Took the zed for a spirited drive.......... - Page 2

stamford · 06-04-10, 11:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StragglaSteve

so with regards to stripping out the car, it didnt effect your chassis stiffness without a roll-cage put in?

only asking as im soon to be doing this. looking to take out the rear seats/seat mounting bars. along with the rear seatbelts and the bar they are mounted in which runs along the parcel shelf.

this should leave the whole back end open and i assumed it would effect the stiffness?

or did you not remove those bars?

I have removed all the above, left the bolt in side fabs, you'll see when you remove the rear seats. Chassis stiffness is not affected by any of this, just soundproofing! Suspension braces inner and outer will improve the rear end stiffness. Roll cage will indeed stiffen the whole car up as long as it is fitted well and uses the 'A' pillar plates. You can improve this further still if you project the front and rear cage to the suspension turrets.

When I built my V8 Chevette, this was a semi-space frame design as I removed the whole front end including the bulkhead and tunnel leaving the front crossmember. I projected the front cage through the new bulkhead to include front suspension mounts. That stiffened it up nicely, the rear end was turreted as it was modified to group 4 HS spec.

StragglaSteve · 06-04-10, 11:17 AM

Aha! this is good to know! i wasnt looking to increase the stiffness, just maintain the current stiffness

but if removing these parts wont effect that then i wont be looking for a roll-cage

might be tempted by some Suspension braces though!

its funny how you notice even the smallest of weight saved! i dont know how much i will be saving with removing the rear seats and seatbelts etc... but i got about 35kg out of the car by removing the spare wheel, sub box, amp and some random junk and that was already noticable!

stamford · 06-04-10, 11:37 AM

The rear seat back is latched to the rear fabs as they fold down, hinged to each side and 4 off M6 bolts the split to the floor. The lower seat section is bolted with one fixing and the steel front fabrication just lathces the front of the seat assembly. Seat belts are just dead weight and easily removed. I have left the spacesaver and jack as piece of mind as I dislike the foam cannistors.

Next is to move the battery to inside behind the passenger seat, I found my old race battery box, might invest in a newer one. This opens up some room to re-route the BMC and CAF. Then look at the remainder of the dash and see what can go and what needs to stay. Heater and controls will stay! Air-con will be on the hit-list but I need to see what needs to come out and what needs to be made up in its place etc. I know a specialist will be required to de-gas the system.

p_b82 · 06-04-10, 11:43 AM

sounds good... wish i could go for a spirted drive atm

Jay-ZS+ · 06-04-10, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stamford

Next is to move the battery to inside behind the passenger seat, I found my old race battery box, might invest in a newer one. This opens up some room to re-route the BMC and CAF.

Or room to possibly consider turbo

StragglaSteve · 06-04-10, 12:14 PM

sounds like its gonna be a beast stamford!

is the car gonna be used for track only then?

stamford · 06-04-10, 01:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jay-ZS+

Or room to possibly consider turbo

No thanks, I'll leave that to people with deep pockets!

Quote:

Originally Posted by StragglaSteve

sounds like its gonna be a beast stamford!

is the car gonna be used for track only then?

No not really, it'll be tame compared to those already been there and done it. I'm doing it for fun and a little project to keep me out of the way! It'll be for track use and occasional days out

I don't think I could cope with it being a trailored zed!

Jay-ZS+ · 06-04-10, 01:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stamford

No thanks, I'll leave that to people with deep pockets!

Ive got deep pockets but theres always bu99er all in them

StragglaSteve · 06-04-10, 01:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jay-ZS+

Ive got deep pockets but theres always bu99er all in them

deep pockets and short arms?

TjP · 08-04-10, 08:35 PM

Hehe, the OP sounds a lot like my initial reaction to stripping out the ZS, too!

At first I thought I had completely unbalanced the car (95% of the weight was lost from the rear,) because I was getting so much oversteer round corners. It wasn't long, though, until I realised that I was getting the oversteer beceause I was entering corners SO much faster, because of the extra acceleration.

I timed my 0-60 with a gtech the other day, and I after a couple of runs my average was around 6.6 sec, with the best being 6.51 sec. I'm not sure how accurate the gtech is, but I tried it when the car was standard and I got a best of around 7 sec (IIRC.)

Bloody noisey though.