In terms of performance, a vehicle's weight is one of its biggest limiting factors. This is why weight reduction usually ends up on car enthusiasts' to-do lists. In this video, YouTuber ChrisFix takes weight reduction to the extreme with his BMW E46 race car. ChrisFix pulls out the entire interior of his BMW while weighing each piece to break down just how much weight someone can pull out of their car. ChrisFix also put together a performance before and after test to see if gutting a car's interior is really worth it.
BMW E46 Endurance Car Baseline
ChrisFix's E46 is getting ready for an endurance race, and gutting it is just one of many steps to get it ready. ChrisFix mentions that he is hoping to remove weight to help the car with acceleration, cornering, and braking. To help measure these, ChrisFix runs down some simple baselines to compare against once the interior has been removed. The E46 puts down a 6.8-second average 0-60 and 60-0 braking distance of 170 ft. After putting down those baselines, ChrisFix heads home to check the weight of his all-wheel-drive E46. Using some pretty high-tech racing scales, the 330xi comes in at a weight of 3,370 lbs.
Weight Reduction To The Extreme
Before ChrisFix digs into ripping out the interior, he mentions his goal to get the car below the 3,000 lb mark. A feat that seems pretty farfetched until he shows that the seats alone weigh in at 180 lbs dropping the weight of the car pretty close to that goal.
After the removal of all of the carpets, interior trims, and major dash parts, ChrisFix is finally able to install his OMP racing seat onto the bare metal floor. The race seat and accompanying brackets only came out to about half of the 65lbs of the OEM driver's seat.
ChrisFix also mentions that part of the benefits of weight reduction is the fact you can recuperate some cash by selling parts that are pulled out. For what is essentially a free modification, making some cash off of parts you no longer need is an incredible benefit.
Weight Vs. Performance
ChrisFix's E46 ends up with a final weight of 2,940 lbs without the cage installed. ChrisFix mentions that he may be able to pull a couple of extra pounds by cutting out some unneeded wiring harnesses. Even without those extra savings, ChrisFix was able to get the BMW down to the weight he originally hoped for.
The real test comes when ChrisFix returns to the track to see if pulling over 10% of the car's original weight actually helps with performance. Sure enough, ChrisFix was able to drop his best 0-60 time down to 5.97 seconds and his braking distance to 140ft. Pretty noticeable gains for a modification that is essentially just removing parts from the car.
As ChrisFix's E46 continues to be built and prepared for its endurance race, make sure to keep an eye on his channel to see just how far those numbers improve.