online 1/4 mile calculator it would work out at 140bhp engine power at 1,032kg, pulling say 50kg out the car might give me around 1/2 a second quicker time by just unbolting things. I then have the Dastek unichip to try which will up the power slightly - probably so say 155bhp. The Unichip plus the weight reduction should push me into the high 14s which is fairly respectable, I know that the turbo kit plus associated intercooler etc will add weight so the weight I pull out the car will probably be put back into the car when that is installed.

I think for me the plan will be to run the car as light as I can to a certain point and then boost the power slightly using the Unichip, will also be working on preserving and maintaining everything else on the car as its fairly rust free apart from a few bits under the frunk which is my next job.

I have had the centre console out to check the handbrake cables as apparently it was only working on 1 wheel, I need to swap out the rear pads as they are low as well but I have found that the cables move freely, they just need adjusting - think they might have been adjusted before the pads were worn down.

Will get some photos of the car in its current setup, the car looks fairly standard when sitting in the seat and the removal of the radio and cupholder etc has actually give the car a much more airy feel - need to remove the 12v socket from the surround and reattach though as I need that for the sat nav etc.

[m1tch]

So far weighed and removed 42.781kg,

Still have the below to remove:

TTE banana spoiler
Passenger seat
Frunk under bracket (long) - due to seized bolt
Soft top
Assorted bolts
Centre console
Centre radio surround trim piece
OEM exhaust mounting bracket for catted manifold

There will also be additional weight taken out the airbox/intake once I get a spare airbox to mod, then there is the fact that I was running with an almost full fuel tank, got home with 3/4 tank left so I might be able to drop around 20kg in fuel by running less than half tank.

[m1tch]

I have now also removed (although will be putting back) a few more items:

Passenger side sun visor - 0.268kg
Brake duct (aftermarket intake pipe instead of elbow) - 0.180kg
Heatshield on passenger side - 0.121kg
Stock intake pipe (MAF to TB - 1.412kg
Stock air box - 0.917kg

Will be initially modding the stock airbox a bit for better flow, currently the engine is breathing through a 75mm diameter hole in the airbox which necks down to 70mm through the MAF - I have a spare airbox coming so I am going to mod the stock bottom part of the airbox from it and also remove the MAF pipe from the top part of the box.

[m1tch]

I have just weighed the stock hard top, its coming in at 23.1kg so not a huge weight reduction versus the soft top but it should be lighter once I remove the latches and fit the solid mount kit - hopefully the soft top roof comes to more than 25kg!

[KRAMSNEHPETS]

Taking the wings off and fitting plastic mud guards?

[m1tch]

Taking the wings off and fitting plastic mud guards?

I am gradually working through the car, taken 43kg out the car so far, should be well over 50kg weight reduction once I take out the passenger seat and TTE spoiler etc, just interested to see how much I can take out the car as its already known to be light weight.

[Topdownman]

The passenger seat is going to be the big one, they are heavy!

You have got some really good info on the weights of all the components. It would be good if you could post all your final figures in a separate post for future reference.

[m1tch]

The passenger seat is going to be the big one, they are heavy!

You have got some really good info on the weights of all the components. It would be good if you could post all your final figures in a separate post for future reference.

That's the plan, all I have seen is an older list in lbs rather than kg and I am looking at even the smaller bits of trim as they all add up, the seat will weigh quite a bit and I am sure the TTE spoiler isn't the lightest either. if anyone is reading this thread and is wondering what they might do to take some weight out but still make it look basically OEM here are the best 'bang for the buck' items to remove I have found so far:

ECU shield - 0.459kg - really quite pointless and rather heavy
Smaller exhaust manifold heat shield - 0.588kg - not needed if running a decat manifold
Larger exhaust manifold heat shield - 1.202kg - not needed if running a decat manifold
Front floor mats - 1.927kg - heavier than I expected!
Frunk lid - 1.218kg - easy to remove
Frunk plastic cover - 1.4kg - Few poppers to remove this item but means you can also check fluids easier
Engine vanity cover - 0.357kg - No real need for this
Sides of rear bin trims - 0.344kg - these are meant to pop out as standard to allow wider loads in bins (as per OEM instructions)
Rear bin door - passenger - 1.220kg
Rear bin door - driver - 1.205kg

