Has Anyone Done A Lightweight 996 Hotrod?

I've had this idea in my head for years and I'm about to pull the trigger on it. I'd like to take a 1999 996 and make it into a lightweight streetable hot rod. Partially stripped interior, lighter weight components where possible (wheels, seats, hood, battery, exhaust, etc), ducktail rear spoiler, and utilizing factory goodies wherever possible. Think air-cooled R Gruppe or '73 Carrera RS. I'm still seeking inspiration, has anyone done a similar build? This sort of concept is common in the air-cooled cars but I haven't found much in a 996. This is the closest thing I've found: http://www.pistonheads.com/news/gene...r-driven/31249

Matt - Good to see you posting again. Any KC trips on the horizon?

I've been here all along! I started a vendor account for a while related to my hobby dealership, but let that lapse recently. I will probably be in town this weekend, I'll see what the boss has planned for our day. Seems like stopping by your museum would be a fair trade for her getting to do some shopping.

Yes a member a few years back stripped his 4S and weighed all the parts in process He was trying to build the lightest car possible that he could still drive on the street. Ill try to find it...

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ok ^^^ lightweight 40th thread bumped. kobaltblau's thread bumped with the 4S content also. good links in there showing weight of parts removed.

Neat article. I think you'll slowly start to see these about. I wouldn't mind doing one myself but I'd have to get rid of a car to make room. The 996s may never get quite the level of respect of the air cooled cars but their day will come.

I've done several of these mods, and a hod rod is exactly how I feel about it. It's really fun on the street, with lots of thumbs up - and even funner on the track. But unless you gut the thing, it's still a heavy car. I did a weigh-in at Spring Mountain a while back, and was 3356 lbs. with driver. it's maybe a hundred or two less after some more weight reduction, but still..... If you want to keep things like a dash and heat and air conditioning (I do), it's never going to be fighter weight...... but still a REALLY fun hot rod!!

Easy way to drop weight: free: rear bumperette (or bumper & bumperette) delete rear seat & seat belt delete remove spare tires, tools and floor mats delete rear wiper (or find car without one) convert rear spoiler to manual/fixed position remove exhaust heat shields remove CD changer remove underhood panels remove sound deadening above engine remove sound deadening foam under rear interior panels delete A/C system delete AIR system remove air bags cheap: muffler delete (titanium for more savings) cat delete (titanium for more savings) 2WD conversion for AWD cars lightweight battery (or smaller unit) single DIN radio for those with screen/nav replace CD/tape holder with cubby or make c/f delete panel solid engine mounts OMP/Momo/Sparco steering wheel not cheap: coilovers lightweight seats lightweight wheels two piece brake rotors titanium lug bolts hollow sway bars carbon fiber body work

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I recall seeing the 40th AE thread in the past. Seemed like there was still a lot he could have done to get lighter. I'll take a look at the C4S thread, though starting with one of the heaviest 996 models is not a good starting point for a "lightweight". That was my reasoning for starting with a '99 996 base model, as it is the simplest, lightest weight 996. Officially the lightest curb weight for a 1999 911 is 2910 lbs. This is a really great reference thread for weight loss: http://www.6speedonline.com/forums/9...urbo-list.html Some of the parts are turbo specific, but most are exactly the same as you'll find in every other 996. What model is 3356 lbs? If that's a C2 you must have some serious options! Based on the 996TT weight loss thread it would be pretty easy to lose 200+ lbs without any substantial effort. Lighter wheels, lighter seats, lose the rear seats, lose the frunk spare tire and tools, lighter sport exhaust, radio and speaker delete, console delete, rear wiper delete, lightweight battery would get you just about there. I would plan to keep the A/C, power windows/locks, interior, and sound deadening/carpet to keep the car civil enough to enjoy around town. A 2700 lb 996 would be a blast if set up correctly. Even after all that, it still looks like a Maybach compared to a Carrera.

