Weight Reduction in a 1990 535i? Is it possible?

[dvdcnnrspncr]

Are there any parts and/or accessories on my e34 that I could take off to reduce the weight of my car? As everyone knows, the e34 is really heavy for a car. However...the more I think about it, the better the idea seems to be. I love the look of the car and I'd hate to have to do anything drastic, but if something were to help my mileage and keep money in my pocket, you'd better believe I'd do it.

I'm just curious if anyone on here has made any weight reductions and how? Did you get rid of the tool box? Any of the cars insulation or noise reduction crap? What?

And if there are any part swaps I could do to help change the weight, too? Like switching some parts from cast iron to aluminum, etc?

[NikosX]

Sound deadening would be a big thing, but you wont like how loud it'll be afterward.

Spare tire? But talk about a major inconvenience.

[87shark]

Changing the front seats, sunroof delete, change the exhaust are a few big ones.

[jbondbmw]

You could take a page from the Top Gear Africa special....

http://imcdb.org/images/136/883.jpg

Now that is light.

[BoldUlysses]

You can gut almost any car; the real question is how important is being comfortable while driving to you?

That said, here are some things you can do to lighten it:

- Swap out front seats
- Lighter flywheel
- Lighter wheel/tire combo (remember bigger wheels don't always equal a lighter assembly)
- Aftermarket exhaust
- Smaller battery
- No spare
- As you said, the tool kit

I totally recognize the virtues of light weight (my Z is 2300lbs and I love it). However, I prefer to consider that a stock M50 525i weighs about as much as a stock E46 sedan (to say nothing of the E90) and be content that it's considerably lighter than most sedans in its class today.

Edit: Actually, I stand corrected with regard to the E46--the heaviest (330iA sedan) is around 3350lbs and my M50 525i is a bit north of 3400lbs. Still, the fact remains that the E34 is lighter than the average sedan in its class today.

-Matt

[Dragonsi]

Use the Search button

[AquilaBMW]

http://imcdb.org/images/136/883.jpg


I concur.

[ShapeShifter]

Sell it and buy a lighter car.

[E34ührer]

Remove the driver. Remote control....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzD5OIB2AbU

[dvdcnnrspncr]

Definitely diggin' the african special and the remote control lol but I'd rather not buy a different car. Thanks for the replies and ideas. How loud exactly would it be after I took out the sound deafening insulation? And is there a rear seat delete kit for this car? lol

[E34ührer]

Its fairly loud with no sound insulation. I personally wouldn't be able to tolerate it every day. I haven't seen a rear seat delete. Can't be too hard to make one yourself. The rear seats really don't weigh much though...you need to figure out how to get rid of the front seats...that is where the weight is. Rear seats = MAYBE 20lbs. Front seat (just one) = around 60-80lbs IIRC.

[dvdcnnrspncr]

Its fairly loud with no sound insulation. I personally wouldn't be able to tolerate it every day. I haven't seen a rear seat delete. Can't be too hard to make one yourself. The rear seats really don't weigh much though...you need to figure out how to get rid of the front seats...that is where the weight is. Rear seats = MAYBE 20lbs. Front seat (just one) = around 60-80lbs IIRC.

Yeah, I remember taking them out to clean the interior once. Dropped it on my foot and said a few choice words regarding Bavarians lol
Any ideas on what to use for the front seats or what exhaust to use?

[moroza]

For starters, you have the wrong car if you want something lightweight. The E34 was designed to be a well-handling luxury sedan, not a sports car. Making it into something it wasn't meant to be is going to be somewhere between impossible and prohibitively expensive.

That said, here are some weight savings I realized during my wagon build:


Manual transmission swap saved about 60# alone. On a 540i, it's apparently about double that. If you already have a manual this obviously doesn't apply.
Manual seats weigh 40# each, compared to power ones at 65 each.
Deleting the cruise control motor, ASC hydro unit, and ASC throttle plate motor saved approximately 20# total.

In addition, you can do some combination of the following. None of them are "free" weight savings: all will have a cost of money or inconvenience attached. Only you can decide how far you want to go.



