Dr. C36

every time I buy a new car I change the name. wouldn't make sense to have a name related to one model but a different car now would it?

Dr. C36

no, it actually goes exactly with what I want. I want a fun & quick straight line car that is a comfy daily driver (hence auto). By your logic I should add 500lbs so that hardly makes sense either.

Weight reduction is the best way to improve a car b/c it improves acceleration, handling, braking and overall behavior of the car, it makes it more fun to drive. theres no reason to not want weight reduction in ANY car it makes any car better.

and yes your car is a supersledgehammer (and not in a good way) b/c its got a ridiculously heavy sound system in there. Why not just buy a C280 and put a 2000lbs sound system in there with your logic

speedybenz

Yes, removing the weight is a great thing to do. I wrote the thread on Club202.com and I have removed over 250 lbs to date.

And although I have a 5.5 liter motor in my C43 it would not be nearly as fast if the weight was not gone. For reference a month ago I went to the Sacramento Drag raceway and ran a 13.2@109.6mph or so. And that was with a really bad 60ft. time of 2.4 sec. This pass was made right next to a bright yellow Corvette C6, year 2007 i think. Once we both got off the line i was able to pull him all the way down the track, and against the stock E55 Kompressors I was just a tenth or two slower and nearly the same mph.

On a Roadrace course like Sears Pt, Laguna Seca, etc you would be surprised how well these older W202's can get around the corners and Mustang drivers will hate you as there are not too many Mustangs that can keep up along with most of the BMW e36 and e46.

Keep to 17" wheels, there is a good 10 to 12 lbs per wheel, the battery is also a big improvement, the front calipers are very heavy, my C43 calipers are approx 21lbs apiece, vs my Brakeman calipers which are 5.5 lbs each.

Any how removing the weight makes a big change in the way the car drives and feels and it is all for the better.

Jeff

WyattH

100 lbs is also roughly equivelant to .1s in the 1/4. You are almost there, and .1s is pretty significant. But I think the biggest improvement should be from handling.
I think I am going to remove the spare tire soon, though I do like the weight over the rear wheels (traction control coomes on DAILY).

Vardar

This is a very interesting conversation.

So what happens if you have a flat tire on highway? You took it out to reduce the weight. Is it worth waiting for AAA truck for half hour or 1 hour on highway?
Just curious.

Thank you

AMGPARTS18

What type of light weight battery are you guys using?

Dr. C36

absolutely, I do it all the time. Plus AAA is usually there within 30-45 min. Even if I did have a flat I would call them anyways to tow to my driveway where I could perform the change safely instead of trying to do it an on uneven shoulder.

Dr. C36

Well said Jeff, I was referring to your very informative posts. Removing weight is one of those things you just have to experience for yourself, until you've done it you will always underestimate just how much it truly changes the car for the better. All my BMWs got at least 250+ lbs taken out of them and the difference was night and day, you could literally feel the car transform as the weight came off, far more so than if you tried to compensate with upgraded suspension or more power alone without removing anything).


For battery I plan on running Odyssey PC680, its 11 lbs and i've always used it in my BMW daily drivers and even my track cars. it is one hell of a versatile battery. only downside is it costs about $180 with the special battery box. Still, worth every penny considering how much weight it would shed compared to the stock battery (usually 35+ lbs).

as far as traction, the most important factor to that is not as much weight on the rear tires as it is the quality of the tires themselves. A set of good wide tires can grip more than enough, taking 100-150 lbs off the rear of the car isn't enough to cause a serious traction issue. Go with a really grippy tire with strong initial bite like Kuhmo MX (or S03) and traction won't be a concern. PS2s on the other hand don't have the best initial bite, they seem slippery to me even though they are "supposed" to be great tires, I was never ever impressed with any of my sets so I stopped buying them and ended up saving alot of money and getting MUCH better tires IMO.

2cents

ProjectC55

I am wondering if there is a way I can fit my Brembo brakes and rotors on my W202? Hmmmmm. I got these from an Evolution Lancer XI.

I wonder if the calipers would wrk on the MB. They were originally intended for the Talon!

Hmmmm Light as a feather these callipers.

My friend has AP's on his turbocharged C36.

ProjectC55

Like I said, the BMW E39 M5 does not come with a spare tire. They have the foam fix a flat stuff you put in the tire. You only have to worry if you have a blow out. This will only occur:
1. If you don't maintain and chk the tires
2. If the tire hits something hrd and shrp
3. The tire was defective from the get.

silence

no reason to add weight beyond what is necessary.

not sure what makes you think my stereo is real real heavy- i generally saved weight as much as possible throughout the build.

however, the minute you sacrifice anything to shave weight i don't get it with this car- it STILL won't be an E36. I will keep mine as light as i can BUT with absolutely every creature comfort (including the stereo) and convenience item (including the spare) and i will do that forever. There are soooo many better track type cars available. I know some of you insist on building you C AMGs for the track (or you pose taht you do depending on the individual) but that is not and never will be where mine is driven. I haven't done much yet performance wise- however, time will show none (or very few) even with great weight reduction will keep up with me on the freeway.

ProjectC55

We'll see!

