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Old 08-06-2009, 12:33 AM   #11 (permalink)
Phantom
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Location: Florida
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Drives: 03 Ranger, 93 240sx
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- on the wiring... After seeing the bare interior of a 370z, I would estimate that you could lose around 40-80 lbs. With regards to a list of which wires to remove, I would start by labeling the wiring after you remove their components(antenna, speakers, A/C, radio , air-bags, turn signals, and wipers units). After the those components and wires are removed, each car is different. Each have different systems and safety units, so I would recommend after the big component are de-pined work on the wiring one by one. And if the car doesn't function correctly you can always put it back, that's why I recommend de-pining and not cutting wires. I will try to find a wiring diagram of 370z and I look to see what I would remove.

- on the fuel tank... It looks like the 370z you will not have to remove the extra metal which is normal with a spare tire compartment, it seems to be pretty flat already.

- bumper supports... With bumper supports, I would recommend running them. You never know what can happen on the track, you could run a little hot into a corner or someone else can make a mistake. My recommendation was to make bumper supports out of aluminum tubing, which keeps the protection but loses some weight. Bumper support were one of the last things that I worked on for weight reduction. The interior of a car has a lot of areas to remove weight, and it harder to remove extra metal once that cage goes in. I'm currently looking at the bare 370z's interior to see where some extra metal can be removed, so I'll get back to you with that.

- I recommend Seam weld because it is a common practice in the 240sx world. Seam welding does stiffen the car by not allowing the crumple points to flex and to add more strength to spot welds. If you look at most race car builds you'll notice that they seam weld the chassis. The negatives to seam welding a car is that it takes a fair amount of time and welding shops normal charge by the hour, which means you could be spend some big $$$, I got lucky and had a friend weld my car for a couple cases of beer. Also with seam welding you lose the factory crumple zones, which makes crashes more painful on the driver's body.
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