Just a quick brainstorm here...

If we wanted to reduce the weight of the W203 without drastically affecting comfort... what can we do out there to drop the weight...

(something like the M3 CSL)...

Carbon fiber hood (has anyone weighed this?)
Half size sealed battery (-20 to 30 lbs?)
Racing seats ?? (does anyone know the weight of the factory leather electric seats).
Gut the trunk tire well, spare and tools and replace wtih some plastic/lexan/composite flat trunk ?
Lighter CF mirrors
Ultralight stainless muffler
Exhaust header

Does anyone make a CF trunk cover or a CF driveshaft ?
Any other OEM or non OEM ideas ?

Can we find a way to take out say 100 kilos (220 lbs) while keeping 4 seats / AC / Power steering ...etc

 

im not a big fan of weight reduction on our w203's... but heres some ideas :
cf trunk is not worth it for the price...
start with lighter wheels, remove spare tire & tools, racing seats...
and finally throw your girlfriend

 

Carpet weights a lot.

 

i would say the best way to reduce wait is to get your fat a$$ on a treadmill. lol recently in my area the demographics of w203 drivers seem to be um how to put this eating their problems. the other day one of them got out of the c240 and the car shot up way more than any car should. i would say floor mats, kids/family/friend, rims as said already, drain the washer fluid lol. i dont really think that their is much weight to be lost in the w203 without giving up some comfort or safety. now if you really want to lose weight you could do what they did in top gear African special. lol but that is zero comfort. i am interested in what you come up with in the way of practical weight reduction.

 

Why bother?

Just buy a Lotus if you want reduced weight.

 

Get my fatass on a treadmill??? LOL!
Yup, I'm a Big boi...
240 lbs...
My roomate is about the same.
With he and I in the car, it gets a lot slower.

 

Electric motors are heavy, and our cars have a lot of them. Eliminate as many as you can; I wager the seats are really heavy due to the motors alone so a nice set of Recaros might save dozens of pounds (speculation). Glass is heavy, but Lexan is delicate and easily hazed/scratched. Real magnesium wheels would cut the weight where it would be felt the most (unsprung weight) as would lighter calipers and/or rotors (too bad no ceramic rotors are available). Sound deadening is heavy. Speakers are heavy. Stainless steel is heavy; if money is no object an exhaust made from titanium would save a couple pounds. Everything will have an impact on comfort; just decide how much you want to compromise.

 

there is a LOT you can do to light weight the car. depends on what you want the car to do and the purpose of it.

CF hood can save you 15-20lbs
battery saves you maybe 10?
rims (forged light weight wheels)
brakes (two piece light weight rotors)


think about the above before you start taking out the essentials that makes a Mercedes a Mercedes.

racing seats saves weight, but you give up the power seats and then there is the whole issue on getting the right bracket, messing with airbag sensors, etc.

another thing is from your mod list you didn't replace shocks yet. might do that first as well since the stock shocks weren't designed for the shorter travel.

 

You do have to consider what you're giving up and at what real benefit. I highly doubt the swapping of front seats for racing seats could save you "dozens of pounds" like someone suggested. How much are you willing to sacrifice for a few tenths of a second?

Edit: I have the same car as you. Out of curiosity, how much quicker would the car be without 220lbs? Anyone know? Also you can keep all your comforts and just keep about 3 gallons in the tank rather than 16. A full tank @ ~6lbs/gal is about 100lbs. So figure you're saving 75lbs by keeping the fuel low.

Okay I kid, I kid - but if you're willing to give up some comfort I figure maybe you're willing to stop a lot for gas.

 

just brainstorming...

how did this all start ? started watching motogp ... and was reminded of my lightweight days owning a ~200hp diy turboed celica that weighed ~2400lbs. It wasn't alot of power but that car was a lot of fun...

I have my eye on Koni FSD shocks, but at the same time, for a little more i can get a set of coil-overs ... so i'm waiting on that decision just yet...

Here's a revised list:

[edited into two lists]

Benz friendly list (in the order that I would do things)
(I could see myself doing these 4 sometime soonish)
LET Header
CF mirrors
Drilled / Slotted rear rotors instead of my solid rears
Gut the trunk tire well, spare and tools and replace wtih some plastic/lexan/composite flat trunk ...
Coil-overs

(I could see myself doing this later as funds / time / initiative becomes available)

Magnesium rims
Odyssey /Optima half sized battery
Single DIN CD/MP3/Ipod head unit that can talk to our steering wheel

Not so Benzy list:
(I can only see myself doing this if after all the added power mods were on, I still wanted more ...)

Vis CF hood (if it's not painted it's a huge 'look at me')
A pair of reclining and sliding racing seats (the airbag sensor is a good comment, maybe i don't want to do this)
JIC magic titanium muffler instead of my Apexi WS2 (I originally chose the WS2 because it has a subdued sound which matches the Benz)


That still leaves in all the xenon, abs/bas/esp , 10 airbags, electric windows, A/C, sound system...etc So it's by no means a 'gutted car'

I remember checking rim and tire weights about a year back (when i needed tires) and without going to magnesium there's not going to be more than 1 to 2 lbs of weight savings...

I'm no longer as crazy as i was when i owned the celica (or the 450hp 3000GT VR4 that I owned after that) but i do think that a bit more power and a bit less weight would keep me happy... it's not cheap though ...

 

This sounds like an expensive diet.

 

just go to the gym

 

If you want to run gutted, get a Honda... =P

You'd be better off making more power and keeping the comfort... or get a track/purpose built car.

People are always trying to have one car that does it all... that's like trying to have one gun that does it all (there isn't in either)... Veyron comes close though, but it's not a very good couch mover... [practically speaking]

 

Reviving an old thread is an understatement. Regardless, I’ve done a small bit of weight reduction on my C32. It’s not much but I can feel a difference 😁



Jokes aside, I bought this car from a sketchy dude with a smashed windshield and hood (it flew open on him at 70mph) and I paid $800 for it. It was headed to the junkyard so I stripped it and gave it a second life as a race car/hoon-mobile. I’ve since painted the fenders and bumper support black to make it look a bit more complete, and I’ve installed racing seats with 5 point harnesses. I’m putting on a 65mm fixed pulley with a tune soon and I plan to have a bit of fun before passing it along to one of my friends. I’ll take it across my local truck scale and report back with a number.

 

But I am really glad you did bring this one back from the dead!

I am currently building a W203 track day toy, albeit a lowly 200k. My target weight is 1000 kilos and it started out at 1480 kilos.

I have started stripping it out and will revisit the weighbridge once its all complete....