hello there people
I'm Stefanos and I've just bought myself an '02 AP1 Spa. I've been going through these forums for the past half year or so looking for advice on buying the car but haven't posted anything yet. since I have aquired this beauty I've spent all my time for the past 2 weeks looking for parts to buy. I have decided not to do anything to the magnificent engine but instead focus on losing as much weight as possible. I am studying Automotive engineering in the UK in Loughborough Uni but I trust u have far more knowledge than me at this point on what I should and shouldn't do with the car.
now i know that the first thing to do is just get out there and get used to the car and the controls and that is just what I will be doing this summer since the car is at my home in sunny Cyprus.
for the time being I've been looking at lightweight wheels and I'd like your help on that. from what I've found out you all like the CE28s but I find it very hard to get the stock offsets on 16" and I don't want to go to 17s. I don't want to get wider tyres and don't want more grip. also I like the look of the RE30s more but can't find out how much they weigh. can anyone provide me with this info?
also the next thing i will be going for will be a 4.7 final gear. and then a titanium double exhaust for the weight saving.
all this will probably take me more than a year to complete but the more I search the better the results right?
oh and so u know we don't have any tracks in Cyprus so I will only be using the car as a daily driver and for driving up mountains.
thanks everyone I'm so glad to have joined your community!!

 

First of all welcome! You made a super decision. On to the car: loosing weight on the car will be hard, speakers/head unit and ac would be the best stuff to remove from stock to loose some weight. Honestly I wouldnt bother with ti because you really wont get that much out of it unless you go the dry carbon fiber way which is $$$. Getting some light wheels will help you since its rotating mass, and the RE30s are lighter than the CE28s by how much i dont know but they are lighter for sure. Btw you really should go the 17 inch route because of more grip and the fact that it looks sooo much better and yes you want more grip unless your gonna drift the car or something... Just ask yourself on what you want out of the car and what your goals are with it. Thats the best thing to do i think. Also there are no tricks on getting 50+hp on this car by doing a chip or something like with the germans, its hard to squeeze more power out but its possible without going forced induction (turbo/supercharger). Hope i have answered some of your questions, dont be offended by any of it its all suggestions

 

i got no weight info for you on the wheels, but sounds like you are doing your research. Welcome to the best forum

 

thanks for the welcome guys! I've owned a mk1 MX5 for the past 4 years with massive 17" wheels and regretted that choice every single day. I know that grip is the last thing I want and yes I do want to drift it even though I know that this is a serious grip car. I am determined to get 16" wheels are the RE30s really lighter? can anyone let me know how much they weigh and if it's possible to find them with the correct offsets in 6.5/7.5 on 16 inches?? I wouldn't mind getting 7' for the fronts but I really don't want to go any wider. what are the lowest offsets I could live for on a daily basis? btw I don't want to remove the radio or air conditioning since this will be my only car and Cyprus does get properly hot (40C+)

 

oh and about the hp gain, I will probably end up doing it the NA way but I'll leave that for last after I've done all the weight saving I can in a reasonable way in order to keep it in everyday basis drivable state.

 

Welcome. I also lurked on the s2k forums before my purchase.

I just have to see if I'm hearing you right. You want to loose weight, but at the same time you want less grip. Seriously? Why would you not want more grip?

 

because I find grip boring.. that's y I want high sidewalls and thin tires.. I might go for 215/225 instead of the factory 205/225 but other than that I'm not increasing grip. losing weight isn't only for track times and massive grip. it also adds to the fun!

 

Congrats on getting your Ap1 and welcome to the owners club.

Get a CAI,header, test pipe and titanium exhaust along with a carbon fiber hardtop,trunk, and hood and you'll gain hp while dropping weight. If that's not enough then start losing things like the passenger seat and panels if you don't care about appearance. hope this helps

 

congrats

 

welcome and congrats.

as for the weight savings, most of the research i have done so far and talking to other members, the only way to save weight on these cars is to mod them.

for starters.

1. stock exhaust is heavy- u already have plans for that
2. replacing the stock header can shed a few pounds
3. the big intake box is def a heffer, even a simple aem v2 will save a bit of weight

all three of those are basic bolt on mods that give you go go power as well as drop close to 50 lbs. depending on which brands you go with.

as for not wanting more grip, i havnt tried any drifting or canyon runs yet but i have messed around and got the car waaay sideways and even stock form it def has the power to have fun with. if you decide to put any mods into it to increase hp i would highly recomend getting wider tires. your just asking to find urself in a wall or a ditch.

im not trying to insult your driving skills, you just have to think practicle.

enjoy.