AC compressor, condenser, and associated piping and whatnot should save at least 30#.
Front and rear carpets, with attached sound insulation, weigh about 25# together.
Gutting and welding the doors shut, and removing the window motors and regulators would save, I'm guessing, about 40# per door.
Lexan to replace the glass.
Rear seat bench and back weigh maybe 20# together. They also act as sound insulation.
The sunroof mechanism weighs some 30-40#, and being at the top of the car it makes the most difference for body roll.
Carbon fiber body parts. ($$$!)
See the thread about a 535i compact :stickoutt
Stock exhaust is heavy plain steel. To save weight and still be street legal, you'd want a Y-pipe after the headers, into a single cat, muffler and/or resonator, exiting out the side well before the rear wheels.
The heater and HVAC panel is a pretty bulky affair; I've only had it partially removed, but I'd guess about 40# for the main unit including heatercore, AC dryer, blower motor, ducts, heater valve (under the hood) and auxiliary waterpump (also).
Swap your M30 for an S14 :rofl

I saw a thread where someone took an E39 540i/6 (stock weight ~3700#) and stripped it down to 2900, without any carbon fiber or major body hacking. I'm not sure it was street legal, but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't want to drive it on the street anyway.


Use the Search button
You have any idea what it's like to Search for a frequently mentioned topic, and come up with a dozen threads all saying "use the Search button"? In the dictionary, under "redundant", it says "see: redundant". :rolleyes

[Jason540i]

Whatever minimal gains you get in MPGs or performance is not worth stripping out a street car. Just enjoy the 34 as-is and get a Geo Metro coupe if you want a tin can fuel miser to drive around.

[dvdcnnrspncr]

For starters, you have the wrong car if you want something lightweight. The E34 was designed to be a well-handling luxury sedan, not a sports car. Making it into something it wasn't meant to be is going to be somewhere between impossible and prohibitively expensive.

That said, here are some weight savings I realized during my wagon build:


Manual transmission swap saved about 60# alone. On a 540i, it's apparently about double that. If you already have a manual this obviously doesn't apply.
Manual seats weigh 40# each, compared to power ones at 65 each.
Deleting the cruise control motor, ASC hydro unit, and ASC throttle plate motor saved approximately 20# total.
In addition, you can do some combination of the following. None of them are "free" weight savings: all will have a cost of money or inconvenience attached. Only you can decide how far you want to go.



AC compressor, condenser, and associated piping and whatnot should save at least 30#.
Front and rear carpets, with attached sound insulation, weigh about 25# together.
Gutting and welding the doors shut, and removing the window motors and regulators would save, I'm guessing, about 40# per door.
Lexan to replace the glass
The sunroof mechanism weighs some 30-40#, and being at the top of the car it makes the most difference for body roll.
Carbon fiber body parts. ($$$!)
See the thread about a 535i compact :stickoutt
Stock exhaust is heavy plain steel. To save weight and still be street legal, you'd want a Y-pipe after the headers, into a single cat, muffler and/or resonator, exiting out the side well before the rear wheels.
I saw a thread where someone took an E39 540i/6 (stock weight ~3700#) and stripped it down to 2900, without any carbon fiber or major body hacking. I'm not sure it was street legal, but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't want to drive it on the street anyway.


You have any idea what it's like to Search for a frequently mentioned topic, and come up with a dozen threads all saying "use the Search button"? In the dictionary, under "redundant", it says "see: redundant". :rolleyes

Unfortunately, my car is an automatic :( I'd love to swap it for a manual, but too expensive for my tiny piggy bank right now lol Thanks for the ideas, man. Also, I get the "use search button" comment a lot, but you put exactly how I feel in the perfect words lol I didn't know how to say it.

And the only reason I really want to make the car weigh less, is because I want to get more MPG. Is it unreasonable? I love my car and I'd rather change it than sell it and get another one all together.


Whatever minimal gains you get in MPGs or performance is not worth stripping out a street car. Just enjoy the 34 as-is and get a Geo Metro coupe if you want a tin can fuel miser to drive around.

