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weight reduction suggestions and ideas

12K views 33 replies 18 participants last post by  Henry T 
#1 ·
i will be undergoing a weight reduction soon. Including loosing weight lol. No really... Would be nice to know how many lbs are each wheel and what can i do to reduce the weight. i was thinkin if it was beneficial to go down to 16 and get something lightweight. I will be also going cf and trying to see if i can gut out my back seat and replace it with plastic seats. Ideas?? Suggestions?? Keep this in mind i will be getting a turbo soon too.
 
#2 ·
An easy one would be the spare tire, I heard of a couple Hondas that removed their air bags for weight reduction but that seems a little risky. Removing the carpets and trunk lining would also be easy, also try getting the weight of the front seats and replace them with racing seats. Perhaps get a set of racing seatbelts. In my opinon just remove the backseats and put a strut bar there, maybe even a roll cage.

http://www.cartuningtips.com/21-weight-reduction

Good tips on this site for weight reduction
 
#3 ·
Having gutted my sedan for deadening, I can tell you that the carpet is maybe 10lbs total. not worth the effort. If I were you i'd remove the back seat, bottom and backrest, and definitely the spare tire and jack. Other than that there's not much else that will give you any significant weight reduction in the car. perhaps a new set of front seats, but since they have airbags you may get sensor reading errors on startup if they are not present.
 
#4 ·
i got stock ex koup 16s if you want them:D yeah new seats and when i had a f-body i took out the rear seats and there were these wooden carpet wrapped seat deletes i installed. i sure you can do a search for what im talking about, ive also seen some with a lil "door" that you can store stuff in the rear seats. remove spear tire jack and maybe put nitrogen in your new wheels
 
#6 ·
nice thanks for the info guys. one more question what do you think about cf? its amazing how cf can save you alot of weight but i wonder how many lbs are we saving if we go cf hood,trunk,fenders maybe seats even lighter wheels. shedding off at least 50-100 lbs would be great
 
#12 ·
nice thanks for the info guys. one more question what do you think about cf? its amazing how cf can save you alot of weight but i wonder how many lbs are we saving if we go cf hood,trunk,fenders maybe seats even lighter wheels. shedding off at least 50-100 lbs would be great

i plan on going with any cf parts that come out, im not to sure if there is a trunk lid or fenders out yet, but i also want to paint match cuz personally i dont like the look of cf but love the weight you can save. and im 50/50 on the removal of the bumpers, for sure the rear, but i would keep the front just for the extra weight so you can get traction and in case a front end wreck
 
#9 ·
the best weight reduction you can do is in teh rotational mass of the driveline, pulleys, flywheel, axles, wheels, even tires lol...when i put my traklites on my koup (14.4lbs compared to 29lbs a rim) i felt alot more throttle responce and a little bit more power.. so thats where it can help alot
 
#10 ·
how about removing the front and rear bumper support ? thats a big chunk of metal. i know its there for a reason..but i have insurance if something goes wrong....
 
#11 · (Edited)
well if you do all are serval of the things above your going to lose atleast 25 30 pounds.

I mean if you really wanna get race like, remove the back seats your not useing them anyway.
door pannels,carpet.

you could also change all the glass out for plexy glass its a bit lighter and stronger too.
My dad bult a old sixtys cammero and put a plexy glass windsheld and he could stand on it with out it breaking he was about 346 pounds at the time.:)

Anyway change the stock wheels out for some ligher ones you might gain a few free up pounds there.

carbon fiber vs metal carbon fiber is always going to be a bit lighter the metal so that could shed a few more pounds.

Just a matter of how much your willing to give up..
oh and the ac stuff if you lose all that stuff your going to lose some weight there too!

But its a question of race vs comfort here..
all comforts are nice but if you plan on just racing the car then I'd say by another car for comforts :)
Good luck on your cars weight loss plan! :)
 
#14 ·
also something to think about.. MOST CF hoods.. are fiberglass hoods with a CF top wrap.. and actually weight more then a straight fiberglass hood they are stonger yes .. but if you're looking for the most weight savings a FG will be lighter

also think rotational mass > static mass taking 4 lbs off of each rim will do more then taking 16 lbs off the body
 
#18 ·
waste of money... for the weight savings VS cost its not even close ot worht it... if you really want a differance go forged wheels...stronger and lighter then cast wheels...my motegis are forged and thats one of the reasons its 14.4lbs for a 17x8 rim.... plus you cant find any other forged rim for $300 a rim price range...well worth the money
 
#16 ·
another thing to think abotu in response to rotational mass of the engine: getting a lightweight flywheel sometimes will make your car not start if the starter ring gear is off or worn
the flywheel's rotating mass keeps the engine running when it isn't in a firing stroke, so a lighter flywheel could cause it to run rough also
the revs will raise and drop quicker, but it will prob be a little more responsive
if you get lighter weight engine components make sure you trust the company's work, sometimes lighter weight=decreased strength..
 
#17 ·
if im not mistaking we have a dual mass flywheel not even the company which makes the clutch for the racing koup i believe kenetics dont offer or even make a flywheel. In this case a billet flywheel.
 
#19 ·
300 a rim... Any site that will keep them under a grand? And what do you recommend for tires? Im using 215/50/17 loving the grip
 
#20 ·
#22 ·
lol no idea.. probably though.. you'd have to check for clearances.. but considering the ex has 16's and has the same brakes (right?) i'd think squeezing down 1 inch should work but i dont wanna say definitely
 
#24 ·
weight reduction, i had some friends in my high school days who would only race on an empty tank of gas - meaning when the empty light came on is when they would race.


now this is risky because some cars have fuel pumps in the bottom of their tanks (some have it in line i believe) and if its real hot out (say summer) you run the risk of over heating your fuel pump.


also take big dump before you sit in car, that'll be an easy ~3-5lbs.


Pull power everything, less power = more power, dodge neons srt-4's dont have power windows in the rear, one of the resons is because they say its for weight reduction (i dont know how true this is), but i know less power does mean more power. no ac, no windows, no cruise.

I dont know how practical this is but its just what i'm thinking when people wana do weight reduction.
 
#30 ·
my friends run in the 1/4 mile( 9 sec 1/4's) and they say for every 10 pounds its 1 hp. im in no rush to do any weight reduction but every little bit helps. and i would agree with the people who say reduce the rotational mass.... say start with the rotating mass first and go from there.
 
#33 ·
When painting calipers red today I weighed the stock 2012 Koup wheels with tires mounted. At 46.5 lbs per wheel and tire. Mine came with Goodyear Eagle LS2 tires that weigh 21lbs each according to Goodyear. So that makes the stock wheel 26.5 lbs. I am looking at a 17x7 wheel that comes in at 16 lbs saving 5.5lbs per. corner. I was changing to this wheel because I liked it and now it may have a small benefit. Next is to reduce the weight of the hood made like a ships anchor.
 
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