This topic I know is over abused and I know that you need power along with low weight to go fast, but without going to the extreme (removing A/C, windshield wiper motors, carpet and sound deading material) I just wanted to see how much useless stuff I can take out.
I want to say that I have a 2004 Cavalier with a 5 speed (not that it matters). I have manual windows, but for the sake of experimenting, I took my mom's 2003 cavalier's door panels and she has automatic windows, but how much of a difference could there really be.
Now, these measurements are not to the percise ounce, but they were in fact weighed. I did it by weighing myself, then weighing myself a second time holding the piece and subtracting the two.
With removing the....
-Jack
-Spare
-Spare cover
-Passenger Seat
-Back seat (top and bottom)
-Back seat seatbelt buckles (not the entire seat belt system)
-Rear dash
-Rear speakers
-Center console (by shifter)
-Top dash (over gauges)
-Front dash (around radio)
-Glove box door
-Trim around by door
-Door Panels (on the autowindow cavalier)
-Front speaker
-Floor mats
The total weight removed was 157 lbs. Now I didn't remove the driver seat because I still at least need that (the total if I did would be about 192lbs), and so you can always get the racing seats and probably get two and still be under the weight of just one. Also I understand that I have too much free time, but I was bored.
If you don't like the post, don't flame me.
Thanks
"Sink or Swim, Do or Die!"
Depending on how hard core you are, let me give you a little direction. This is what I did to my DSM, and it works on any car. And this is a street legal, daily driven ride. This is a bit toward the extreme, but it will give you some ideas.
Removed all sound deadening
removed padding and carpet
removed inner door metal and interior plastic trim (left only enough support for latches, window crank, etc)
removed excess interior metal from b-pillar back and plastic trim
removed inner roof support and headliner
removed rear seat
removed all audio equipment, including wiring
gutted hatch/trunk area
removed front seats
removed factory seatbelt assemblies
removed inner hood support
removed plastic fender well liners (I don't recommend this normally)
replaced rear hatch with fiberglass hatch
cut out spare tire well and replaced with flat tinwork
fiberglass front fenders and bumpers
skeletized front and rear bumper supports (again, not recommended normally)
I now have Kirkey aluminum racing seats with foam/cloth padding, a full cage, and racing harnesses. Removing the inner door and roof supports will REQUIRE a roll cage. This is not only for structural rigidity, but for safety. If you're in a wreck there is no structural support to keep the other car out of your lap. And same for seatbelts. Only remove them if you have harnesses. I stil lhave A/C and heat, windows still roll down, and I still have the factory dash and console.
Opfer benotigt. Keine Erfahrung notwendig.
Victims needed. No experience necessary.
Here are the weights for the items, again not exact but as close as I could get it. The glove box door and the floor mats are the 2 things that I never thought about and seemed got a lot more weight out of them that I had originally thought.
Jack and Spare - 34.5lbs
Backseat and Buckles - 33.5lbs
Passenger seat (and I'm assuming Driver Seat) - 35lbs each
center console - 6lbs
dash panels (top and front) - 12lbs
floor mats - 7.5-8lbs
trim and glove box door - 5.5lbs
door panel - 8lbs each (considering there is two 16lbs)
Front Speakers (stock) - 1.5lbs each (3lbs for two)
Rear Speaker (stock) - 3.5lbs (for two)
Here is my cardomain site with the removed items
"Sink or Swim, Do or Die!"
By the time I got done with all my weight reduction, I removed about 290 (guessing)pounds from the interior and exterior. I don't have all the numbers anymore, this was done about eight years ago. Just on the interior if I had to guess, I'd say it was about 180 pounds of crap I removed. And the cage, seats, and harnesses added back about another 110. At some point I'll probably take my car to a truck stop or something and get it on a scale. I'm kind of curious now how much weight I actually dropped. I need to lose more if I can since I myself am just a shade under 300 pounds. Fiberglass doors and things like that really help. And removing the glass and replacing it with lexan will work too, but I don't know about legalities if you're caught with lexan windows on the street.
