Weight and balance/handling

[JAC]

I am not sure if this is the right place for this question, so I apologize if it should be elsewhere.

The backseats of the puma are really of no use to me, I don't think I know anyone who would fit in their even if I did wan't people in the back.

So, I am thinking of removing the back seats and adding a divider between the front seats and what would become a much bigger boot (much handier for when I need to go to the airport for business trips).

I plan to remove the back seats, the parcel shelf and plastic surrounds of the actual boot, and probably just carpet the sides. I was thinking of also removing the spare wheel, as I am used to using a repair kit and small compressor from my 4x4 experiences.

So my question is regarding weight.

Obviously the seats and spare wheel will shave some weight off the back of the car, but will this unbalance the car and/or affect handling?

I know a lot of you have removed most of the interior for use on tracks, did you have to compensate much at the front?

I could make a fiber bonnet, in fact I was thinking of picking up a bonnet from a scrap yard and using the structure of the bonnet and just replacing the sheet on top with fiberglass (I am not thinking of carbon, as I don't have that kind of cash), this should keep the bonnet latch fully functional etc. But would this be enough to compensate the weight I remove from the back?

BTW, I do not plan on lowering the car, as most of the roads here are in bad condition, so it's nice to have something sporty that doesn't bottom out on every bump.

As always, thanks for your input!

 

[grayfox]

You'll have no problem at all if your not alternating the suspension (spring rate) I'm running AP coilovers with no weight in the rear of the car and no adjustability on damping so every time I go over a steep'ish speed bump (even at slow speeds) and back jumps up and crashes down like a kangaroo! (I should really upgrade).

 

[trublustu]

There is about 20 - 25 kg of weight loss in the bits you list.
As a majority of it is between the axles or between them you shouldn`t unbalance the car too much. (only the spare sits that far back)
The soundproofing under the bonnet is dead weight which can easily be discarded to help balance this out.

As you do lighten the car it will sit taller so modestly lowered springs will simply put the ride height back to standard.
If you spend a little money on quality (Eibach) springs the ride comfort will be retained. (Cheaper lowering springs are rock hard)

 

[JAC]

Thanks for the input.

For now I am just focusing on getting it running properly, but that doesn't stop me planning for the future.

I need to replace the supsension at some point anywa, as it is not great at the moment, so I will investigate into what I will replace it with, but first I need to fix brakes before the suspension.

So, as I won't be changing suspension or springs for now, should I not remove weight until I plan on doing so?