I know this topic has been beaten to death on this forum judging by the posts that come on a search for the two words "Weight Reduction". However I want to establish a definitive list for reducing the weight of a GS400 for two main reasons:[list=1][*]improving the handling of the car as well [*]simply trying to make the car less heavy[/list=1]
My goal for this weight reduction is anywhere from 100 to 300 lbs. Yes that may seem unrealistic, but I will definitely give it my best. Before you tell me to sell the car and buy a lighter one (or ask why I bought such a heavy car in the first place - I just plain love a GS400), please keep in mind that I do NOT intend to sell my car and , so that is not an option as far as I am concerned.

I also want to say that my motives for weight reduction have absolutely nothing to do with trying to reduce 0 - 60 times (although reducing the weight will definitely have some impact on that), so please don't tell me I have a GS400 (albeit with enough horsepower), so why am I concerned about weight. I simply want to reduce the porkliness of a GS400 and thus improve the handling - that's it!

I have all the usual handling mods on my car, so it is not just about putting on stb's, stiffer sways, stiffer shocks, lcb's etc to improve the handling. I have that covered already.

Here's a list that I have come up with.
[list=1][*]Lighter rims/tires. Currently I have the stock 17 inch chrome rims with some terrible Michelin Pilot Sport all seasons 235/45/17 all around. Going to HRE 19's 547R with Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-DR 245/35 19 x 9 front and 285/30 - 19 x 10 rear next year perhaps. Approximately how much weight will that save?[*]Bigger brake kit such as the STOPTECH 14inch rotor and 6 pot calipers. How much weight will that save?[*]Removing the spare tire from the trunk [*]Swapping out the front seats with some good quality light weight racing seats such as Sparco's. Don't know how much weight that will reduce. I am sure the cost would be high too.[*]Not considering ceramic rotors as those are prohibitively espensive, assuming they are even available for a GS400[/list=1]
Any other suggestions guys?

 

Hameed,

I think you've got a great idea, but I'm not sure that some of the stuff on your list is going to save you any weight on your GS. In fact, I think it will likely add weight.

1) HREs are great wheels, but they are purposely overbuilt for durability and not known for their light weight. You should look at other options if you want to save weight there... and also consider 18" wheels instead of 19". If I recall correctly, OEM 17 inch wheels are about 26 lbs. According to http://www.wheelweights.net, HRE 547 17 inch are 23 lbs, 18 inch are 25 lbs, so I suspect the 19's would go to 27 lbs.

Read that website for tire weights as well... says the Toyo T1s are lighter than S03's. Not sure about the Goodyears. I bet we could ask Brandon at the Tire Rack to weigh some of these options for us.

Unless you choose a different wheel you are going to go up in weight here. Some lightweight wheels I've considered in the past are SSR Competitions (15 - 17.5 lbs for 18 inch) and Volk TE-37.

Basically you need to make up your mind if performance is more important than style and looks. My Piaa's are a compromise between the two, so I didn't really choose (yet ).

(more coming)

 

I think I am in the same boat as you!

 

Hey Hameed,

I saw you mentioned racing seats? Are you sure you want to even think about that? You might lose a large luxury aspect unless maybe you went to suede like Bride or one of those companies. In a GS, I just can't see any seat looking good though. Let me know what your thinking, I'm just curious.

-Anthony

 

I would look into recaro seats.

 

Hey Anthony,

I had not even thought about the luxury aspect............ No, I don't want to lose the luxury aspect, just on a major diet quest. Perhaps Recaros might be better assuming they are significantly lighter. I know that the front seat in a GS is close to 100 lbs.

 

Hameed the Recaros are not much lighter. In terms of wheels maybe Volk?

In all honesty, you will not be able to do both luxury and performance. Pick one as the outcome will be better.

 

Very interesting quest. I admire it. Good luck and keep us updated as to your decisions.

P.S. Once you get the HRE's, your gonna have to abandon this quest, ya kno.

 

I've been giving some thought to weight reduction as well. Many of my mods along the way have assisted in my quest or at least not hurt. For instance, I have the 18" Volk LE37K's [weight is about 16 lbs/corner] and the 14" Stoptech kit [at least 10 lbs savings per corner over stock]. But then I added TOM's front and rear strut bars and lower chassis braces as well as the TRD Blue anti-sway bars. Probably back to the starting weight. I am also looking at Recaros more for function and style but I expect minimal weight reduction.

Some other thoughts on dropping weight: remove the sunroof and all the mechanicals [sheetmetal the puppy closed], power window mechanicals [at least for the rear doors], go to a lighter/smaller battery and relocate to the trunk, swap to a CF hood, and remove/swap out the stock sound deadening materials.

