ive been a big advocate of the theory of power to weight.. heres what i have out so far

Rear seat - upper and lower
mostly all trunk plastic
hatch cover
rear seat belts
spare tire
jack
rug
front seat (when i feel like having it out)
driver side sound deadning (passenger was left to balance the weight)

now in about a year or so when i get a daily driver .. im going to be removing the a/c piping compressor and belt line which should save about 40 lbs im guessing and with the belt removed ..5 hp tops .. anything else that i over looked ... besides a relocation kit for the battery

oRACLe's 1997 RS




ThE oRACLe says: "I've got some yellow liquid for your popcorn ... and its non-dairy .."

I've heard of some people removing the bumper braces or something like that, but I don't think they're really that heavy for the benefit they provide.

Have you considered lighter, forged wheels? Also, I've always been curious if anyone's actually purchased those CF body parts from Squid yet. Damn they look tasty. })

go on a diet...

"Shop smart, shop S-Mart!" ~ Ash
Member # 1523

i recently got a pair of c5's from katana (racing hart imatations) those are on now and are actually bigger(17")than my cheesy white rims ... the funny thing was ... they were lighter ... when they put them on the scale at the tire shop they were actually 4 pounds lighter than the 16's if u can belive that .. they came out to 27 lbs with tire inflated .. the 16's were 31 on the digi scale ... so i saved close to 20 lbs.. i havent seen anything on the squid parts ... do u have a link ? i currently have the fiber glass z3 fenders those should save about 7lbs each side (not installed yet im wary about putting them on .)

im 180lbs and 5 10 ...noway am i losing weight ..lol honestly a great weight reduction would be remote control ~~!@!~~

oRACLe's 1997 RS




ThE oRACLe says: "I've got some yellow liquid for your popcorn ... and its non-dairy .."

ok. im 170 and 5'10"...i just need to make my fat muscle

but anyway..

remove the carpet completely maybe. if you can handle no AC, remove all teh ac stuff, switch to a manual rack.. those last 2 will save lots of weight but you sacrifice some for it.

"Shop smart, shop S-Mart!" ~ Ash
Member # 1523

http://www.squidskins.com/

rug is out ... the loudest interior ever ... god forbid a rock goes under my car ..or i hit a deep puddle ..lol ill look into this more and let u guys know whats new ... do u think they will let me weigh my car at a truck weigh station ?

oRACLe's 1997 RS




ThE oRACLe says: "I've got some yellow liquid for your popcorn ... and its non-dairy .."

cf hood?

-matt

97 Eclipse GS-T with 6-bolt engine

Reduction:
Take off stock wing
change stock hood and fenders
take off door panels
air bags
glove box
ac and power steering
center console

Thats about it.

I had my entire interior out of the car...dash, airbags, all plastic....radio, the whole nine yards. I had to go to autozone for something so on the way I gunned it to see if I could feel the difference. NO.....my conclusion is an ugly interior is not worth whatever miniscule gain you would get.

>I had my entire interior out of the car...dash, airbags, all
>plastic....radio, the whole nine yards. I had to go to
>autozone for something so on the way I gunned it to see if I
>could feel the difference. NO.....my conclusion is an ugly
>interior is not worth whatever miniscule gain you would get.



werd

i can provide u with brackes that lighten the car 10-15lbs per wheel,

squid skins can provide u with near 800lbs in reduction with their body panels...

hatch.

flexalite windows (polymer)

lighter battery...
racing seats

remove washer fluid

aluminum radiator..

remove windsheild wipers


depends on how crazy u want to go mang....

hit me up and i can discuss some of this with you...

Bill

You can have it cheap, fast or good. Pick any two.

If you want it cheap and fast, it's not going to be good.
If you want it cheap and good, it's not going to be fast.
If you want it good and fast, it's not going to be cheap.

I started weight reduction on my car. Mostly the normal stuff, spare tire, stereo system, ect.
Here are my plans for future weight reduction.
Speedglass windows(all)
Fiberglass:
Hood
Hatch
Doors
Dash
Already have "glass" fenders and front and rear bumpers covers (no bumpers under the covers).
Remove A/C and power steering.
Remove carpet/seats and get light weight seats.
Pretty much everything not needed, but enough to pass PA inspection.

Most of the above will be after I build my motor(this winter)and do my suspension.