Im doing the same thing, 2000 996 c2, shaved engine bay, 997 x51 intake manifolds, heater delete, power steering delete, spare tire and tools removed, rear seats and seat belts delete, rear bumperets delete, im in the process of relocating the coolant tank to the front trunk aswell to cleaning/shaving engine bay more, rear engine bay sound padding delete, sai delete, shortenned oil fill tube, oil deepstick delete, Fabspeed catless xpipe, coilovers, 18" hre old school 3 piece wheels. Coming... Technocraft carbon seats, carbor roof panel, mufflers etc.

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I forgot SAI delete, that's another one I would add to my list. Sounds like quite the project, do you have any pictures? Have you weighed it? I'd be very curious about the effort required without power steering, and the noise with the sound deadening removed.

Another interesting tidbit, minimum weight for the Spec 996 class 3.4L cars is 2850 lbs including driver and up to 100 lbs of ballast. Obviously that's a stripped race car.

I tried posting pics last week but i couldnt, i can email you pucs and you can post them if u want, i really didnt feel no extra noise from the engine sound mat removal, oh i have rss mounts too.

Since my car isn't primarily a track car, I do moderate weight reduction but it also helps that we have boxer motors with decent low end torque and not high strung engines like a s2000 where weight really plays an important factor. I like to keep a certain level of refinement as I do not want to turn my car into a Honduh. For the really hardcore guys, you need to go Lexan and acid dip your chassis and replace all steel bolts holding your brackets/wiring and such with wire ties. It helps if you already have mk1 c2 body. MK2 C4S Vert Tip owners need not apply here...

Me and my track car and a 1/4 tank of gas are at 3000. And I am 230 of that.

I also like to keep a level of confort like a/c, full interior carpet, radio, but i like the aura of the 73RS, im a minimalist, if its not needed to run and keep me happy get it out! Btw the power steering delete is a little stiffer than normal but not that much at all, i also going to make my rack "manual".

My driving factor behind buying a 99 was that thy were the lightest and being a first gen car had all the "lesser" grade materials inside. The fully loaded cars are cool but those options really do nothing for me personally. My minimalist approach will be to for a center console delete and probably loose the radio in favor of a small amp and phone connection. Air and power steering are what I like most about this car vs my early 911's. All that said I cant imagine getting close to the weight of any of the eary cars, but the look is very appealing to me.

Vision Motorsports recently built a twin turbo, c4 996 race car. They took out 700 lbs of material from the car! But it's a full-on race car... And it's full-on fast!

I have a dedicated track 2000 C2 at 2740 with half tank of gas , no driver. After reading what Porsche doing to reduce 2 lbs from the roof of the new GT3 RS, I am trying to figure out a cost effective way to remove the sunroof hardware. I don't want to weld or buy a CF replacement yet.

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Would like to see some pics of your 2000 C2. Coolant tank relocation, never thought of it. How are you doing it?

A lightweight 996 has always been the goal for my car since day one of ownership. However, a stripped-out interior or hotrod was not quite what I had in mind. Rather, I was leaning more towards a Street Touring, maybe a Street Prepared level autocrosser. Anyway, it's still a work in progress - as most cars are. So far I have the '00 C2 down to a relatively-decent 2965 with 1/4 tank of gas, no driver and the sunroof, AC, stereo and full interior (sans rear seat) still intact. Lightweight flywheel's going in soon with the new clutch so that should shave off a few more pounds. I'll probably remove the rear seat belts as well since the seats aren't there anyway, maybe also some sound deadening material. Then maybe a lighter exhaust in place of the PSE...

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I've had five 996s, my '99s were my favorites because they had the most raw feel without the air cooled compromises. I prefer the 3.4 over the 3.6 because it loves to rev, and the 2002+ always just felt too refined to me. I think the early 996 is the perfect bridge between air-cooled and water cooled. Being the lightest and most lightly equipped is just part of the goodness. I've pondered what you could do to fix the sunroof in place but remove the motor and some of the hardware. Going carbon fiber for the roof would be cool but probably cost prohibitive.

Also, manual steering rack or an electric pump at the front of the car. My LS1 swapped '99 C2 was around 2800lbs.

Another question, has anyone ever seen an itemized list of GT3 Cup changes? There is no online parts catalog for the Cup cars, only the standard GT3. I'd like to see what interesting Porsche parts bin stuff I could incorporate.