Basic weight reduction - 9.8kg of basic unbolting/lift out items without loss of comfort/looks

If you have a breakdown recovery service also add:

Toolkit - 3.039kg
Spare wheel - 11.2kg
Frunk well - 3.418kg
Frunk under bracket (long) (2) - 0.278kg

Full road trim weight reduction - 27.7kg of weight removed before starting to unbolt trim or remove sound systems etc

I am currently in the process of working out the air intake system, should have a spare airbox arriving soon so I can mod things to try but also retain a stock airbox if needed (if found to be better), I have noticed that there is a velocity stack inside the airbox, tempted to use this and simply attach the airbox with the velocity stack directly onto the throttle body and then run an ITB sock for filtration. Will use this as a trial as its tucked quite some way back in the engine bay away from the exhaust but will still look into many other options. Another option is to run the stock airbox but remove part of the side facing the cold air feed in the stock location so its got a larger inlet to the box than standard but still protected from the heat.

I am going to attach various intakes and see what the air flow is using the OBD reader, should hopefully see a difference, can also keep a track of temperatures as well.

[shnazzle]

If with engine vanity cover you mean the coil pack cover (vvti written on it) I think you may soon find the use of it after it rains

Sent from my ONEPLUS A5000 using Tapatalk

[m1tch]

If with engine vanity cover you mean the coil pack cover (vvti written on it) I think you may soon find the use of it after it rains

Sent from my ONEPLUS A5000 using Tapatalk

Hmm good shout, although its rained heavily all this morning and its fine, the 'bonnet' has the rain channel under it so it basically just tips the water towards the exhaust, good shout to check the coil packs though.

I have removed a few more things today, just about to unbolt the passenger seat but here are a few more items I have removed (some going back in but its here for record):

Assorted bolts/covers etc from items already removed - 0.247kg
Broken seat adjuster (side wheel) - 0.032kg
OBDII reader plug - 0.032kg (going back in)
Locking wheel nut - 0.107kg (going back in)
Sat nav - 0.263kg (going back in when going to Santapod)
Glovebox - 0.997kg

A spare airbox has also arrived today which I have now cut up the lid for in order for me to use as a MAF pipe, it seems that putting a spacer ring behind the bell mouth means I can mount a 3" inlet air filter around it so that the bell mouth sits inside the air filter unobstructed, could also look at just running with only the bell mouth. I have fired the car up with just the bell mouth and MAF on the end of the stock pipe, issue I found is that it can easily be disturbed and cause the engine to almost cut out if you go near the end.

Need to relocate the battery before I can really go with an intake setup I like - much like the weapon R setup which boxes off the back of the engine as the airbox - still learning!

[Call the midlife!]

What do you think the passenger seat removal will do for the balance of the car as a whole? Bearing in mind the rest of the parts you're stripping out, do you think the handling will be affected? Most manufacturers design performance cars with balanced weight distribution where feasible, although I appreciate your going more for straight line speed. Just curious.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[m1tch]

What do you think the passenger seat removal will do for the balance of the car as a whole? Bearing in mind the rest of the parts you're stripping out, do you think the handling will be affected? Most manufacturers design performance cars with balanced weight distribution where feasible, although I appreciate your going more for straight line speed. Just curious.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I do agree with you with regards to the passenger seat, I have just removed it and it comes to 13.9kg so not as heavy as first thought as they are just cloth, the battery and intake system is on the passenger side, its not ideal but I don't have any way to currently weigh the car front to rear and across - what do the guys with track cars do?

So far I have pulled 58.1kg out the car, still have a few brackets to remove (heavy ones in the engine bay and an under frunk bracket), will be driving the car to work tomorrow and will see what its like, normally the car would have an 81kg offset to the driver side, it would now have a 94kg offset. I am sure that Toyota would have factored in that there will be many different sizes of driver so it just means that I could be heavier than I am and it should still be safe - will be moving the battery to the front left to balance as much as I can to the front.

Need to really find a way to weigh the car to see what sort of weight its currently at but will hopefully be close to the ton mark - still got the spoiler to remove as well as the soft top material.

[Call the midlife!]