NOTE: squidskins prices are Canadian.

http://www.percyshp.com/speedracwin.html
http://www.squidskins.com/partslist.asp?class=cars&mfg=Eagle&vehicle=Talon

I forgot to add the prices for speedglass.
front and rear winshields: $400.00 each
driver and Pass. windows: $170.00 each
quarter windows: $120.00 each
Thats about $1380 for all.

are those windows polymer or plexi??

Bill whats the weight differences for stock to these new units?

Bill

You can have it cheap, fast or good. Pick any two.

If you want it cheap and fast, it's not going to be good.
If you want it cheap and good, it's not going to be fast.
If you want it good and fast, it's not going to be cheap.

Speedglass is a Lexan polycarbonate and they apply a coating that makes it scratch and chemical resistant. Its also shatterproof and 50% lighter than glass.
The prices I gave are for 3/16" thick.
I talked to them over a month ago and they said "its not DOT approved YET. So I'm assuming it may/will be.

SO theoretically, we're talking about keeping the 50lbs worth of comfort (ie; interior) and then swapping body panels/glass for close to 900lbs reduction? I would really like to see someone do this. I think the last time I tried to figure it out, to go all CF from squid was going to run in the neighborhood of about 5-7 grand, but the fiberglass is cheaper and might shave the same weight. I wonder what sort of difference you could see in the 1/4 mi with an 800lb weight reduction? Is there a calculator out there somewhere for time/hp/weight?

This has always been something I've been interested in...

u didnt notice anything ... ? hmmm the front seat alone is close to 25 lbs ... rear seat 5lbs top part of rear seat = 11lbs ... rug is 4 lbs .. sound deading on the passenger side came close to 11 lbs ...rear plastics .. 2-3lbs ... rear spare another 15lbs rear jack 6lbs ... unorthadox racing pulley is 5 lbs (compared to the 15lbs stocker) now with my math thats 72 lbs ..... i took the weight of an rs automatic ... and came up with this ... without the weight reductions ... the car pulls 20lbs per hp... with them ..19lbs per hp .. u might think ... well thats only 1lb ... but thats per hp ..and there are 140 of them ... and thats stock thats not factoring in the modifications ..

dr .. imagine running a carbon copy of yourself and your car .. they shadow dr .... would have the same mods .. but the other is 100lbs lighter ...off the line with the same launch ... you will lose ... top end u will lose... gas mileage u will lose .. stopping power youll take longer .. u see what im getting at

oRACLe's 1997 RS




ThE oRACLe says: "I've got some yellow liquid for your popcorn ... and its non-dairy .."

>u didnt notice anything ... ? hmmm the front seat alone is
>close to 25 lbs ... rear seat 5lbs top part of rear seat =
>11lbs ... rug is 4 lbs .. sound deading on the passenger side
>came close to 11 lbs ...rear plastics .. 2-3lbs ... rear spare
>another 15lbs rear jack 6lbs ... unorthadox racing pulley is 5
>lbs (compared to the 15lbs stocker) now with my math thats 72
>lbs ..... i took the weight of an rs automatic ... and came up
>with this ... without the weight reductions ... the car pulls
>20lbs per hp... with them ..19lbs per hp .. u might think ...
>well thats only 1lb ... but thats per hp ..and there are 140
>of them ... and thats stock thats not factoring in the
>modifications ..
>
>dr .. imagine running a carbon copy of yourself and your car
>.. they shadow dr .... would have the same mods .. but the
>other is 100lbs lighter ...off the line with the same launch
>... you will lose ... top end u will lose... gas mileage u
>will lose .. stopping power youll take longer .. u see what im
>getting at



True, but the gains if they are there are so minimal it's not worth it to me to have an ugly car. If I were to do weight reductino it would be:

1. Squid hatch, fenders, hood
2. OZ Superleggera wheels (17's are like 18lbs a piece)
3. Racing seats
4. No spare
5. No rear seatbelts
6. Go on a diet

But having an ugly car? No....we drive pretty cars.

thats why i constantly polish my interior !~~! the stock black shines up quite nicely ...

i have new rims on my ride now .. the katana c5's they are 17" and my white ones are 16" ..when we brought them to shop to be balanced the guy said that these feel much lighter ( the 17"s) sure enough he brought them to a digital scale and sure enough a 4lbs shave on each rim and tire ...now this was fully inflated also ... i was surprised and happy cause that translates to around 15lbs saved with the new tires .. also i have z3 fenders that need to be put on .. and was actually thinking about a new hood (fiber glass) also ... but the hatch would reduce things way to much in the back ...that just means we need to tie down the back nice and tight with the rear upper and lower tie bars ... and u know what that means ...... drift city ... and a weight distribution of 80/20 ...lol thats horrible ... but good for a drift race ..lol im looking to get down to 15 lbs per hp ...

oRACLe's 1997 RS




ThE oRACLe says: "I've got some yellow liquid for your popcorn ... and its non-dairy .."