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There was an electronic copy of the PMNA parts catalog floating around IIRC. I'll have to look through my files to see if I have it somewhere.

I would add Cryo detailing and removal of cosmoline to the list. Obviously this will affect corrosion resistance but the GT cars survive without it. Last time I was at TuneRS the guys commented I could loose 50 lbs from underneath my car. Not sure how accurate that is but still a good idea although its not an inexpensive process. I think I was quoted $1200 at the time.

Along these lines, is anyone running a lightweight battery in their DD 996? I'm looking at the Deka Sports Power ETX-30L that was mentioned in the lightweight 40th AE thread. I don't have to deal with cold weather starts, and I have a battery tender, so are there any drawbacks?

Yes battery is an easy mod to loose some weight, you can use an odyssey 925 which only weighs 25 lbs or an optima red but for each you will need to modify the tray or buy GMG battery tray. My current interstate battery is 43lbs for comaprision

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For my DD I went with a smaller Deka (not a lightweight battery) to shave off 10lbs and still have power.

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OEM Lightweight Lithium Ion Battery. Save over 30lbs compared to stock battery. Of course it's gonna cost you $110/lb because Porsche.

This feels close to what you're talking about : http://www.motoroso.com/forgeline/Ga...pen-Lug-Wheels http://www.motoroso.com/forgeline/Ga...pen-Lug-Wheels http://www.motoroso.com/forgeline/Ga...pen-Lug-Wheels

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I'm running LiFePO4 batteries in my motorcycles, and I'm hoping to get an update on Jack Olsen's experience with his Battery Tender unit. At under $200, this would be a much better option than Porsche's.

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I saw those when they first came out but the models they had at the time didn't seem sufficient enough to start a car reliably. I'll have to check to see if they've come out with other models since. Also because this is RL, you know some peeps would only get ones with "N" rating and scoff at any alternatives. LOL. Edit: Saw the site and seems like they've added some models to their lineup.

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This is the specific unit that I'm considering. I'm not sure the best way to get around the "N" rating - burn a $100 bill?

Li-PO batteries>>>>>. when you absolutely positively want to burn your Porsche to the ground over night.

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Joe, Not sure if you're referring to the Porsche units, but the LFP technology that I'm looking at is supposed to be a lot safer than the Li-PO units.

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Lon's car is certainly a lightweight. I have a few engine owners that have cut their DE cars down just as light, and a few of them are street legal (barely). More and more early cars are being treated this way, they are always my favorites for a 4 liter, or maybe my short stroke 3.5 :-)

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Yeah, I'm trying to keep mine streetable, not "streetable." At under 2800 lbs, I'm thinking Lon's car is "streetable" in the loosest sense. The SO gripes enough about just getting into and out of my car, I don't want to make it even more unforgiving.

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I have driven Lon's 996 on the street.....😎

HotRod = American Car/ American Motor. 996 HotRod = 996/LS3 , YEP Done that and it is a BLAST!!!!! http://ls1tech.com/forums/conversion...version-7.html DSCN2905_zpse50f60f6.jpg

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Rod/Stroke Ratio? Is this meant as a high revving/high power band motor?

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Yes, with over 9,000 RPM red line. But I have many combinations to build it from. All specs are proprietary. Of course, Caution when speaking- the enemy is always listening.

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That's exactly the kind of answer I expected so no disappointments there.

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You know me. Let's just say that building a 3.5-3.6 that makes more power than someone else's 4.0 is a routine occurrence these days. Its always been like that, well of course it want' back when I created the first 4.0 :-) The other guys that are building these engines today were laughing at me back then, saying that under no circumstance would they work on an M96 internally. They put themselves behind, and I have ensured that they will stay there.

When I was racing my motorcycle I was able to shed 25 lbs from my bike by hitting the treadmill and not drinking beer . Improved my lap times by 1.4 seconds . Lol To get the next 1.4 second drop cost 12 grand

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Along the same lines, no one looking to shed some lbs should be running a full tank of windshield washer fluid or gas IMO. I usually only run 1/4 tank on the streets. My car usually doesn't get dirty enough to use washer fluid. I just keep a 6oz spritz bottle of quick detailer and MF towel in the frunk.