Removing weight is tough, so I have settled with trying to make good choices on what I do change so at least I don't add a bunch of weight.

 

I've been down this road so many times with so many different cars and made so many choices I wish I could have "undone".

Your goal is to go faster in the corners. Your only constraints are a budget and a desire to maintain the 'luxury' aspects of this car. If you have at least $10,000 to spend on your suggested weight reduction plan and the desire to turn a comfortable luxury sedan into a significantly less comfortable (ref: racing seats, 19's) but improved 'road course' vechicle, I say go for it.

If your desire to go fast is best described as a "passion" and you require a sedan for practical reasons, I would personally suggest trading the GS in for an IS and start with a significantly better platform (less weight) to build performance superiority.

 

Interesting plan you have there. I believe somebody had posted the weight of the power chairs already on this forum, and I think they said they were around 55lbs. Might want to do a search on that one. Like some other people have said already, most of the stuff you posted hameed are not going to reduce the weight of your car.

The rims are most likely going to be adding weight instead too. And most people forget that just because your rims might be lighter, the weight of your tires are a part of the equation too that can bring you back to your stock tires' weight negating the lightweight plans you had planned. So you're going to have to do your research on the appropriate tires and tire sizes to reduce that rotational weight.

As for seats, you can't go wrong with any of the suggestions that people have recommended here. Personally, I would go with recaros. I usually see them in VIP cars, and a lot of car companies use them in their special edition cars too. Honda uses them for their Type-R's, Nissan with their Skylines, 300zx version R, etc. And the adjustable bucket seats weigh roughly around 25lbs, more or less. So if stock power seats do weigh 55lbs, then you lose about 30lbs. And if you need power seats, Recaro makes those too, you just have to look around. If you were talking about putting the non-adjustable, pure racing bucket seats, those are like 12lbs, with the c/f ones weighing even less.

Carbon fiber hood might be the most lightest component you can put on your car. Don't forget that just because it is a carbon fiber hood, that you can't paint it to match your stock paint color.

Companies like Varis make one and quote weight savings on their webpage:
http://www.varis.co.jp/e%2Cmenu.html

This was posted in an earlier thread this year...https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...ght=varis+hood

But to sum that post up, stock = 19.5kg, Varis c/f hood w/ duct = 7.3kg. That's 42.9lbs versus 16.6lbs. Other real carbon fiber hoods should be around that weight too.

Other ideas you might want to entertain might include finding somebody that sells a fiberglass or c/f full trunk replacement (wald), carbon fiber driveshaft, lexan moonroof, any other car panels that are fiberglass (artisan spirits). How much would all of this cost? The hell would I know, it's just stuff on my wish list right now...

 

Hameed, if you want I could inform about the weight of the Recaros when I go to the Essen Show early december.

 

Hey Hameed,
I too always like to run my GS pretty lean. The mods you are planning to install bigger wheels and brakes will add to the weight fo the car obciously.

If you are just interested in running the car lean, here are a few ideas:

Never fully fill your tank of gas. Remove the headrests from the back of the car. I find that the headrests just get in sight of vision. Remove the rear mats and passenger mats. Definately get rid of the spare tire as you did and all tools in the trunk, remove first aid kit. Remove trunk cargo mat and liner, front engine cover. Remove the lexus manual in glove compartment. Remove cigarette trays front, back and side doors. Is this all a bit extreme....of course! But these are just ideas of the top of my head. I never really have people in my car when I drive, so i did removed the headrests and rear spare tire and tools. With that said this will help a bit more. Also, make sure you have good tire pressure. Plus it never hurts to excerise and shed of those few extra pounds. If you dont do it for yourself do it for your GS.

 

Absolutely! Please find out all you can and let me know.

 

For people interested in Car Audio Competitions; I don't think there can be a balance between competition (SPL not SQ) sound system and driving performance. I was just at VIP Motors and saw a GS that was sagging in the back. I asked how they lowered the car because it was SO UNEVEN and they said "We didn't do anything to the car, that's the system". When I asked to see it, the trunk was a full blown, fiberglass competition design. As beautiful as it was, is it really necessary to have 2-TVs and 2-8" subs on the trunk lid?

There were 4 (maybe 6) Audiobahn subs and I don't remember how many amps but thats A LOT of weight. It felt like 75lbs when I closed the lid to the trunk. Some Audiobahn speakers weigh in @ 100lbs and their latest 34" Shaq Edition Speaker is 500lbs (MSRP$ 6K) http://www.carstereopro.com/Merchant...ct_code=AWT34X