With the mods you r doing don't be surprised if down the line you start chging your mind!You aint doin these mods for nothin!

steve s

hahaha

those monoblocs r real heavy, nice and sturdy, but heavy. something lighter would definitely help.

Dr. C36

excellent suggestion steve, I agree

Dr. C36

Chances are probbaly not, you'd have to see if hub is big enough and of the rotor offset is the same. the only way to know for sure though is to find out by trying to install it (lotta work). Rotor thickness may also be an issue. If you are willing to try, let us know

Unless there is more than one turbo out there, the one famous twin turbo C36 (that was in that magazine article way back when) is no longer turboed, he approached me to sell me his kit (he implied it was already off the car). so there may be no more turbo C36 guys around. not 100% sure but there can be more than a handful on planet earth if only one (or maybe now none). I could be wrong. If so lemme know i'd love to talk to him.

Dr. C36

who in the world ever said anything about a track? This is not a track car nor would I ever make it a track car (as implied by all my previous posts). I had the mother of all track cars, the E36 M3 and that was enough for me. I know that no other car I will probably ever own will handle as well as that car did, it pulled 1.1G lateral Gs on street tires (granted Kuhmo MXs which are almost R-compounds).

I specifically went a different route with this car. ANY car can benefit from weight savings, street or track, its not exclusive to only one or the other. theres no legitimate excuse to not want weight savings in ANY situation. The question is how you want to achieve it, and luckily on our cars its pretty easy to take out alot of weight without sacrificing much at all (other than $$ out of your wallet)

trumpet1

Don't forget to fill up your tires with Helium to make them lighter.
Also mix some Crystal Light into the radiator fluid. Might lose some weight there too.

That should add 3 more HP.

ProjectC55

I know I need to fit it,it just came to mind these callipers when lighter callipers were mentioned. Believe me I am gonna look into it. The AP's on Jeffreys car(C36T) is what also gave me the idea.


There are /were TWO turbocharged C36's here in NY. And all three of us are friends. Ralston's car has the stock calipers and Jeffrey's car STILL has the AP's. Ralston is the one selling his kit. Jeffrey just is not a forum member so you'll only hear about him when Mig-E55-Rocket and myself mention him!

ProjectC55

There is nobody better to take advice from about losing weight other than the person that owns the Beautiful Cruise Luxury Liner S600. Who r we to argue!

Dr. C36

sweet so there are two confirmed ones in the world. Good to know.

I wish that crystal light technique worked haha.

good informative thread guys. keep up the good work

Kwik SC

Just an FYI but the PC680 battery is rated for 220 CCA's .. Hope you dont plan on trying to drive that car in the freezing cold as I do not think the car will start very easily with that battery.. Carl you remember Steve's 3 Diamonds G-ST that had that PC680 in it? Everytime Bill would go to start that turd if it didnt crank over on the first time he would have to jump the car.. I know on Jr's Eclipse if he leaves the ignition on for longer than 5-10 min he has to jump that car too..

jordanst2

what's up with the E55 headers Omey?

steve s

i haven't worked on the c36 much, and plus, my brakes from the factory came with the sliding ate setup instead of the 4-piston fixed setup .. seems as tho someone forgot a step in the process of converting a c280 to a c36. oh well.

brembos on my volvo look similar, and are not light . anyway, those look tab mounted, i think u'd have to figure out if u can create a big/strong enough piece to mount that caliper to withstand the forces

if u really wanted some lightweight calipers that won't see duty on the track, take a look into wilwood. they are super featherweight when i compared those to my bermbos, but i wouldn't use it for anything other that simple street driving. deflection i hear can become an issue on these.

speedybenz

Carl ,

I am sure you could have a mounting plate made to get those to fit your C55. It is how any of the conversions work from AP to StopTech. It is just a matter of measurement.

And while I don't expect that many or none of you will take your C43 to the track, I do and within NASA HDPE Group IV , I make lots of Mustang Cobras and BMW E39, E46 look pretty silly with my AMG C43 and now with the 5.5 motor and the readjustment to the shocks and chassis it is even easier.

And all the while my C43/55 looks stock except for exhaust, brakes and wheels.

Jeff

Dr. C36

I ran it in my M3 for nearly 2 full years and never had any issues. if its daily driven it will do the job no problem. Also I spend all my time in TX or AZ so its not an issue for me (the benefits of living in the south) . It really didn't take much to start the car in the winter, only one to two extra rotations to get the car started. In the summer it actually fires up faster than the stock battery did, almost instant on, pretty amazing battery.

Remember its not a deep draw battery, as long as aren't foolish about running stuff for 10min+ while battery is off then you are ok. I ran all LED interior lighting and shut off all courtesy headlight features and never had an issue. Infact I threw that battery into two of my E30 track cars as well, And unlike normal batteries you can draw that sucker down as much as you want, charge it up and it is like new (solid states are totally different than conventional batteries). It was really impressive just how much abuse that battery could take.

The ONLY time you will run into issues if if you don't drive the car at least once a week, in that case I wouldn't recommend it, but I daily drive all the cars i've had so thats never been an issue (in the track car once or twice it did but a quick charge and back to new).