Ok so I plan to buy a set of these for my car. I am going to track it at the circuit so I need to loose as much weight as possible. What do you guys think?
http://blog.niot.net/blog-images/14_Sep/weds-creates-a-6-1-pound-full-carbon-fiber-wheel.jpg
Too many spokes. . . . . . . . . . . . LOL
yeah maybe but you cant deny the performance gains just by adding these wheels. I mean they were put on a Porsche Carrera GT3 I think and it cut its 0-60 time by like .5 seconds and its quarter mile time by about 1.1 seconds I think (not exact I mean this is all of off memory from when I read the article about 2 years ago) Grant it We dont have the power a Porsche does but still its cut about 100 lbs from the car and it was all unsprung weight. That is a HUGE advantage on the track.
Too right. Unfortunately for me, my poor little rust bucket Mexican Mazda has to brave the daily travails of combat commuters and pavement breaks. Sometimes it’s a mini LeMans, having to watch out for fast movers blazing up from the rear while trying not to run over the kinetically challenged. It’s a very good choice of wheel, what compound do you prefer for super crispy exits?
yeah well I really do prefer the Yoko Parrada Spec-2. Its a damn good Tire for street and Track. With the tread pattern it has it is good in Dry and wet. Problem is that I usually have to special order them. As for for strickly Track on a for sure dry day a Supper Soft Tire is best for me. With the Weight of the car and the power it has it still last about a medium race tire and grips like crazy.
there is no way you’re gonna save 100 lbs from swapping wheels on a zx2
when did I say I would get that off of a Zx2? I said that is what they got off of a Porsche Carrera. I doubt our wheels weigh the same. None the less it will still be alot of weight off of the Z just by changing to CF wheels.
I mean hell even if its a total weight saving of 30kg that is awesome!
There could no doubt be far more weight saved with the money spent on such wheels elsewhere in the car first. Lightweight wheels are a plus. But before removing weight “down to the teeth” on a car - the car in my book would need to be a gutless interior, stripped down trunk, rollcage, bare bones engine bay, the whole football field and then some, before I would start spending money on things such as that.
Reason being is that most the time when you get into mods like that it’s because you already lost all you can, you’ve got money to spend, and want to go ahead and “lose even more” to make up for it.
Losing .5 seconds on a Carrera GT due to hp to weight ratio would be different than a zx2 with an entirely different hp to weight ratio.
What else is done to the car before justifying insane amounts of such things? My other concern would be streetability - since a pothole or any damage to CF would ruin them entirely. They are stiff, structurally sound, yes, but that’s going to be something you’d need to be careful with on the street.
Yeah and its not like I havent been working on that. But the most I can get the Z down to is about 1700-1800 lbs with all that done. I want it as light as possible. Since I already know that I want it light as possible I already know that I am going to buy these sooner or later. Besides I have done all the body work to the car so it really hasn’t cost me anything to do it. I mean the money you spend isnt on Parts its on labor. And they have done Pothole tests and all other types of stress testing for street-ability. I dont think that ODOT would allow something to be sold that affects the safety of a vehicle with making sure the product can withstand such events. But I have done homework on this and know they have been stress testing them. Lastly you seriously think Im going to be driving the car on the street? IF I do It will prolly have to be the most perfect conditions as far as weather is concerned. I am doing this to make it as a track only car.
If you’ve done your homework and it sounds like it suits your needs then by all means go for it. Just let us know how it goes so others can also share the experience 
I always love hearing about interesting mods people do. Sounds like some good valid points.
Where are you at currently with weight and weight distribution? Would love to see the progress you’ve made.
well to be honest I am probably in between a 1st and 2nd stage weight reduction. Took all bumper supports off, Threw out the A/c plumbing and Compressor. Took out the heater core, pretty much anything that doesnt serve some function is out now. Working on taking out the power steering (I dont like how Power steering dulls the feel of the road to driver, plus the Honda CRX’s had no Power steering and At the weight the car will end up at I dont see a need for it anyways.) I have Urethane Bushings all throughout the suspension and Steering. (Energy Suspension) 22mm sway adjustable sway bar from Zxtuner. (thanks Rob) Rear disc conversion (again thanks Rob). No Spare Tire. No rear Seats. KYB Struts, and Ground Control Coil Overs (Front 350lbs/in; Rear 650 lbs/in) This set up allows for me to brake late and hard at corner entry to kick the rear out and floor it to let the under steer straighten it back out. (I just like this style of driving) Carpet still in. CF Invader Hood from Zxtuner( Thanks again Rob, Anyone noticing a trend here?), HI-Rev Cams (Exhaust and Intake), True Cold Air Intake, Strut Tower Bar, Esslinger Cam Gears. (All from ZxTuner) Gude Header Package, I.E. 4-1 Racing Header, Catless Racing Exhaust, And Ported and Polished Head. Chipped ECU. That is about it
On order: two Carbon Fiber Racing seats, Fabrication of the Roll cage, and CF battery.
In Negotiation: Lexan windows, Custom Body kit (Both Bumpers, Side skirts, Fenders, and Deck lid), CF Wheels.
In Future plans: Bored, stroked, Blue printed, and Cryo Treated Bottom end. (2.0-2.1 most likely here) High Compression Pistons (Forged and lightweight), Connecting rods (Same as the Latter and probably H-beam), Piston Rings, Re-balanced Crank Shaft. Fabricate a Special ITB Design that I got in the works. (Anyone Interested I will post the design ans see what you all think), Fully Programed and customized ECU.