What do you think the passenger seat removal will do for the balance of the car as a whole? Bearing in mind the rest of the parts you're stripping out, do you think the handling will be affected? Most manufacturers design performance cars with balanced weight distribution where feasible, although I appreciate your going more for straight line speed. Just curious.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I do agree with you with regards to the passenger seat, I have just removed it and it comes to 13.9kg so not as heavy as first thought as they are just cloth, the battery and intake system is on the passenger side, its not ideal but I don't have any way to currently weigh the car front to rear and across - what do the guys with track cars do?

So far I have pulled 58.1kg out the car, still have a few brackets to remove (heavy ones in the engine bay and an under frunk bracket), will be driving the car to work tomorrow and will see what its like, normally the car would have an 81kg offset to the driver side, it would now have a 94kg offset. I am sure that Toyota would have factored in that there will be many different sizes of driver so it just means that I could be heavier than I am and it should still be safe - will be moving the battery to the front left to balance as much as I can to the front.

Need to really find a way to weigh the car to see what sort of weight its currently at but will hopefully be close to the ton mark - still got the spoiler to remove as well as the soft top material.

Agreed on the offset side of things, I imagine they just decide on a standard average driver's size. Although without wanting to sound unkind your average Japanese aren't known to be giant in stature!(Sumo wrestlers aside, obviously) The seats aren't very substantial no but soon become very heavy when you're trying to wrestle the backs back on!
If you're forgoing the passenger what about the passenger airbag, seatbelt etc?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[m1tch]

What do you think the passenger seat removal will do for the balance of the car as a whole? Bearing in mind the rest of the parts you're stripping out, do you think the handling will be affected? Most manufacturers design performance cars with balanced weight distribution where feasible, although I appreciate your going more for straight line speed. Just curious.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I do agree with you with regards to the passenger seat, I have just removed it and it comes to 13.9kg so not as heavy as first thought as they are just cloth, the battery and intake system is on the passenger side, its not ideal but I don't have any way to currently weigh the car front to rear and across - what do the guys with track cars do?

So far I have pulled 58.1kg out the car, still have a few brackets to remove (heavy ones in the engine bay and an under frunk bracket), will be driving the car to work tomorrow and will see what its like, normally the car would have an 81kg offset to the driver side, it would now have a 94kg offset. I am sure that Toyota would have factored in that there will be many different sizes of driver so it just means that I could be heavier than I am and it should still be safe - will be moving the battery to the front left to balance as much as I can to the front.

Need to really find a way to weigh the car to see what sort of weight its currently at but will hopefully be close to the ton mark - still got the spoiler to remove as well as the soft top material.

Agreed on the offset side of things, I imagine they just decide on a standard average driver's size. Although without wanting to sound unkind your average Japanese aren't known to be giant in stature!(Sumo wrestlers aside, obviously) The seats aren't very substantial no but soon become very heavy when you're trying to wrestle the backs back on!
If you're forgoing the passenger what about the passenger airbag, seatbelt etc?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Just taken the car out again and put it around a few tight roundabouts (have done it before when it was stock to see what the grip levels were like), I can feel that the front end is lighter (owing to the spare wheel not being at the front anymore) but it definitely accelerates better.

With regards to the passenger seat, I will be keeping the passenger seat in most of the time, will only remove it when going racing, the car is mainly a road car rather than a track only car - 4 bolts and a connector and its back to a 2 seater, removed the seat in about 5 minutes so will be keeping the airbag and seatbelts. Also would have an issue with the MOT if the seatbelt was missing as well as an airbag light on if I removed the airbag - not worth it for the couple of kgs I would save in that respect.

I think apart from converting to hard top only I am getting closer to running the minimum weight I want to strip out, beyond this I would start removing dash bits and door cars which wouldn't make the car enjoyable for 95% of the time - I can't actually see most of what I have removed as its all behind the seats, looking forward it looks fairly stock.

I will look to run the car in its current configuration but with the same almost full fuel tank - this will give a side by side comparison of what the weight reduction will give you. I can then start on the intake mods and reduce the fuel load onboard as well as fit the Dastek unichip for a slight boost in power.