Very true. Never thought about that. The idea of driving a different car seems kind of like cheating :shifty But I guess it'd save me a ton of money and mileage towards the engine, eh?

[moroza]

Wanting better fuel economy from less weight is not unreasonable, but getting it from this car would be. Having stripped several of these cars down and built one up from a naked shell, I can say that there are no free weight savings possible on an E34, "free" meaning without a cost of money or inconvenience. I mean, were you expecting someone to point out the factory-installed sack o' bricks under the seat?

[dvdcnnrspncr]

Wanting better fuel economy from less weight is not unreasonable, but getting it from this car would be. Having stripped several of these cars down and built one up from a naked shell, I can say that there are no free weight savings possible on an E34, "free" meaning without a cost of money or inconvenience. I mean, were you expecting someone to point out the factory-installed sack o' bricks under the seat?

lmao Well, yeah, I guess. I just figured there were a lot of parts that were made out of heavier materials 20 years ago that could be replaced now with much lighter material.

[ShapeShifter]

Just open your wallet, the skies the limit.
With your goals, I don't think this is the car for you.

[uk525td]

m30 isnt the motor to be starting with for economy
not sure how good the automatic is but generally a few mpgs are gained by going manual

[JesterMX6]

m30 isnt the motor to be starting with for economy
not sure how good the automatic is but generally a few mpgs are gained by going manual

unless i'm driving. :shifty

[5mall5nail5]

You can make it lighter, but you have to expect trade offs.

That said, its not a terribly heavy car from the start.

[renemesis]

Best way to shave some weight and improve fuel economy is to rip out that M30 and throw an M42 in there.

[billygoat777]

I don't think keeping the car comfortable, yet removing enough weight to make a difference is possible. Getting an exhaust, ltw flywheel, light seats etc. may even end up costing more than you would save in gas money :dunno: correct me if I'm wrong




Swap your M30 for an S14 :rofl



:rofl2 I instantly thought this when I saw "is there a rear seat delete"

except i'm thinking about a 240sx, not the motor

[uk525td]

i was thinking more m42 with a teensy turbo on it :D

[87shark]

unless i'm driving. :shifty

+1000

[5mall5nail5]

My car will drain the tank bugatti veyron style 1100 cc of fuel per minute, per cylinder max. Thats 6.6 liters of fuel a minute... or 1.75 gallons per minute... or 11 minutes from full to empty if WOT lol... hypothetically.

[uk525td]

thats a lie jon
your face will be pushed off your head before then causing major shock and certain death, leaving your car to plow into something solid leaving half a tank of fuel...

god im tired why did i write that

[5mall5nail5]

lol

[SpeedsterBek]

Are there any parts and/or accessories on my e34 that I could take off to reduce the weight of my car? As everyone knows, the e34 is really heavy for a car. However...the more I think about it, the better the idea seems to be. I love the look of the car and I'd hate to have to do anything drastic, but if something were to help my mileage and keep money in my pocket, you'd better believe I'd do it.

I'm just curious if anyone on here has made any weight reductions and how? Did you get rid of the tool box? Any of the cars insulation or noise reduction crap? What?

And if there are any part swaps I could do to help change the weight, too? Like switching some parts from cast iron to aluminum, etc?


So what MPG are you getting from that car? 3.5l M30 isn't exactly a fuel sipper compared to other E34s. You can modify your car all you want but unless you change the way you drive it's hard to get better MPG. Most difference in MPG will be changing the way you drive. Google "hypermiling" and start practicing it? Like not racing from a stoplight, easy, smooth driving, braking early, avoiding rush hour, driving at the speed limit etc.

Now if you still insist at weight reduction then I'd start with easy ones:


use synthetic oil,
pump up your tires few psi over the spec,
take out toolbox,
remove carpet from the trunk and trunk lid
remove back seats,
remove front passenger seat,
remove rear door panels,
remove glovebox door
never fill up above 1/2 tank
eat less but more frequently(to keep the weight down)
:lol

If you're not still satisfied, then there is always Pruises, corollas and Geo metros to buy as a 2nd car

You can try switching to skinnier tires,

[dvdcnnrspncr]

So what MPG are you getting from that car? 3.5l M30 isn't exactly a fuel sipper compared to other E34s. You can modify your car all you want but unless you change the way you drive it's hard to get better MPG. Most difference in MPG will be changing the way you drive. Google "hypermiling" and start practicing it? Like not racing from a stoplight, easy, smooth driving, braking early, avoiding rush hour, driving at the speed limit etc.

