The "add lightness" thread

[chris87]

What have you guys done to reduce the weight of your cars?
What parts did you remove or replace with lighter parts,
and how did it affect N/V/H or the general feel of the car?
Looking forward to your input :)

[KAL]

https://img.skitch.com/20111129-bwtiu3gwa9penc39wabdn98y2r.jpg

https://img.skitch.com/20111129-thp3pk39n68s9bjir2tr9aq32n.jpg

Did not effect.

[George]

I've removed A/C (complete), charcoal canister, egr, carpets from trunk, airbag and use a lighter battery... the car feels the same :D but I notice change everytime I swap light wheels for winter steelies

[Bryan]

IMHO, the only time I ever noticed changes in weight were when I changed the weight of a rotating component--clutch and flywheel, for example. Didn't necessarily make the car faster, though.

[atlnb]

I removed the spare tire. I felt a slight difference. The car felt a hair faster

Changed my seat for a lighter bucket. Not necessarily felt faster but I'm very well planted so I can focus more on my driving; which allows me to drive faster

Lighter Pulleys, helped a fair amount also

[Blackbird]

I removed a few things, I think I felt a difference..

Moti

[George]

lol :D

[Bryan]

I removed a few things, I think I felt a difference..

MotiNice :)

What are you down to, now?

[RyanxStorey]

I think I'm going to weigh my car soon to see where it's at. Since I've owned it, I've constantly been pulling little shit here and there and previous owner already removed ac, air bags, and other larger things like that. But also I have a roll bar and a supercharger so those components add up.

[Blackbird]

Nice :)

What are you down to, now?

I'd say somewhere in the high 1800's-low 1900's dry weight, but there's SO MUCH more still in there.

Moti

[adamvanxxx]

Out of all the free things I have done cutting the rear bumper was the most noticeable.

I have removed A/C, PS, tow hooks, little brackets, egr, charcoal system, heat shields that rattled, radio and everything dealing with it, spare tire. That is what I can think of right now.

[whaap]

LOL. From 1-1-11 to 1-1-12 I lost 50 lbs body weight. I can't tell a difference in the cars performance but mine sure improved!!

[RyanxStorey]

Out of all the free things I have done cutting the rear bumper was the most noticeable.

I have removed A/C, PS, tow hooks, little brackets, egr, charcoal system, heat shields that rattled, radio and everything dealing with it, spare tire. That is what I can think of right now.

Lose some weight.

[adamvanxxx]

Okay.

[Bryan]

LOL. From 1-1-11 to 1-1-12 I lost 50 lbs body weight. I can't tell a difference in the cars performance but mine sure improved!!
Makes me dropping about 30lbs over a similar period feel miniscule. Congrats :D

[adamvanxxx]

Drive with no gas. Boom. Lightweight son!

[AntiochOG]

I hate when people post this in lightness threads. Some of us don't need or want to lose weight.

[HellaRareYellow]

Hey moti, would you mind posting pix of body/chassis you have delete for weight saving purposes. I will be planning an exit strategy for most of the excess weight soon. It would be nice to get some ideas for me and others as well.

[adamvanxxx]

I wanted to gain weight and weigh 200. Haters.

[Rogue]

I want to add 200lb in aluminum to mine...........:LSx:

[Bryan]

I hate when people post this in lightness threads. Some of us don't need or want to lose weight.
Still, given that most Americans are overweight, it seems silly to waste time trying to save a pound or two by removing a bracket when the driver is 10-20lbs overweight.

[AntiochOG]

Still, given that most Americans are overweight, it seems silly to waste time trying to save a pound or two by removing a bracket when the driver is 10-20lbs overweight.

True, but I'd rather read which bracket to remove.

[iRoadster]

Softop- 37lbs.
Spare, trunk carpet, jack- 32.5lbs.
Passenger seat- 40.5lbs.
Changing to aftermarket steering wheel, exhaust, and intake- about 20lbs.
Washer fluid bottle and coolant reservoir- 2lb.
Hardtop- 48lbs.
Coilovers are probably a bit light than stock suspension too, but I never weighed them.

Fun mode= about 140 pounds lighter with the rollbar weight added back in.
And I'm nowhere near overweight so now problem there.
I can definitely tell the difference.

[atlnb]

How much do Tein coilovers generally weigh? They feel like 10-15# per damper?

[Bryan]

How much do Tein coilovers generally weigh? They feel like 10-15# per damper?I'd be surprised if they're that much.

