How much weight can be taken out of an S2 elise??

[piooly]

Ok guys, just a thought but tempted to sell the 160, and get a 111R. My question is can any weight be taken out of an S2? Everyone says the S1 is just so much rawer than the S2 and I dont want to loose the S1 feel too much.

What really bugs me about the S1 is the cr*p roof design, I'd really like aircon too(no girly comments please), I dont care about sound proofing, the louder the better.

Are the clams loads heavier? where does all this extra S2 weight come from?

[Chris49]

Your joking right?..........

Your S1 is with out adoubt one of the best examples I've ever seen!

[kambites]

Get a Honda engined S1 and fit some kind of aftermarket air conditioning system?

[jb111s]

Why not go for a decent 111s instead ? You'll get the aircon, much less weight than the yota & similar speed.

You could pull all the touring insulation out, but you'd not save more than about 10kg.

[VladTheDad]

Yota engine is heavier than K.
You could remove the stereo and speakers, replace the exhaust with a lighter one. Lightweight wheels. That'd be about 30kg.

But air-con will add 15kg(?)

Edited by VladTheDad on Thursday 3rd July 13:31

[patmahe]

Just going through the cockpit of my S2 mentally and I'd say there's feck all you could strip out of it without butchering the dash or something. There are the obvious things - carpets, gearstick shroud door cards, you could always replace the seats with something more lightweight, maybe throw on some magnesium wheels. But I'd say even that lot wouldnt save you more than a few kilos and would cost a lot to do.

Personally if you've got a good S1 160, I wouldn't go replacing it. The 111r's (which I've driven) power delivery compared to the k series (which I own) is very peaky and unless you are on track a lot you'd probably enjoy the k-series more.

[piooly]

Chris49 said:

Your joking right?..........

Your S1 is with out adoubt one of the best examples I've ever seen!

why thankyou chris!

Its just a thought and as for stripping all the panels etc out, forget that, it still needs to look like a nice car! Aint that anal about weight saving. Whats a 111R actually weigh? I was asking the question was to see if there is anything in particular thats very heavy in the S2 that could possible be replaced...

I love my S1 but what I like about the S2 is its so much more developed in terms of the quality of finish to it. The S1 is very roppey in parts where the S2 shines. simple parts that just are a bad design is what lets the S1 down. The K series is ok, but it annoys me that 160bhp is all you can basically get from my engine without big mods and lots of cash and even then reliability is an issue. Maybe I am being a wuss. some decent weather and a good drive might change my mind...

[bogie]

which S2 are you on about? ...an early S2 will weigh about 10Kg more than your 160 so you wont notice....if you are talking a 111R with aircon etc then year, you are near 100Kg up before option packs like the touring etc which is 35Kg etc

a fully loaded most recent Elise like the SC is about 950kg with all options I think, compare that to the early S1s at 720kg and thats a huge difference

so what are you trying to achieve ?

[S2john]

Just replaced the 'Heavy weight' stock exhaust system for the superb light weight Larini Sports Club. Must be a good starting point if not done already

[Beachbum]

bogie said:

which S2 are you on about? ...an early S2 will weigh about 10Kg more than your 160 so you wont notice....if you are talking a 111R with aircon etc then year, you are near 100Kg up before option packs like the touring etc which is 35Kg etc

a fully loaded most recent Elise like the SC is about 950kg with all options I think, compare that to the early S1s at 720kg and thats a huge difference

so what are you trying to achieve ?

When I bought my 111R in late 2004, the Touring pack was quoted at 45Kgs and a few dealers commented that was a tad light.

[veridien]

I replaced the stock exhaust on my S2 111s with a Larini Clubsport and replaced the filter boxes and ducting with a Hurricane - that'll lose you about 15kg, perhaps more

I find mine always works best tho' without a passenger

Edited by veridien on Thursday 3rd July 13:56

[LivinLaVidaLotus]

The obvious ones are wheels, exhaust, disks, seats, battery and sound insulation. I think there may be something on the SELOC tech wiki about saving weight.

Edited by LivinLaVidaLotus on Thursday 3rd July 20:21

[4pot]

Don't do it! I can almost g'tee you'll regret it. If you like it raw then stick with the 160. So many of us do the S1, S2 & back to S1 for a very good reason.

As for air con, is it a daily driver? Do you really need it?

[Hollywood Wheels]

DO NOT replace the 160 with a 111R!!!!! Have you driven one? Biggest mistake you'll ever make!!!

[peter450]

Wheels, exhaust, remove some soundproofing, i think someone on seloc did a thread about all the stuff he took out of the elise, his was for racing mind you, so he went right to town, but i'm sure if you find the thread think it was a guy called steve b, it will give you a good idea of what can be achieved and how far you want to go

[piooly]

Hollywood Wheels said:

DO NOT replace the 160 with a 111R!!!!! Have you driven one? Biggest mistake you'll ever make!!!

Ok more on the thoughts of an Exige S than the 111R due to the performance enhancement. Spose I need to have one for a week to see what I really think of it. I test driven the exige S and loved it. Anyone out there want to lend me their cars for a bit?? Promise to wash and waz it before giving it back to you lol......

I did try the 111R once and did think it not the best but this was mainly due to it being so quiet. Been out in the NA exige and just felt sooooooooooo much better than the 111R, and the Exige S just blew me away.

[Saied]

Hollywood Wheels said:

DO NOT replace the 160 with a 111R!!!!! Have you driven one? Biggest mistake you'll ever make!!!

I went the other way. Elise R to a Sport 160.

A chum of mine asked recently why I had got rid of the more powerful car. I could list dozens of reasons, but my new toy is far more exciting to drive than the R. Lighter, feels more agile, sounds better, much nicer feel from the non-servoed brakes, cheaper insurance / VED and likely to suffer far less depreciation.

Oh, and straight line performance? The Sport 160 accelerates quicker than the R unless the latter is on cam. That powerband is impressive on a test drive, but is frustratingly small and becomes rather tiresome with ownership.

[Gooby]

piooly said:

Whats a 111R actually weigh?

Your car is awesome but as you and I have proved a sorted 111R is about equal.

Mine, with touring pack, Ohlins, half a tank of fuel, and assorted junk in boot and under the seats was corner weighted at 860kg

[VladTheDad]

If you do get a 111R you might want to consider the Lotus Sport ECU upgrade to lower and smooth the cam change - trouble is it's about £800 these days.

[piooly]

Gooby said:

piooly said:

Whats a 111R actually weigh?

Your car is awesome but as you and I have proved a sorted 111R is about equal.

Mine, with touring pack, Ohlins, half a tank of fuel, and assorted junk in boot and under the seats was corner weighted at 860kg

Yes we have proved this many a time! 860kg is lighter than I thought. hmmmmmm....