EXCEL 89SE Kerb Weight measurements

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DavidOliver
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Re: EXCEL 89SE Kerb Weight measurements

Post by DavidOliver »

Pete, thanks for the e-bay link.
Sadly they charge 42 pounds to send to Spain and I only have one car worth balancing wheel weights.
I might let a local specialist garage have the info and do a partial buy with him.
Does this forum still have a Tool Borrow facility? Not much good for me (Spain) but other members might be interested in a combined buy if there is a volunteer keeper.

Dave the cog

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rbgosling
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Re: EXCEL 89SE Kerb Weight measurements

Post by rbgosling »

Your 1158kg is only slightly above the 1135kg quoted on Wikipedia, which in turn was taken from a 1986 Motor Sport Magazine article, which no doubt got the figure from the Lotus press pack at the time. The extra is probably your 1/8 tank of fuel!
"Farmer" Richard

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Lotus-e-Clan
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Re: EXCEL 89SE Kerb Weight measurements

Post by Lotus-e-Clan »

rbgosling wrote:
Mon Nov 01, 2021 15:27
Your 1158kg is only slightly above the 1135kg quoted on Wikipedia, which in turn was taken from a 1986 Motor Sport Magazine article, which no doubt got the figure from the Lotus press pack at the time. The extra is probably your 1/8 tank of fuel!
Good call. Also maybe the 89SE larger front spoiler bib, rear spats etc difference from the 86SE adds some blubber too? It's all pretty close enough to suggest the cheap scales are doing a reasonable job though I guess. 8)

If money was no object I'd be looking to reduce unsprung weight with carbon rims, lightest tyres (amazed how much weight variation I'm seeing with tyres on the Clan too), alloy brakes etc.

Or maybe that 2.5L supercharged option Pete Boole has taken, is the proper approach ...less impact on bhp/ton when you add the driver.
Instead of adding lightness, add power, or better still, do both.! :)
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Re: EXCEL 89SE Kerb Weight measurements

Post by Pete Boole »

Lotus-e-Clan wrote:
Mon Nov 01, 2021 16:07
Instead of adding lightness, add power, or better still, do both.! :)
Good plan! The Elite is lighter than the Excel in the first place so I will be really interested to see the final weight for mine. I'm not scrimping on soundproofing though, which is really heavy. I might try to get the car weighed before I put a lot of the soundproofing in - there's already some on the chassis and the engine bay bulkhead though.

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Re: EXCEL 89SE Kerb Weight measurements

Post by Pete Boole »

Weighed an Elite "Turbine" wheel/tyre today. Wheel rim on it's own is exactly 6kg. Wheel + new tyre (205/60 x 14) is 14.5kg. Also weighed a spare 18" wheel rim from my Merc - 14kg without a tyre!

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Re: EXCEL 89SE Kerb Weight measurements

Post by richardw »

One thing I have read is that a side effect of reducing unsprung weight is to increase wheel frequency, which can lead to a subjective impression of a harsher ride. Too low a wheel frequency on the other hand can lead to feelings of nausea (like my mum used to feel carsick in my dad’s Rover 110, I remember!)

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Re: EXCEL 89SE Kerb Weight measurements

Post by Pete Boole »

Wheel frequency will increase if the unsprung weight is reduced but the spring rate remains unchanged. Low unsprung weight in itself does not lead to increased wheel frequency. At one point in F1 the wheel frequencies became so high because of super-high spring rates that the cars really had suspension in name only - it was the tyres doing all the work! There's no doubt though that sports cars have higher wheel frequencies to get them to handle "flatter", hence the firmer ride.

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Re: EXCEL 89SE Kerb Weight measurements

Post by Lotus-e-Clan »

Pete Boole wrote:
Fri Mar 25, 2022 18:06
Weighed an Elite "Turbine" wheel/tyre today. Wheel rim on it's own is exactly 6kg. Wheel + new tyre (205/60 x 14) is 14.5kg. Also weighed a spare 18" wheel rim from my Merc - 14kg without a tyre!

Pete
So the Elite's 14.5 kg wheel/tyre is 3.7 kg saving compared to the Excel SE wheel with Goodyear Eagle NCT 215/50/15, which weighs 18.2 Kg.

14.8 kg saving all round. That's a whole wheel /tyre! :D
Peter K

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