[Blackbird]

Still, given that most Americans are overweight, it seems silly to waste time trying to save a pound or two by removing a bracket when the driver is 10-20lbs overweight.
Driving up to norcal this past week, there was a sign on the side of the road saying "1 out of 6 Americans is dealing with hunger" or something like that.
This sparked an urge in me to go buy a can of black spray and go write on the bottom "3 out of 5 Americans eat too much".

Moti

[Grumpy]

Replaced stock 17's with Motegi Traklite 1.0's. Lost 10 Lbs that way.

[Frenchmanremy]

My gf lost 15 lbs, I felt a difference right away!

[kung fu jesus]

removed softtop
no spare tire
stock seats to lotus elise seats
removed SRS system
removed A/C
aluminum coilovers
magnesium wheels (8# each)
lopro headlights
8# flywheel
SS cat-back
SS exh manifold
Sparco steering wheel/Daikei hub
drive at -25# and counting

Added:
hardtop (no latches, spec plates only)
Rollbar
door bars
frame rails
lower cross brace
front STB

Curb weight 2180#

future plans include:
aluminum driveshaft
machined crankshaft
forged rods

[Agent☣Orange]

Doesn't someone make a CF driveshaft for the Miata now?

[revlimiter]

That wouldn't help much. The actual drive shaft is super light. All the weight is in the joints.

[kung fu jesus]

Disagree. Woolery's aluminum driveshaft was noticably lighter.

[urban]

Disagree. Woolery's aluminum driveshaft was noticably lighter.
agree
curious to see how its holding up though

[kung fu jesus]

Should be fine. I know he's at 250 hp. The U joints are serviceable. IIRC, his was $350.

[urban]

really, i paid $280 for a serviceable custom shaft that was based off an fc.
sounds like a deal

[kung fu jesus]

right?

It's something I'd like to do.

[Maikeru]

The factory driveshaft is only about 11-12 pounds. Aluminum ones are only a few pounds less. Only reason I would get one would be for the replaceable u-joints.

[Bryan]

Should be fine. I know he's at 250 hp. The U joints are serviceable. IIRC, his was $350.That actually doesn't sound too bad. Any idea on the weight?

[atlnb]

miataroadster were selling them a few years back. They might still have them. The number 8 hangs in my mind

[HellaRareYellow]

The factory driveshaft is only about 11-12 pounds. Aluminum ones are only a few pounds less. Only reason I would get one would be for the replaceable u-joints.

Yeah but remember weight loss on rotating parts is not the same as static weight loss. Think of a flywheel, a couple pounds makes a pretty big difference.

[Conflict]

Fully stripped interior, 1 seat, removed AC, PS, soft top, air bags, I don't really feel the difference. I just like the look. My wife doesn't drive it and I drive it, maybe, 4-5 times a month so it's not needed as a DD.

[fitftw]

2,020lbs with a full tank, weighed at a junkyard. Stock weight 2,295lbs. 275lb reduction daily driver for now.

Still have stock battery, so I can get down to 2,000lbs easily. Then it will be trouble to get down to 1,900 so I'll get a kevlar fastback, light flywheel, light seats, etc.

[adamvanxxx]

^ What has been removed?

[fitftw]

Removed: Entire HVAC system except the core, p/s, airbags, soft top, carpet, wipers, charcoal can, EGR, antenna, radio, trunk latch, passenger seat, gutted doors.

Lighter parts: 14" RPF-1's, 1.6 dash, Corksport catback, test pipe, Racing Beat header, Koyo radiator, Momo steering wheel.

Other parts: OEM hardtop, Hard Dog X-brace rollbar.

My daily driver took a dump recently so I'm in the market for a car under $2,000 pretty much asap. Not finding anything I like, but I don't really have time to be picky either if it rains/snows on a school day.

[adamvanxxx]

That seems really light. Still NA right?


Edit: Saw your build thread, your shit is bare.

[Blackbird]

I added some weight to the car, but all of it is in aerodynamic bits of bodywork.
Lap times are faster.

Moti

[adam777]

Drive with no gas. Boom. Lightweight son!

Actually, this is pretty legit for losing weight. Not for all you weirdos who are DDing these stripped out cars, but I run my STS Miata as close to E as I can get it. A full tanks adds about 70 lbs and even on E, I've never had any starvation issues on course. FWIW, a local guy I run with has 91 pretty much full prepped for STS, so full interior and a soft top and his his competition weight is 1985 lbs.

[Bryan]

I added some weight to the car, but all of it is in aerodynamic bits of bodywork.
Lap times are faster.

MotiThat's an understatement :lol: