V8V weight reduction
Discussion
The standard 4.3L V8V weight is stated as 1,630kg.
Question: For a road car, what weight could be lost, and where from?
Obvious thing that spring to mind are (with guestimated weight savings):
Lightweight seats -10kg each
Brakes (2-piece/Carbon) -15kg
Exhaust/cats -15kg
Lightweight wheels -5kg a corner
Lightweight battery -5kg
I know that it's a law of diminishing returns the further you go with this exercise, and that a diet for the driver and a near empty petrol tank would probably be more effective, but "what if?"
The V12V's engine I think is +100kg over the V8V, but the car it's self is only 50kg heavier. Some of that would be the seat/Carbon breaks, but I'm not sure if that's enough to account for the 50kg chassis weight loss? The racing versions (GT4 etc) are down near 1,300kg I think, though of course you're talking about no interior/plastic windows/carbon body pannels then!
Question: For a road car, what weight could be lost, and where from?
Obvious thing that spring to mind are (with guestimated weight savings):
Lightweight seats -10kg each
Brakes (2-piece/Carbon) -15kg
Exhaust/cats -15kg
Lightweight wheels -5kg a corner
Lightweight battery -5kg
I know that it's a law of diminishing returns the further you go with this exercise, and that a diet for the driver and a near empty petrol tank would probably be more effective, but "what if?"
The V12V's engine I think is +100kg over the V8V, but the car it's self is only 50kg heavier. Some of that would be the seat/Carbon breaks, but I'm not sure if that's enough to account for the 50kg chassis weight loss? The racing versions (GT4 etc) are down near 1,300kg I think, though of course you're talking about no interior/plastic windows/carbon body pannels then!
A few cheap things to do:
Remove the warning triangle, wheel repair glue and other stuff that's not mandatory.
Remove rear parcel shelf.
The space below the rear bench - all the sound deadening and stuff in there can go - daft little screwdriver.
Boot - remove the sound deadening behind the carpet
Bigger job - remove the sat nav
Bigger job - remove the tyre pressure monitoring system
Bigger job - remove the headlight washers and all the associated wiring and plumbing
Bigger job - remove the stereo and all the associated wiring
If you really wanted a super lightweight V8 I think it would be way way cheaper to talk to AM and have works service and the factory work together on this. In the sense that you can ask for items to be deleted or else made easier to remove. Some items will impact on type approval so they will not delete them (ie - you could not ask the factory to remove the seatbelts).
I agree with the main list but you are spending money to add lighter components. I am a fan of the theory that you simply delete functions and strip out the associated components.
Remove the warning triangle, wheel repair glue and other stuff that's not mandatory.
Remove rear parcel shelf.
The space below the rear bench - all the sound deadening and stuff in there can go - daft little screwdriver.
Boot - remove the sound deadening behind the carpet
Bigger job - remove the sat nav
Bigger job - remove the tyre pressure monitoring system
Bigger job - remove the headlight washers and all the associated wiring and plumbing
Bigger job - remove the stereo and all the associated wiring
If you really wanted a super lightweight V8 I think it would be way way cheaper to talk to AM and have works service and the factory work together on this. In the sense that you can ask for items to be deleted or else made easier to remove. Some items will impact on type approval so they will not delete them (ie - you could not ask the factory to remove the seatbelts).
I agree with the main list but you are spending money to add lighter components. I am a fan of the theory that you simply delete functions and strip out the associated components.
JohnG1 said:
The V12 weight loss is 30kg from carbonfibre/kevlar seats and 20kg from the CCM brakes.
The "light weight" seats are only an option in the V12 they are not standard! 
IME on my last car the easy & most benefical wins are;
Seats (and lower them)
Exhaust (plus more ponies & talks)
Wheels (unnsprung weight reduction is more benefical than kerb weight)
One other point - the higher up the weight the more effect it has on cornering, hence why you see CF roofs and lowered seats (look at WRC co driver seats)
That's a good excuse for always having the roof down on the roadster
I guess you could lose 100Kg ish easy enough ...especially if you as the driver can drop 20-30Kg
but some of the stuff like all the sound deadening/NVH padding thats everywhere...you cant get that out, it needs to come out at production
so buy a GT3/GT4 car to start with ....
if you just want to go faster around a circuit, usually driver upgrades are most economical ...you cant beat a few days training and practice
but some of the stuff like all the sound deadening/NVH padding thats everywhere...you cant get that out, it needs to come out at production
so buy a GT3/GT4 car to start with ....
if you just want to go faster around a circuit, usually driver upgrades are most economical ...you cant beat a few days training and practice
that's the one thing that keeps me looking to change mine 
yeti said:
30kg is a shed load of weight to lose from a pair of seats!! Are they adjustable, and dare I say it... heated? Couldn't live without heated seats in the Volante!
Yes, they are adjustable but not quite as adjustable as the std sports seats however it hasnt for one second caused me a problem. No, heating isnt an option but if you have half alcantara (leather sides, alcantara seats) as I have then you really dont miss the heating as the alcantara is always warm to the touch (and I like you would always buy a car with heated seats if they were available). The carbon fibre backs are just beautiful too, althought I admit you dont look at the back of a seat that often 
Most important of all however is the fact that they are significantly more comfortable than the normal seats - I could never quite get comfy in the std seats in my V8, but the lightweight are just wonderful, soft to sit in yet wonderfulyl supportive and they grip your shoulders great when cornering. I wouldnt buy another Aston without them now.
My lightweight seats :
JohnG1 said:
George H said:
Doesn't all the carbon fibre in the bonnet help reduce the weight too?
I doubt it. But it does make the bonnet really expensive to replace - the vents are something like £800 for a biggie and £400 for a little one...
Adam2S said:
No, heating isnt an option but if you have half alcantara (leather sides, alcantara seats) as I have then you really dont miss the heating as the alcantara is always warm to the touch (and I like you would always buy a car with heated seats if they were available).
Heating is a must for me in the Volante. I love sunny, cold days in winter!yeti said:
30kg is a shed load of weight to lose from a pair of seats!! Are they adjustable, and dare I say it... heated? Couldn't live without heated seats in the Volante!
No heating, no rack adjustment, they are a fixed shape "bucket" style seat The frames tilt, height and distance adjustment
mikey k said:
No heating, no rack adjustment, they are a fixed shape "bucket" style seat
The frames tilt, height and distance adjustment
It says in the manual that you can manually adjust the lumbar supports, basically by pulling the back section off and moving a couple of small cushions. Anybody tried this?The frames tilt, height and distance adjustment
Couldn't agree more about the comfort of the lightweight seats, I was completely ambivalent about them when I was looking for mine but I'm SO glad they happened to be on the car I chose having used them for a week. Should be standard.
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