Now if you still insist at weight reduction then I'd start with easy ones:


use synthetic oil,
pump up your tires few psi over the spec,
take out toolbox,
remove carpet from the trunk and trunk lid
remove back seats,
remove front passenger seat,
remove rear door panels,
remove glovebox door
never fill up above 1/2 tank
eat less but more frequently(to keep the weight down)
:lol
If you're not still satisfied, then there is always Pruises, corollas and Geo metros to buy as a 2nd car

You can try switching to skinnier tires,


lol Love the dieting advice. I've started thinking about the second car; or just pedaling a bike everywhere and taking the car to work :D

Currently, I'm getting anywhere between 15 to 17 in town and approx 24 on the interstate. I'm actually a pretty calm driver. Though, my tires need replacing and my car needs to be realigned. When I'm going straight, the steering wheel looks like I'm turning right :( I know that'll mess with my mileage quite a bit.

[Sam Son]

eat less

[russiankid]

Jon's car is gallons per mile, not miles per gallon.

[moroza]

lmao Well, yeah, I guess. I just figured there were a lot of parts that were made out of heavier materials 20 years ago that could be replaced now with much lighter material.

Of course. You could get carbon fiber parts made to replace the doors, trunklid - hell, the whole car - but it's going to cost something fierce.

[dvdcnnrspncr]

Of course. You could get carbon fiber parts made to replace the doors, trunklid - hell, the whole car - but it's going to cost something fierce.

Anything I can do about the actual car parts? Like replace the intake manifold with an upgrade and have it be lighter, too? Or replace the suspension and make it lower and lighter at the same time? Something of that sort?

[macknos94]

Replace the exhaust from the exhaust manifold to the tip will cut down some weight plus give you a nice tone. Then I would say some light wheels and tires. Track lites weigh in at 11 lbs I think?

[sfgearhead]

First off, fix the broken issues. Get an alignment. Check your tire pressures.

Stick with 15" wheels and stock 225 or even 205 tires.

What are you willing to live without?

You can pull 300 lbs out of the car and you're not even saving 10% of it's weight. You'll barely notice it.

Don't waste your money on fancy lightweight parts. I've seen Moroza's car and it's visibly lighter. His front end sits higher than mine. He removed some serious weight, and has the best advice here. It's not easy removing weight from these cars without making them uncomfortable, but it can be done.

If it's an intellectual exercise, fine. If you're really concerned buy a 525i.

[nirvana19]

The only thing reasonable thing that I can think of that is OE and won't compromise anything is aluminum lower control arms...those tend to be worn in any case. Lemfoerder preferable but pricey.

[uk525td]

heheh
im running 195 tyres atm :P its interesting to to say the least

it would probably be easier and cheaper to buy an e30 and transplant the m30 into it...

failing that cut a tennis ball in half and put it under your accelerator....

swapping steel to aluminium wont really save much, the aluminium arms are far larger than steel, id be surprised to see any real difference in weight, the aluminium arms are probably more to reduce the weight on the suspension and possibly increased rigidity.

the biggest factor is a large diplacement old technology engine and management, jsut take all the crap out of the car you dont use and be content with that. to make any serious gains your going to have drive a stripped out noisy car, or spend lots of money, more money than it would cost to run a second economical car.

[E34ührer]

You can pull 300 lbs out of the car and you're not even saving 10% of it's weight. You'll barely notice it.

Not to call you out Ian, but 300lbs is HUGE! Your wife + two kids/car seats is probably close to 300lbs...can't you feel the difference when everyone is on board the touring?

STILL, to get rid of 300lbs in the E34, you are left with pretty much nothing...not worth it....