Removing the softtop
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Joined: Jul 2006
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From: FV CA
Removing the softtop
Hello R&C.
I remember a while ago speaking with a fellow s2ki member at a local track day about removing my softtop and running only the hardtop for weight savings. I was told that in doing so you compromise chassis rigidity because the soft top helps stiffen everything a bit. Is this true? He said the CR uses reinforcement bars to compensate for the lack of a softtop, a honeycomb type of bar? Would I need to purchase that if I removed my softtop? I've seen plenty of people running a hardtop only and tracking just fine, I need to know what the concerns are over this.
The rest of the car is pretty much stock, I only have the hardtop and want to shed some weight off the car. The trunk is pretty much gutted and the softtop is the last bit I want to do, the car is still a street car and not a full track car, so I must keep the rest of the interior.
Please don't turn this into a weight savings thread or a utility thread. I am only asking if removing the softtop is going to hurt performance and if so, what can I do to fix it? Adding bracing? (I'd rather not add bracing as that is pointless to remove weight then add more on -_-, plus I question whether bracing does anything on certain cars)
Thanks for any information in advance.
I remember a while ago speaking with a fellow s2ki member at a local track day about removing my softtop and running only the hardtop for weight savings. I was told that in doing so you compromise chassis rigidity because the soft top helps stiffen everything a bit. Is this true? He said the CR uses reinforcement bars to compensate for the lack of a softtop, a honeycomb type of bar? Would I need to purchase that if I removed my softtop? I've seen plenty of people running a hardtop only and tracking just fine, I need to know what the concerns are over this.
The rest of the car is pretty much stock, I only have the hardtop and want to shed some weight off the car. The trunk is pretty much gutted and the softtop is the last bit I want to do, the car is still a street car and not a full track car, so I must keep the rest of the interior.
Please don't turn this into a weight savings thread or a utility thread. I am only asking if removing the softtop is going to hurt performance and if so, what can I do to fix it? Adding bracing? (I'd rather not add bracing as that is pointless to remove weight then add more on -_-, plus I question whether bracing does anything on certain cars)
Thanks for any information in advance.
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,785
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From: Azusa
Given that I was able to re-shape the frame by hand after it got tweaked blowing open during an autocross run, I don't think it provides and significant stiffening.
Consider the fact that I can place the car on four jack stands and the car will only rest on three of them because my floor isn't quite flat. That's a rigid chassis.
Consider the fact that I can place the car on four jack stands and the car will only rest on three of them because my floor isn't quite flat. That's a rigid chassis.
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Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 22,888
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From: Covington WA, USA
The softtop motors do form part of the load path between the two sides of the car, IIRC. That means that removing them probably would change the stiffness a little bit. The question is whether it would be significant. I doubt it.
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