I was told you can figure ever 100 pounds shed would subtract (approximately) 1 tenth of a second in a 1/4 mile.

I don't see anything wrong with more weight in the front than in the rear. In a rear wheel drive you want weight transfer to the rear for traction purpose. I plan on eliminating weight transfer to the rear with suspension work to keep the weight over the front wheels.

Its hard to have a fast show car. Its one or the other. IMO

weld racing wheels are lighet then superlegges are 17lbs per wheel for *light* wheels thats not very good...

the major parts that i would tackle are the heavy points

rear hatch all the glass
the hood
seats

a/c system and evap canister n such under the hood,
light weight battery

door skins,

any fiberglass fender will lighten the car up but not too much...


next year ill be working on a lighter crossmember to sell to people... that way downt he road though...

remove windsheild washer fluid

if u dont want an ugly car re do the carpet with some cheap color matched carpet without the sound material...

sun roof glass squidskins was at one time working on that....

remove cat and get a lighter exhuast ...



okay thats all i can think of for now..

Bill

You can have it cheap, fast or good. Pick any two.

If you want it cheap and fast, it's not going to be good.
If you want it cheap and good, it's not going to be fast.
If you want it good and fast, it's not going to be cheap.

thanks bill ! im blessed enough not to have a sun roof ... and am looking into the carbon fiber hood to go with my fenders... the hatch glass i would love to replace ... the apex n1 might be heavy but its of excellent design ... therefore it stays ..lol how much does the hatch glass run?

oRACLe's 1997 RS




ThE oRACLe says: "I've got some yellow liquid for your popcorn ... and its non-dairy .."

>the major parts that i would tackle are the heavy points
>
>rear hatch all the glass
>the hood
>seats


I think ONE door weighs more than the hood and both seats combined. Maybe not, but I bet if you would weigh a door and then the hood and both seats it would be close.

hehe bill nailed everything I can think of..
but I kind of agree with Aaron.. taking out all the interior stuff that weighs very little isn't worth it IMO but then again, you ARE going all out for performance so I guess every lb counts
Anyway yeah.. cf or fiberglass body panels will help alot methinks..

Door skins are f'in heavy.. I'd estimate around 60 lbs?
Hatch is pretty heavy too..

I know there's a lexon (sp) replacement for the hatch or hatch glass or something.. but not sure about door skins

btw this post should be archived in things we've seen before when its done

how about spending money for a turbo kit if your planning to spend a thousand on weight reduction.
-------jezreel

a thousand on weight reduction i wish i could do everything i listed fora grand...

Bill

ps squidskins will sell door skins in fg or cf....

You can have it cheap, fast or good. Pick any two.

If you want it cheap and fast, it's not going to be good.
If you want it cheap and good, it's not going to be fast.
If you want it good and fast, it's not going to be cheap.

All i really want in my interior is my dash (all of it but air bags) with all things on it, center console (100% of it), and door panels. I actually like the way it looks with no rear to it, it gives it that racey feel, sound, and look. I'ma try n do the show AND go, i think it can be done.

exactly im just gonna cover my rear with some twwed or matching carpet real light stuff... maybe have some designz in it

i think if u try hard enough u can drop damn near 1000lbs...

Bill

You can have it cheap, fast or good. Pick any two.

If you want it cheap and fast, it's not going to be good.
If you want it cheap and good, it's not going to be fast.
If you want it good and fast, it's not going to be cheap.

What about relocating the battery to the trunk? No weight savings, but it will balance the car. What about a lighter battery?

I actually like the way a stripped rear on a car looks. Plus i can put more stuff in my car if i have to. I guess its all personal preference.I don't even think i am gonna cover the metal, maybe jus bondo over the screw holes and take random things off and get it smoothed out and painted the same color as my car.

This is a good thread!

1 - Oracle. I agree with you completely. However, if I were to go die hard on the lightening, I would still go try to get as low as I could and keep the interior. If I pulled up next to a DSM with a completely gutted interior, I would know something was up. To shave a couple hundred pounds and still look stock (ie; full interior) would add to the sleeper factor which is something I'm aiming for.

