What if....

racerbruce · 01-17-2015, 08:38 AM

The beloved 06-08 Z4M was introduced as a purist performance vehicle. What if....the following five were not included in it's design, in an effort to reduce weight??

-Power Seats
-Air Conditioning
-Power Windows
-Power Convertible Top
-Electric Trunk Opener

GuidoK · 01-17-2015, 09:11 AM

What if what?
You want to know how much weight you're saving per part?

Air conditioning is the main weight part; the rest is peanuts compared to that.
Those small electric motors weigh next to nothing, maybe 15lbs for the lot. (that's what only the compressor from the ac already weighs.
Getting the ac cabin heat exchanger out might be a real nightmare though..... (maybe let that one in place

)

Get the total seats out and replace them with 1piece carbon seats.
Get the stereo/speakers/amps out.
Get a lightweight battery when your current one is to be replaced (li-ion if you have the money, a small agm if you're sensible; saves 10lbs and is just as expensive as the standard battery)
Get the airco compressor/condensor/dryer/piping out.

Getting the trunk opening motor out, converting the powertop etc and those sorts of things might be really hard to achieve anyway. If you've got the skills for that you wouldn't have started this topic

That the z4/z4m was introduced as a purist performance vehicle is pretty subjective. Yes it's a pretty fast car, but it has a lot of creature comforts and it's based on a family sedan (yes.....also the z4m). That is not the starting point of a true performance vehicle.
And that shows in the design.
For example if you look at the rear trailing arms. (both z4/z4m). Those are made of cast iron and weigh about 20lbs each!
That is something you'd never find on a lotus, or a ferrari etc etc. Cars that were designed from the ground up as a performance vehicle, not by adapting a family sedan.
And that's all unsprung mass!
And there is also no aftermarket replacement for that.
(If you look at relative competitive cars by design like a miata or a s2000 those parts are already lighter and there is a nice aftermarket collection for that).
So I wouldn't consider it 'purist'. If that was the case you'd not want to have this car for a daily driver or something to go on vacation. Now the Z is perfectly capable of that. Nice trunkspace too

inTgr8r · 01-17-2015, 09:45 AM

It was available w/o power seats, as my car is.

Westersund · 01-17-2015, 10:23 AM

I have manual seats as well.

RADRACR · 01-17-2015, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GuidoK

So I wouldn't consider it 'purist'. If that was the case you'd not want to have this car for a daily driver or something to go on vacation. Now the Z is perfectly capable of that. Nice trunkspace too

Our cars are more like tiny grand touring cars.

Efthreeoh · 01-18-2015, 08:18 AM

I believe they call that a Lotus Elise...

krusty · 01-18-2015, 12:09 PM

What if you had one of those fat people stomach operations instead ... where they rip your guts out (and leave your car intact)?

krusty · 01-18-2015, 12:15 PM

BTW, I might add I think my Z4 coupe handles better with 2 bags of pool salt in the boot (that's about 50kg extra in the rear) ...

Finnegan · 01-18-2015, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by krusty

BTW, I might add I think my Z4 coupe handles better with 2 bags of pool salt in the boot (that's about 50kg extra in the rear) ...

911 ballast.

01-17-2015, 08:38 AM	#1
racerbruce Brigadier General 3858 Rep 3,004 Posts Drives: 21 X3 & 13 335is E93 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Seattle iTrader: (1)	What if.... The beloved 06-08 Z4M was introduced as a purist performance vehicle. What if....the following five were not included in it's design, in an effort to reduce weight?? -Power Seats -Air Conditioning -Power Windows -Power Convertible Top -Electric Trunk Opener __________________ Racerbruce
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01-17-2015, 09:11 AM	#2
GuidoK #buildnotbought 11116 Rep 4,930 Posts Drives: Z4 3.0i ESS TS2+ Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Tinkering in the garage iTrader: (0)	What if what? You want to know how much weight you're saving per part? Air conditioning is the main weight part; the rest is peanuts compared to that. Those small electric motors weigh next to nothing, maybe 15lbs for the lot. (that's what only the compressor from the ac already weighs. Getting the ac cabin heat exchanger out might be a real nightmare though..... (maybe let that one in place ) Get the total seats out and replace them with 1piece carbon seats. Get the stereo/speakers/amps out. Get a lightweight battery when your current one is to be replaced (li-ion if you have the money, a small agm if you're sensible; saves 10lbs and is just as expensive as the standard battery) Get the airco compressor/condensor/dryer/piping out. Getting the trunk opening motor out, converting the powertop etc and those sorts of things might be really hard to achieve anyway. If you've got the skills for that you wouldn't have started this topic That the z4/z4m was introduced as a purist performance vehicle is pretty subjective. Yes it's a pretty fast car, but it has a lot of creature comforts and it's based on a family sedan (yes.....also the z4m). That is not the starting point of a true performance vehicle. And that shows in the design. For example if you look at the rear trailing arms. (both z4/z4m). Those are made of cast iron and weigh about 20lbs each! That is something you'd never find on a lotus, or a ferrari etc etc. Cars that were designed from the ground up as a performance vehicle, not by adapting a family sedan. And that's all unsprung mass! And there is also no aftermarket replacement for that. (If you look at relative competitive cars by design like a miata or a s2000 those parts are already lighter and there is a nice aftermarket collection for that). So I wouldn't consider it 'purist'. If that was the case you'd not want to have this car for a daily driver or something to go on vacation. Now the Z is perfectly capable of that. Nice trunkspace too __________________ Z4 3.0i \| ESS TS2+ supercharger \| Quaife ATB LSD \| Brembo/BMW performance BBK front/rear \| Schrick FI cams \| Schmiedmann headers+cats \| Powerflex/strongflex PU bushings \| Vibra-technics engine mounts \| H&R anti rollbars \| KW V3 coilovers/KW camber plates \| Sachs race engineering clutch \| tons of custom sh#t Last edited by GuidoK; 01-17-2015 at 09:56 AM..
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01-17-2015, 09:45 AM	#3
inTgr8r Lieutenant General 2435 Rep 11,669 Posts Drives: M2 Comp Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Toronto iTrader: (10)	It was available w/o power seats, as my car is. __________________ '21 M2C Hockenheim Silver '18 718 Cayman S Lava Orange (sold) '13 E92 M3 Santorini Blue (sold) '07 Z4 M Coupe Alpine White (sold)
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01-17-2015, 10:23 AM	#4
Westersund Captain 511 Rep 882 Posts Drives: BMW Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Hallstahammar iTrader: (1)	I have manual seats as well.
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01-18-2015, 08:18 AM	#6
Efthreeoh General 17476 Rep 18,825 Posts Drives: The E90 + Z4 Coupe & Z3 R'ster Join Date: May 2012 Location: Virginia iTrader: (0)	I believe they call that a Lotus Elise...
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01-18-2015, 12:09 PM	#7
krusty Second Lieutenant 24 Rep 291 Posts Drives: Z4 coupé Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Australia iTrader: (0)	What if you had one of those fat people stomach operations instead ... where they rip your guts out (and leave your car intact)?
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01-18-2015, 12:15 PM	#8
krusty Second Lieutenant 24 Rep 291 Posts Drives: Z4 coupé Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Australia iTrader: (0)	BTW, I might add I think my Z4 coupe handles better with 2 bags of pool salt in the boot (that's about 50kg extra in the rear) ...
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