Just on the drive all of the LTFTs are at 0% with only a 1-2% correction on the STFTs, I seem to have an issue with bank 1 sensor 2 values again eg the main cat O2 sensor! seems to be giving a very low reading so hopefully that hasn't already gone after 100 miles!

[shnazzle]

Weight saving? :

 l viewtopic.php?f=108&t=62957&p=736515#p736515 l

[m1tch]

Weight saving? :

 l viewtopic.php?f=108&t=62957&p=736515#p736515 l

Thanks for that, I am already running an aftermarket decat manifold, not sure of the brand, I have the OEM one with the cats still in it in the garage, its super heavy! Will weight it when I get home, its why I based this project on the 'as delivered' weight rather than stock weight as it had a tiny bit of weight reduction when I collected it from the manifold swap etc.

I am going to be taking out the OEM aerial tonight hopefully, need to jack the car off and take the wheel and arch liner off to get to it, plan to change the rear brake pads over the weekend as they are pretty much gone and adjust the handbrake. The good news is that the handbrake cables seem to be free moving so a previous owner might have swapped them out when the rear calipers were swapped, I have a feeling that the hand brake doesn't work well at the moment due to low pads and a pitted disc plus not being adjusted.

I have also found where the rattle is coming from - its from the heat shield on the lower part of the manifold, I can just wobble it around as although its welded together its not actually attached anywhere anymore, might look to cut that off and then wrap the exhaust at some point although might change the exhaust soon.

[m1tch]

Just removed the TTE rear spoiler, it weighs 2.525kg, so basically heavier than the radio!

So I have so far pulled just over 60kg from the car and the spoiler removal will actually help the weight distribution a bit as well - might look at fitting the spare splitter I have in the garage at some point to help the front end.

I have also bought an Apexi intake which fits behind the battery, will be interesting to see how well that works vs the stock airbox vs a modded airbox.

[shnazzle]

60kg is a lot!

Sent from my ONEPLUS A5000 using Tapatalk

[m1tch]

60kg is a lot!

Sent from my ONEPLUS A5000 using Tapatalk

Still have some exhaust brackets plus the aerial to remove as well and I am still running the FL braces etc coupled with liquid weight saving of not running as much fuel plus I still have the softtop!

[alancsalt]

I have just weighed the stock hard top, its coming in at 23.1kg so not a huge weight reduction versus the soft top but it should be lighter once I remove the latches and fit the solid mount kit - hopefully the soft top roof comes to more than 25kg!

Solid mount kit? Are these available somewhere? I tried a Google, but only found the detachable kits.

[secla]

rogue motorsport

[m1tch]

I have just weighed the stock hard top, its coming in at 23.1kg so not a huge weight reduction versus the soft top but it should be lighter once I remove the latches and fit the solid mount kit - hopefully the soft top roof comes to more than 25kg!

Solid mount kit? Are these available somewhere? I tried a Google, but only found the detachable kits.

Yeah, going to phone Rogue motorsports for their kit, I think there is also a kit over in the US, to be fair one of the main reasons to get it is for security as its quite easy to just break a window and unclip the expensive hard top!

I believe the solid mount kit has to have the soft top removed 100% to fit the side mounts, will initially start with the front latches and then sort out removing the rest of the soft top from the seatbelt mounts etc.

[m1tch]

Just removed the other frunk under bracket, had to cut it out due to rounded bolt, it comes to 120g.

Ok, so the current total weight reduction so far including some bits adding back in (Sat nav, locking wheel nut, OBD2 reader and 12v socket) comes to: 60.957kg removed - I still have the OEM aerial to remove along with some under bracing plus some exhaust brackets but its not a bad weight reduction. Its worth noting that I had a helmet and a tyre compressor in the car so those have technically been removed but they weren't part of the stock car - but were with me on the various runs.

[m1tch]

Just pulled out the aerial and some of the wiring, still have some wiring to remove but that comes to 913g, so I have now taken out 61.87kg and I still have the evap system, some exhaust brackets still on the engine as well as possibly the front fog lights. Its starting to get down to some smaller items however I still have the soft top in place so will hopefully get some weight reduction there but it doesn't really look too stripped out as everything forward of the seats is pretty much the same - not having any stereo actually opens up the whole cabin quite a bit.