What kind of blueprinting do you plan on doing?
I dont know much about blue printing I just know it will probably benefit me so i still have to do some homework on it.
the stroker kit turns it into a 2.3 I believe.
2.3 from who? I dont think this would be a good Idea. I dont want to Turbo it. I am building a Hi Revving engine that can maintain a high rev throughout turns. I dont think if I bore it out to a 2.3L that it will be able to handle the high compression I had in mind.
Goog luck making your own stroker then LOL… The only known stroker kit (offered by Tom) is a 2.3. And it’s 5k just for the crank and internals.
I wouldve edited my post to add this but for some reason I cant.
But I dont know if you “know what you are talking about now.” You last post you contridicted your self. The stoker kit could be for either application (low comp. or high comp builds)
You want a high reving engine that can maintain high revs through corners. Ok is it just me or does this make no sence at all. reving high in a corner?
And you are talking about going turbo, but keep mentioning a high compression build. These two do NOT go hand in hand.
when did I say I wanted a turbo? With the weight the car will be at that would be ludicrous. Too much power for the weight. It would be insanely hard to handle. Torque steer like a MTF. And yes you do want High revs through a corner, Most of the time its hard to decide weather to down shift, stay in high revs or up shift, because you could shift out of your power band when you shift. thus creating a high rev engine would help out in that area because you have more revolutions to play with thus allowing you to keep it there for more turns and creating a high rev engine would also push the power band up allowing you to stay in a gear that is revving high and still power out of it… A 2.3L stroker kit would also be risky for me because it may not fit my needs and how responsive I want the car to be. a changing it to a 2.1L allows me to better gauge its performance and if I can increase it more. I never said I was buying a kit by the way. I plan to custom do it. Obviously If I am talking about buying wheel that could cost well in the 10k range you think im going to care how much it costs me to get what I want and fits my driving style as far as my engine goes?
Indeed. A lot of it will have to do with application, make sure you find a very good machinist. I was taught some interesting tricks in finding a good machinist for you from an old time racer who has dealt with a lot of builds.
- Make sure you find one that takes interest in your project, and what you’re looking for in application
- Make sure his equipment is up to par, well maintained, even if it’s old - maintenance and precision is the most important
- Keep in mind it’s setting a specification - not a tolerance
- Make sure they are thorough! and i quote
In our measurements we always went to the tenth of a thou, i.e. 0.0001", and in balancing we always went to a tenth of a gram. By the way, measurements are done with dial bore gauges, micrometers and the ilk, not plastigage!!!
A lot of it will have to do with application. Is this going to be an engine that will run a lap or two and need some slop and forgiveness in the metal as it goes along? Is it going to be an engine that instead will do endurance races and go for long periods of time? Is it going to be an engine that will be revving high and need tight tolerances for it’s specification and use to be able to consistently achieve those with accuracy?
Definitely do the homework on blueprinting because there is a lot more to it than just blueprinting. I was told by this fellow (and I trust his information very much so, he’s not set me wrong so far, very knowledgeable fellow) that a lot of shops will just “blueprint it” and not ask a lot of questions. Later down the road you find out the tolerances inside for your specification weren’t really designed for what you’re looking for, and the engine isn’t up to the efficiency you need it at for application. And that’s what it comes down to, application.
Balancing will also play a HUGE part of your engine build. Of course as parts go to high rpms - the tendency to do things they shouldn’t do to weight increases, lubrication changes, metal expands, and this is where the wear and tear happens. An engine should be balanced and blueprinted to the specification and application you are using it for. Make sure you do your homework for it, then find a machinist you trust to do the work who takes interest /in your application/ and go from there.
Hope this helps. I’m in the process of finding one to do the balance and blueprinting on one of my Porsche motors. So far I’ve yet to find “that machinist” to do the work. I may end up having to travel for it for sure.
As to the high revs thing… you get into application again. Keep in mind a different engine for a different build. If the power and the way your engine makes torque is at a specific point and that works, then that’s fine. But it doesn’t mean it’s preferable for every engine. I’m building mine for a mid range of rpms for my engine because of the way these engines run. Specifically, I’ll be building it for a specific set of tracks and applications, therefore I don’t need to rev high, but need a good midrange torque to pull me out of corners with my specific application and rarely will approach over 5500pm with my engine.
On the other hand with a different car, different type of power, I may need a different range to operate at. So keep in mind the statement of always wanting to be in high rpms will completely vary from application to application, which is what we are discussing here.
born2xlzx2 - also keep in mind such talk of spending such money on these vehicles is mostly unheard of, etc etc… so of course many people are likely to flick you crap and shoot you flak till motion is brought forth from statements. So don’t take it personally when people question it. But indeed some of the statements are a bit confusing since you are talking about some of these mods but also state you don’t fully understand how some of it works, just keep in mind it’s all a learning experience to take in and at some point we all learn 
There is nothing wrong with that. At least you’re willing to admit you don’t understand some of it, this shows you’re willing to put that out there and soak in info, which having an open mind about these things is EXACTLY how you learn about them.
But let’s keep the tension to a minimum fellas. No one minds a good discussion about things, but we try to keep it tight knit over here, don’t let it become an argument. I would rather see our members here learn from each other, than have a bitter feel towards each other. You learn so much more that way
Good luck with your build, born2xlzx2. I’ll look forward to it’s completion.