ALFAGTV6.COM

[MD]

All the racing gurus tell us that the most important thing in preparing a car for racing is to minimise the weight so as to maximise the performance. Often there may be rules inhibiting just how much you can loose.

When you are building a car from scratch, it is very hard to know what the eventual weight may be and it is not possible to weigh it because most of the time all the parts are not necessarily fitted.

So I though I would go for the worlds biggest longshot and pose some questions the answers to which may help the situation. Ok for instance has anybody developed a database of component weights for the 4 cylinder transaxles? How much does the engine weigh, the transaxle, the suspension, driveline, brakes, steering rack, the bodywork, the glazing and so on. If there were answers to such questions, it certainly would help to determine and plan for the eventual and all important power to weight ratio which is probably THE most critical strategy you need to consider.

Just a long shot...

[patzo_3l]

well ive weighed my v6 transaxle full of oil at 49 kilos. i know feels heavier when you lift it but thats wat the scales read. not bad too considering it incases the lot all in one nice unit. god bless you nicola romeo! and considering i have weighed a hewland f3 gearbox at if i rememebr correctly was 40 kilos or something like that is not bad for a nearly 30 year old transaxle design.

[Mats]

49Kg???

I guess that was without brakes and clutch?

I got most of the stuff in my garage, I have thought about weighing it but I never get around to it, mostly because it is difficult to find a good scale (a bathroom scale usually shows very different results depending on where on the plate you load it, not good)

[Barry]

Loose weight ,Fatso... hehe..

[ar4me]

(a bathroom scale usually shows very different results depending on where on the plate you load it, not good)

Do a differential weight - you on the scale with and without the items (you can position you feet consistently), average over 10 weigh-ins, and you should get a reliable number. Obviously, this does not work for the heavy items - unless you are Hercules. I did it this way for a number of items with my budget milano race car that I'm building in my garage - works well. Bigger items you may be able to do by parts, e.g. roll cage.

Jes

[Micke]

I actually calibrated my cheap digital bathroom scale. It is very accurate. Within 1 kg up to 70 kg or so.

As for the transaxle gearbox, I recall 72 kg with clutch without brakes. (DO NOT ditch the brakes to save weight)

[MD]

Hey Bazza, you have the wrong guy. You gotta be talking about JK. He's the one with the lard arse. I am sure your eyes are too close together and you must have a hell of time finding willie until the pain kicks in when you're busting for a syphon !!

Ah, your'e all mad ya bastards but I luv yuz .

Unless a better plan comes along I was thinking of using my block & tackle and a suspension type scale to hang the parts from to determine the weight. Of course this isn't going to work when it comes to the body which is still in the rottisserie but could work for even complete engines.

Then again I could elect to do a few party tricks and attempt to stand on the wife's bathroom scales in my bathrobe and balance the gearbox on my doodle but I am afraid of the rolling pin for putting oil stains on the floor.

I see we have a contest boys. Who's right ? Micke with 72 or patzo with 49 Kg for the transaxle.

Incidentally Micke, I loved the subtle line about ditching the brakes to save weight. Good one !

[patzo_3l]

oh ye thanks for reminding me...yes 49kg was without brakes (outboard brakes) and clutch. now that i think about it seems as if my weight of 49kg isnt gona help you in this case but at least we know wat it weighs on its own. by the way md wats the target weight your aiming for roughly with your car..without driver???

[Barry]

Mike,I think I mentioned this before..

Jose here weighed a whole pile of De Dion tubes and found a difference of 8kg between the lot!!Thats a bonus for free in my opinion...

This picture shaved 210kg`s from this Gtv...but I think this is rather radical..
This where your box is from btw...

[kterkkila]

Complete flywheel + clutch + casing assembly weights for 75 are:

14 072g for 200mm for 1.6 TC
15 228g for 215mm for 2.0 TS
14 180g for 215mm for single disc V6 with aluminium pressure plate

[MD]

Barry I know another radical way of loosing some weight but I haven't got six months to spare and leave it on the beach.

patzo, my target weight for an Alfetta sedan is 900 Kg. The book starting weight for the vehicle is (Haynes) 1060 Kg with full tank. I have stripped a warehouse full out of it but putting in a hefty roll cage has put the warehous back in, me thinks..haven't done the calcs yet but I must get around to it for peace of mind.

[Zamani]

MD,

You could lose more weight if you threw out all those empty FOSTERS cans from your car.

[Mats]

Hey Jes, maybe you have a different scale on the scales (?) over there in the states on account of the people tend to be heavier but since I'm about 100Kg it's kinda difficult to use a bathroom scale for anything other then smaller stuff.

I do however have a scale that measures up to 1Kg in 0.2g increments...

I have another one like the ones on the pic above but it's not that consistent. Maybe It's good for ballpark figures though.

[patzo_3l]

barry, those piles of de dions that jose weighed are they from different years and models. just curius.

md, yes i think 900-950 is achievable without driver from what i have seen. however dont be surprissed if with you in the car you tip over the tonne as i think sometimes weights given on paper for our cars seem to be a little optimistic. i mean everyhting from these cars seems to weigh a tonne to me. doors, hatch, even tha dash they seem to be made of pig. lol

[Mats]

My GTV weighs in at just under 900Kg and it is by no means extreme.