Quote:
Originally Posted by Neutral_Eyes
"Adding power makes you faster on the straights. Subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere."
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Who made up that quote? The motor and transmission don't retard power output when you turn the steering wheel. Check out physics defying cars like the Nissan GTR. It's fast everywhere and weighs almost 2 tons.
Add power, go faster; remove weight; go faster. Period.
The first time I drove my Talon over to Buttonwillow I was pretty damn close to stock and my best time was in the 2:40s. I didn't get back over there for 2 years, at that time I was pushing over 300awhp (almost double factory) and I averaged 35 seconds faster than my previous best time. The car weighed the same (give or take) and had the original suspension. Since then I've cut a lot of the fat and almost doubled the power output again. And the suspension is pretty badass too.
My' 92 Talon AWD with me in it was 3420 (3200w/o me)
When I put it on a diet I removed...
Front/Rear bumper: 70#s
AC & internal AC/Heat assembly: 60#s
Rear Seats: 30#s
Front Seats + 1 Bride Reps: 72#s
Seatbelts/assemblies: 50#s
Spare/Jack/Tools: 37#s
Spare tire cover/privacy cover: 20#s
Floormats: 6#s
Lightweight battery: 26#s
Charcoal underhood canister: 3#s
Carpeting: 15#s
Sound deadening: 25#s
CruiseCtrl Switch: 2#s
Sound system: 15#s
Headlight motors: 17#s
Metal dash pieces, glove compartment, misc shit: >50#s
Balance shaft: 6#s
Konig over stock wheels: 40#s
...for a grand total of ~550#s, now it weighs 2660-2680#s and with my fat ass in it 2880#s.
The only out of pocket expense (for the weight loss) was the Bride seat, battery and wheels. Sure, I lost creature comforts, but that's what my RX and Tundra are for.
Also added Tokico blue's with springs, RM racing f/r sway bars, GSX lower control arms, front upper strutbar, Powerslot rotors, Porterfield R4S pads, and Dunlop direzza Z1 star specs.
Every single weight saving or power adding change made to my car made it faster in both straight and curvy lines.