tC on a Diet

[navylife59]

*****Looking for inputs/insight on helping the tC shed weight, yet still be streetable. Once enough inputs are garnished, this thread will be reformated/moved to the how-to section. It will be divided into 3 sections; race trim, street-trim, and bolt-on*****

Bolt-on[*]Lightweight axle-back[*]Lightweight flywheel[*]Lightweight crank/alt/H2O pullies[*]Lightweight header[*]Cross-drilled/slotted OEM sized rotors[*]Change wheels to 1-piece type like Gram-lites.[*]Lightweight Oddessy battery[*]CF hood, fenders, hatch[*]Short-ram intake[*]CF roof panels[*]Lightweight motor mounts (x4)

Race Only[*]Remove floor mats[*]Remove all passenger seats[*]Empty rear cargo hatch area[*]Remove radio[*]Remove center console[*]Remove glovebox[*]Remove carpet and sound deadner panels[*]Race with only 1/4 tank of gas[*]Drain windshieldwasher reservoir

Street Trim[*]Nitrogen in your tires, instead, of heavier air[*]Leave out the ICE[*]Remove counter weight located behind 3rd brake light inside of hatch[*]Counter-balance weight on manual transmission shift quadrant[*]Front/Rear Marine Tie-Down Hooks[*]Weights on motor mounts

Most of these are easy to remove and replace. Every ounce removed adds up. Please keep in mind that we don't need to be removing any parts that jeopardize safety.

[StreetracerJay]

Good to know.

[Nick06tC]

I saw a write up of a guy who in a day, dropped 170 ( or so) pounds at zero cost in money form. The rear seats alone weigh in at like 60 lbs.

[StreetracerJay]

I want a C/F hood but still dont know what is the best brand. Im thinking Vis.

[navylife59]

I have heard good and bad things about VIS. A large majority of the CF vendors out there get their product from China. That is not necessarily a bad thing, but quality control could be an issue at times, aka one hood will fit perfectly and another will have warpage or gaps. Problem with these companies is they usually don't see your hood till it comes from the port. They usually impose a "once you buy it, your screwed" policy so be sure to read up on their agreements.

I, along with others, are in the same situation as you. We want CF parts but are unsure of who has a quality product and a substantial reputation. Instead of creating another thread, let's use this one to discuss good and bad aspects of CF companies; suppliers/vendors. We can sticky these out later.

[navylife59]

Great news for those looking to loose weight the CF way, especially those wanting a VIS CF hood. Jotech Motorsports, after a lil prodding by me, has stepped up to the plate and offered a group buy-in exclusive only for Club-tC members. Read more about it in the Hot Deals and Specials section.

[Nick06tC]

if you want to save alot of weight. There are CF fenders, door shells, roof, and trunk available for the tC. You can save 200 or so pounds that way.

[navylife59]

Who sells the door shells?

[Nick06tC]

kaminari has them for special order only. I dont have a link tho. I dont know a weight savings, but I imagine ALOT!

[hotrice]

yeah what the hell is the deal with doors man those damn things are uber heavy.

[tristan_the_trout]

I want a C/F hood but still dont know what is the best brand. Im thinking Vis.

SEIBON Carbon is about the best you're going to find actually.. Coincidentally the place i went to mentioned them for the hood when i was asking about anyone making a trunk. said they actually have a really good discount through them,(mentioned being an authorized dealer which is nice)so i'm thinking i might try to save up for that. .i"M having a tough time deciding, weight, or power?

-=tristan=-

[navylife59]

Weight is the primary concern for stock or any N/A app. Overall it will affect vehicle performance in the turns and off the line. Once you start building power, you will need to address the traction issue. Stock does not really see a traction issue. A good set of rubber in the front will alleviate it at that power level.

[Jay666]

SEIBON Carbon is about the best you're going to find actually.. Coincidentally the place i went to mentioned them for the hood when i was asking about anyone making a trunk. said they actually have a really good discount through them,(mentioned being an authorized dealer which is nice)so i'm thinking i might try to save up for that. .i"M having a tough time deciding, weight, or power?

-=tristan=-

I have also heard that Siebon is a reputable brand. Specifically for the TC, I have not heard one way or the other, but in general, I have heard Siebon is good stuff.

I have actually had my eye on a hood and trunk from this link for a while:
octanemotorsports.com

[navylife59]

As I posted earlier, sometimes you might get a good fit and quality product from a manufacturer and sometimes not. I have seen a Seibon hood look good then look like total crap on another car. CF is a tricky thing and it is a difficult product that can't be mass produced without imperfections or differences.

I was leary about buying my VIS hood but after seeing it on the updated Nitto tC, I knew it was of quality enough for my stringent standards. Was it perfect no. Was I happy to see that it was 50% fiberglass (underside), no. It did look good, fitment was right on (very important to me), did not need saftey latches, and had functional ram air ducts.

[Jay666]

Interesting. Good to know.

I know these are difficult to put on and line up. Did you do yours yourself, or did you have a shop put it on for you? I know it takes a couple guys to do this correctly and I want to have a plan for the future...

Just curious, do you have a CF trunk as well?

[navylife59]

My Fiancee helped. 3 people would be the best; two to hold and one to tighten the 4 bolts. The bolts are conical so they automatically line up the hood. That's Japanese engineering for you.

BTW.....Stock hood is 25.20lbs with the spray nozzles and 26.20lbs with the fiberglass hood insulation. CF hoods range on average from 11-16lbs bare.

[Jay666]

Do you think this is something that a newbee who's learning can manage with a friend or two?

That's great info. I'm saving that info on my "spreadsheet for TC plans".

Yes, I actually have everything I have either done or want to do to my car on an Excell spreadsheet. Makes keeping track of all this info much easier.

Do you have the CF trunk?

[navylife59]

Yes, anyone can set a CF hood. The 4 10mm bolts that attach to the hinges are conical. The chamfer (sloped part) seats the hood into the holes of the hinges in correct orientation. In the old days, you had to eye-ball it, lower it several times to check clearances before you could even close it and then do final adjustments. The tC is a snap. Just make sure that you buy a hood that does not require hood pins.

I do not have a CF trunk yet, but will be changing over to one in a few months.

[Jay666]

Why, what's the deal with the hood pins? Are they "bad" or cause issues? Just curious.

The Seibon one I have my eye on says that "We recommend the usage of hood pins for all hoods"...
Octane Motorsports

Me confused.

Also, is there any advantage to a hood with the vent vs without?

[navylife59]

Early CF hoods required hoodpins as the backshell was weak and allowed the hood to flex. To compound the problem, the hood latch was weak and often failed or pop out of the latch mechanism. I have had a hood pop doing about 40MPH. Not a very pretty sight. Dry carbon (very expensive that we don't have) racing hoods required pins as they flex and do not have a latch for weight savings.

Hood vents can be functional and non-functional. They can also kill aerodynamic flow if improperly designed. Most hoods on the market put the exhaust vent over the header. This is the best place to exhaust engine compartment heat but has the drawback of letting rain water cause corroison to your header. One brand puts the vent futher back on the intake side of the engine. Not good as this draws more heat over the intake manifold. The Raiden series has multiple inverted vents in a V shape that can alleviate some of this problem. The hood that I have has the exhaust vent over the header (where I want it) and to forward facing ram ducts (intake). I enlarge the driver's side about 1.5" as thi puts it directly over my air filter. I have plans (whenever I get a shop to do the work in) to tig up a sealed aluminum box with a rainguard to have all-weather forced ram induction for extra ponies whilst screaming down the road.