2 - I think I speak for everyone who's interested in shaving every ounce off their car's weight when I say that this is the last of the new frontiers when it comes to our cars. I doubt any one has done all the lightening mods and I think when someone DOES finally get all the lead out so to speak, we will all be blown away by how quick they are. It's tough to decide to spend 2 grand on lightening your car when you still don't have any more than that eBay short ram and a universal N1, but it all comes down to hp:weight ratios. If you have a turbo 420A pulling down a 15hp/lb and then you have an NA car doing the same, I think the NA car will be more impressive, imo.

I agree. This thread should go into the things we've seen before when it's done and cooled off a bit.

>This is a good thread!
>
>1 - Oracle. I agree with you completely. However, if I were
>to go die hard on the lightening, I would still go try to get
>as low as I could and keep the interior. If I pulled up next
>to a DSM with a completely gutted interior, I would know
>something was up. To shave a couple hundred pounds and still
>look stock (ie; full interior) would add to the sleeper factor
>which is something I'm aiming for.



Exactly. Carbon fiber hood, fenders, rear hatch....every bit of it painted to match...racing seats, remove air bags, remove rear seat belts, get some of those cromoly suspension arms, remove all the heat shields under your car, cut out your spare tire bracket, light weight speakers (come on, gotta have a stereo...just no subs and shit), remmove your sound deadening (if you like a loud car), washer fluid including lines, AC system and heating system...make sure you take off the dash and remove the blowers and shit, replace power windows with manual...same with locks and mirrors, take off your rear wiper assembly including rear reservoir, light weight wheels, light weight exhaust, lexan glass all around....


The list keeps going on and on...and none of that gives your car a non-stock look

Manual locks actually weigh more then electric locks. Our electronics weigh in lower then all the mechanisms needed to move the window up and down manually....jus a lil FYI

>Manual locks actually weigh more then electric locks. Our
>electronics weigh in lower then all the mechanisms needed to
>move the window up and down manually....jus a lil FYI


Did you ad in the switches, wiring, relays, and all that non-sense?

i will try and aim for the lightest ~!~ ... remy and i were talkig about this the other night and have some ideas... ill keep you guys posted

oRACLe's 1997 RS




ThE oRACLe says: "I've got some yellow liquid for your popcorn ... and its non-dairy .."

Does anyone know what a 95 RS weighs stock??????

I weighed my car today. It weighed 2,680.
There was some stuff in the car, a few tools in the back,sweatshirts,a bottle of soda,stuff in the glove box and in the console.
The only thing I did(so far)to the inside was remove the stereo system and spare.
I thought our cars were real close to 3,000 lbs.

hey 95 eclipse what is on ur back little windows

America's real terrorists - car mechanics
E-mail: jclafon@roanoke.edu

I'm not sure what they are called. They came with the car when I bought it. Someone else asked and the found them some where. I will look for the info for you.


No one knows what our cars weigh??

95 Eclipse RS : 5 speed
15.901 @ 88.34mph
Jeep TB writeup - http://www.dimensia.com:81/jimbo/JeepTBfor2gnt.html

So, thanks to MJ there, check this out...

My car = base model Talon 5 spd + 50lbs misc crap + 250lbs MFA (my fat ass) = 3,022lbs. I put out maybe 160hp at the crank. Do the math...

3022/160 = 18.9lbs/1hp

Now take my car, leave all that shit in it and put a stage 2 with FMIC, tune that bitch for 250hp at the crank and do the math...

3022/250 = 12.1lb/1hp

but look how close you get when you drop 1000lbs and still have me and my 300lbs of crap in the car NT...

2022/160 = 12.6lb/1hp ! That's only .5lbs/1hp difference. Get some headwork done for an extra 20hp and the NT drops to 11.2lbs/1hp. That equals faster car imo with no lag issues...


Now I want to strip Daisy down to nothing and buy lots of expensive carbon fiber.... (sigh)

rol.....do it mang.....or you could strip her down and get the 1000 lbs off AND throw a stage 2 on there....thats 2022/250 = 8.088 lbs/HP......not bad IM

it gets you thinking "what are the hp:weight ratios of cars like Ferrari, Porsche, etc..."

I would be more than happy to hang NA with the turbo guys. Maybe for an experiment, someone should pull all their fenders, hood, hatch, etc and make a run down the track. You would likely be lighter than you would with CF panels, but you would lose a bit due to wind resistance, imo. It would be funny to see tho...