stephenkirsh Posted June 24, 2016 Share Posted June 24, 2016 Hi, I'm in HPDE2. Looking to save a little easy weight on my E46 sedan by removing the front passenger seat and rear passenger seats. Any rules/tech issues w/ removing the front passenger seat? I would do it at the track, so if somebody wants a ride it's just 4 bolts and a connector to put it back in/take out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smike Posted June 24, 2016 Share Posted June 24, 2016 Saving weight in HPDE? Why? Not important. More important is having the seat to get instructors in the car with you to become a better driver! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brkntrxn Posted June 24, 2016 Share Posted June 24, 2016 Saving weight in HPDE? Why? Not important. More important is having the seat to get instructors in the car with you to become a better driver! I agree, but I remember doing the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbrew8991 Posted June 24, 2016 Share Posted June 24, 2016 could see slight benefit from lower weight on consumable consumption, but only slight. That said, if you're solo'd you only need one seat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t500hps Posted June 25, 2016 Share Posted June 25, 2016 If you're in group 2 and thinking like this already.......it's time to find a dedicated track car! Thankfully I found one before spending too much $$$ modifying my daily driver. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephenkirsh Posted June 26, 2016 Author Share Posted June 26, 2016 Ha, I'm not married to the idea, just exploring if it's allowed. It just seems like 5 minutes of work saves you 40 pounds... another 10 minutes on the rear seats saves 35 pounds. 75 pound savings for 15 min worth of work? Not too bad. We'll see... I don't know the frequency in which I'll be able to find instructors to hop in with me...my assumption, being in group 2, is that they'll always be paired up with somebody in group 1, and won't be free to ride with me. I don't know if other regions do it differently, but in NorCal, Group 1 and 2 are almost always together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephenkirsh Posted June 26, 2016 Author Share Posted June 26, 2016 If you're in group 2 and thinking like this already.......it's time to find a dedicated track car! Thankfully I found one before spending too much $$$ modifying my daily driver. Some day, but not today. I'm under 30 and live in California. I'll let you guess my housing situation (and therefore, ability to build a track car/store it/own something to tow it) . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calif_Kid Posted June 26, 2016 Share Posted June 26, 2016 This has nothing to do with you removing your passenger or rear seats, but if you want to see the course run at higher speeds, then maybe hang around the instructor area with your helmet about 10' before the HPDE-4 sessions as some of them in Norcal run in HPDE-4 and might allow you to ride along as a passenger, and it can be interesting to see the course run at higher speeds. This is assuming that HPDE-4 isn't followed by the HPDE-1/2 group. - Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
getfast Posted June 26, 2016 Share Posted June 26, 2016 Ha, I'm not married to the idea, just exploring if it's allowed. It just seems like 5 minutes of work saves you 40 pounds... another 10 minutes on the rear seats saves 35 pounds. 75 pound savings for 15 min worth of work? Not too bad. We'll see... I don't know the frequency in which I'll be able to find instructors to hop in with me...my assumption, being in group 2, is that they'll always be paired up with somebody in group 1, and won't be free to ride with me. I don't know if other regions do it differently, but in NorCal, Group 1 and 2 are almost always together. I can't think of any reason why it's not allowed... so I say go for it. Keep in mind, many/most regions will only advance you to a faster HPDE group via check ride so you'll want to be able to put that seat back in as needed. Check rides are also a great time to get tips from instructors. There's always something we can all improve upon. For me it's usually consistency. Side note, the E46 sedan rear seats are 35 pounds? Impressive. I pulled that stuff from my last E36 sedan only to make space for wheels/tires and more stuff back there (before rollbar went in, then the rear seat area was only for gear bag and anything else smallish that could easily fit.) It was only the cushions and headrests really, but from memory it was a lot less than 35 pounds - therefore fairly pointless from just a weight savings perspective. Hope it helps, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephenkirsh Posted June 29, 2016 Author Share Posted June 29, 2016 This has nothing to do with you removing your passenger or rear seats, but if you want to see the course run at higher speeds, then maybe hang around the instructor area with your helmet about 10' before the HPDE-4 sessions as some of them in Norcal run in HPDE-4 and might allow you to ride along as a passenger, and it can be interesting to see the course run at higher speeds. This is assuming that HPDE-4 isn't followed by the HPDE-1/2 group. - Jim Yea my first HPDE event I went with my instructor in his E46 M3 with R comps and some kind of race pad. He was pretty impressive. We passed everything out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephenkirsh Posted June 29, 2016 Author Share Posted June 29, 2016 Side note, the E46 sedan rear seats are 35 pounds? Impressive. I pulled that stuff from my last E36 sedan only to make space for wheels/tires and more stuff back there (before rollbar went in, then the rear seat area was only for gear bag and anything else smallish that could easily fit.) It was only the cushions and headrests really, but from memory it was a lot less than 35 pounds - therefore fairly pointless from just a weight savings perspective. Hope it helps, This is what I read on E46Fanatics a while ago. I haven't actually removed them myself, but the E46 seats include the bench and back cushions and 3 head rests. Bottom line, I know seat time will be the #1 thing to improve my laps, but I was just curious for some simple/easy ways to save weight Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ev Posted June 29, 2016 Share Posted June 29, 2016 Saving weight in HPDE? Why? Not important. More important is having the seat to get instructors in the car with you to become a better driver! +1 One of the biggest mistakes people make is to not get an instructor in the right seat once in a while. Driving is the thing in HPDE, not laptime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephenkirsh Posted June 30, 2016 Author Share Posted June 30, 2016 Yea I definitely understand that; I just didn't see much draw back in the 3-5 minutes it takes to bolt a seat in n out. Thanks for everybody's thoughts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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