Has anyone here actually weighed their vehicle?

[bmw m3 s50]

Has anyone here weighed their vehicle rather than subtract the weight by each change?

I recently had the opportunity to weigh my car, which I acquired not long ago, and I was somewhat disappointed with the outcome. I had anticipated the weight to fall within the range of 3,200 to 3,275 lbs, but the actual weight came in at 3,341 lbs. My car is a 2004 E46 M3 Coupe, originally equipped with the SMG transmission, which has since been converted to a manual. The vehicle has undergone several weight-reducing modifications, including:

• Carbon fiber roof
• Recaro Sportster seats (driver and passenger)
• Rear seat delete
• Armrest delete
• Hard Motorsport front door panels with front speaker delete
• Air conditioning system delete
• Carbon airbox
• Removal of rear M tire repair kit
• 18” BBS RGR wheels
• 355mm front and 345mm rear big brake kit (BBK)

The vehicle also includes a welded-in rear half cage, which I estimate may contribute an additional 50 to 75 lbs. Despite the extensive lightweight modifications, which generally align with common weight reduction mods among members seeking to reduce weight, I had expected the weight to be closer to the 3250 lb range, even with the added weight of the half cage.

Looking ahead, I plan to further reduce the weight by installing a lightweight battery, Ground Control sway bars, an OEM CSL rear trunk, OEM CSL front door panels, and CF Recaro Pole Position ABE seats.

My ultimate goal is to bring the weight down to the 3,000-3,050 lbs range, but given that many common lightweight modifications have already been made, achieving this target seems increasingly challenging.

For those who have weighed their cars, what results have you experienced?

[heinzboehmer]

How much gas in the tank? Full tank of gas is ~100 lbs. The weights you see online are usually with a half tank.

Mine weighed in at 3250 lbs with a 1/4 tank and less weight reduction than yours. Closer to 3275 with the typical 1/2 tank: https://nam3forum.com/forums/forum/m...098#post222098

I also have a feeling your cage weighs more than those estimated 75 lbs.

[bmw m3 s50]

How much gas in the tank? Full tank of gas is ~100 lbs. The weights you see online are usually with a half tank.

Mine weighed in at 3250 lbs with a 1/4 tank and less weight reduction than yours. Closer to 3275 with the typical 1/2 tank: https://nam3forum.com/forums/forum/m...098#post222098

I also have a feeling your cage weighs more than those estimated 75 lbs.

I totally forgot about the gas in the tank. Now that I think about it, I did have a full tank when I weighed the car. A half tank is around 50 lbs, so technically, I’m looking at 3,291 lbs with half a tank.

As for the half cage, that’s a big variable. From my research, most half cages seem to weigh between 50 and 75 lbs. What do you think the weight of the half cage is?

[01SG]

Sounds about right to me. The roof, seats, and wheels are the only substantial weight savings there. Those probably add up to about 200 pounds saved. The cars weighs 3,450 stock and you put in a heavy cage.

Is it really worth deleting the armrest and spare tire inflator lol. Save a whole 2 pounds.

[bmw m3 s50]

Sounds about right to me. The roof, seats, and wheels are the only substantial weight savings there. Those probably add up to about 200 pounds saved. The cars weighs 3,450 stock and you put in a heavy cage.

Is it really worth deleting the armrest and spare tire inflator lol. Save a whole 2 pounds.

The spare tire inflator was about 8 lbs and the armrest 4lbs so it was closer to 12 lbs not 2lbs. In the grand scheme, 4lbs here then 8 lbs there, add up in the overall picture.

Yeah, I wish that I knew what that half cage weighed.

[Gt4]

An OEM CSL trunk weight the exact same weight as non CSL metal trunk

You can remove sound deadnening inside the cabin like CSL. Halogens headlights -4lbs. Halogens taillights are also lighter vs LED.

BBS RGR aren't the lightest wheels on market.

And like mentionned, fuel tank full and roll bar won't help. Windshield washer reservoir full also add some weight

OEM muffler is also heavy. Coilovers are also lighter than OEM suspension.

I am also looking to a 3000lbs E46 M3 with my newly acquired LSB but I need to do all the maintenance on it first.

[bmw m3 s50]

An OEM CSL trunk weight the exact same weight as non CSL metal trunk

You can remove sound deadnening inside the cabin like CSL. Halogens headlights -4lbs. Halogens taillights are also lighter vs LED.

