Removing 1.9 kg from a UK motorsport assembly without changing fastener count

The situation

A UK motorsport team needed weight reduction within an existing homologated assembly, which ruled out redesign — only a material and geometry substitution was permitted, at unchanged torque spec and fastener count.

What was done

• 1The requirement was re-specified against a measurable acceptance test before any price was discussed — in this case assembly mass contribution measured on incoming goods, not on a supplier’s own paperwork.
• 2Process control was changed to hold that measurement: standard at DIN 912 (ISO 4762 equivalent), size at M8 × 40 mm.
• 3Evidence was tied to each lot so the buyer could verify the claim rather than trust it. That is why the programme ran 88 days: the first 4 lots were used to prove stability before volume was released.

Evidence you can ask to see

Mill test reports with tensile and yield results, CMM dimensional records per batch, weight records per lot

These are buyer-side or third-party records, not supplier marketing. Where a document is commercially sensitive we will ask the buyer for permission before sending it, and say so rather than sending a redacted page that proves nothing.

The part involved