BBS RGR aren't the lightest wheels on market.

And like mentionned, fuel tank full and roll bar won't help. Windshield washer reservoir full also add some weight

OEM muffler is also heavy. Coilovers are also lighter than OEM suspension.

I am also looking to a 3000lbs E46 M3 with my newly acquired LSB but I need to do all the maintenance on it first.

I thought that the OEM CSL trunk was 6-7lbs lighter then the metal trunk?

The 18" RGRs are right around 20lbs and they look amazing, I could save 1 or 2 extra lbs with different wheels but they would not look as good.

The car does still have the oem muffler. I was considering possibly trying to fabricate a custom titanium muffler. I prefer to have a quieter muffler but that is hard to do when trying to save weight.

Car does have Bilstein PSS10 coilovers.

How much weight does the sound deadnening weigh?

[tr3flip]

Have you removed all the air bags and sound deadening sheets on the floor? I got mine down to 3050 with half tank of gas at its skinniest. This included no radio, no speakers, no front or rear carpet and a ZF 5 speed trans swap.

[Gt4]

I thought that the OEM CSL trunk was 6-7lbs lighter then the metal trunk?

The 18" RGRs are right around 20lbs and they look amazing, I could save 1 or 2 extra lbs with different wheels but they would not look as good.

The car does still have the oem muffler. I was considering possibly trying to fabricate a custom titanium muffler. I prefer to have a quieter muffler but that is hard to do when trying to save weight.

Car does have Bilstein PSS10 coilovers.

How much weight does the sound deadnening weigh?

Pretty sure the OEM CSL trunk is 27lbs

Sound deadnening I don't remember if it'a 20 or 40lbs total.

Audio witing harness is 10lbs

[Nate047]

Do you have some pictures of the car, specifically the cage? I have a chromoly bolt in half cage (not in the car yet) that weighs about 45lbs. I previously had a Kirk roll bar which weighed over 60lbs. Your weld in cage is probably a bit higher depending on the diameter and material, especially if it has a subframe tie in, which, I would hope it does if someone went to the trouble of welding in a half cage to begin with. Kind of an odd choice TBH and begs the question why they didn't just stick with a bolt in half cage, or a full on proper welded cage.

Getting down to 3000 lbs is going to take a lot of time and not very many of the mods will be free or cheap!

[bmw m3 s50]

Pretty sure the OEM CSL trunk is 27lbs

Sound deadnening I don't remember if it'a 20 or 40lbs total.

Audio witing harness is 10lbs

Any idea what the weight of metal trunk lid is? I also thought there was some weight savings in the OEM CSL trunk.

I don't think I am getting rid of the audio wiring harness because it still will be a street driven vehicle.

[bmw m3 s50]

Do you have some pictures of the car, specifically the cage? I have a chromoly bolt in half cage (not in the car yet) that weighs about 45lbs. I previously had a Kirk roll bar which weighed over 60lbs. Your weld in cage is probably a bit higher depending on the diameter and material, especially if it has a subframe tie in, which, I would hope it does if someone went to the trouble of welding in a half cage to begin with. Kind of an odd choice TBH and begs the question why they didn't just stick with a bolt in half cage, or a full on proper welded cage.

Getting down to 3000 lbs is going to take a lot of time and not very many of the mods will be free or cheap!

Unfortunately, the car was bought with the half cage already installed and it does not tie into the subframe which is kinda of a bummer.

The half cage was originally installed by Turner Motorsport.

[Nate047]

Unfortunately, the car was bought with the half cage already installed and it does not tie into the subframe which is kinda of a bummer.

The half cage was originally installed by Turner Motorsport.

Pics? It's also kind of odd to have a welded in cage, half or otherwise, and reclinable seats. Sportsters are also not exactly light. You could save quite a bit by going with Pole Positions or RaceTech seats and basic floor mounts.

[Gt4]

Any idea what the weight of metal trunk lid is? I also thought there was some weight savings in the OEM CSL trunk.

I don't think I am getting rid of the audio wiring harness because it still will be a street driven vehicle.

As per RealOEM, metal trunk is 25.3lbs

And RealOEM also says 25.3lbs for CSL trunk. I have one at the shop and it weight 27lbs. I put some pics in a thread on this forum of OEM CSL on scale

[tr3flip]

There's a 100lbs to be lost in stock battery and muffler alone.