Opfer benotigt. Keine Erfahrung notwendig.
Victims needed. No experience necessary.
Quote:
center console - 6lbs
What was in your center console to weight 6 lbs?
Last season, when i gutted the car, my console only weighted in at 2.79 lbs
So I got bored again and decided to be destructive again. So although there isn't much more to say about this, I removed the A-pillars between the windshield and the door it only came out to be about 1 pound for the both of them (not much lost if removed) and also I removed the rear side panel (contains the "arm rest" for the back seat people) and the one side weighs about 3 pounds, so 6 pounds for the two of them. So I know 7 pounds isn't much but with the other removed pieces it is 164 pounds removed.
"Sink or Swim, Do or Die!"
There's one major thing to keep in mind when you do weight reduction, on top of everything else I posted. As a rule of thumb, for every 100 pounds of weight removed, you drop 1/10th of a second off your e.t. It may not sound like much, and it's a bit of a hassle for such small results, but in serious competitive racing, that 10th of a second could be the difference between going to the next round or going home. In road racing, however, it can make huge differences because your suspension and brakes, and everything else works that much better because it's carrying that much less weight.
Opfer benotigt. Keine Erfahrung notwendig.
Victims needed. No experience necessary.
Not only were you right when you said this topic is beaten to death, there is already a post with the individual weights of most of the interior items. Perhaps you could've simply added to that post? I'll post the link to that at the bottom of this.
Second, I absolutely hate when people say "low weight is only good with power behind it". If theoretically your vehicle was equally functional as it is now, but somehow (this is theoretical) weighed only 200 lbs and made only 100 horsepower, that would be like if your current car weighing roughly 2700lbs made 1350 horsepower. I understand that is a DRASTIC drop in weight but my point is that power and weight absolutely correlate to speed, independently. I mean you need SOME horsepower, but think about how many vintage 60hp japanese convertibles weigh 1100lbs and are plenty fast. I know America and especially the tuner culture is obsessed with horsepower but you can't disregard scientific rigor. Just like you can't trust the butt-dyno.
Before I go too far and get flamed for not being totally agreeable, I also don't agree with "100lbs equals approximately 1/10th a second in the quarter mile." How the hell do you figure that? I have heard that for so many cars, and I know not all of those cars are geared the same, have the same transmissions, same power loss to the wheels, same aerodynamics, or even the same power to begin with. 100lbs is more detrimental to a 10hp car than to a 1200hp car, just to put it into perspective (although a little out of proportion).
Some other interior weight measurements:
http://www.j-body.org/forums/read.php?f=2&i=292583&t=292583&start=25 half way down page. Notice that the last poster there started to get the idea of p/w ratio.
Ok, sorry for being so critical but I've seen probably 12 posts on weight with contributors citing inaccurate information on the school of p/w and none of the posts ever seem to get anywhere. We're all looking for a budgeted way to add speed, but if you don't have money the community is going to need critical thought to get past the money obstacle. I have also unsuccesfully toyed with the idea of lightening interior parts without removing them.
http://www.j-body.org/forums/read.php?f=2&i=319188&t=319188#319188
First, the 1/10 second per 100 pounds, again, is a rule of thumb. It's not written law, etched in metal and set in concrete. But it has been tested time and again over the years, and all things being equal, it's been shown that, typically, not always but typically, losing 100 pounds can drop approx. 1/10 of a second on e.t. As you stated, and I agree, the less horsepower a car makes, the more of an effect the weight of the car has. But that's really the point of this thread.
Second, nobody in this thread has said that - per your post - "low weight is only good with power behind it". That's a pretty ridiculous statement that I would agree, doesn't make any sense.
And as far as this topic being beaten to death, we're all guilty. Not on this topic alone, but every topic. Do you ever look at the forums from day to day? It's always the same stuff, over and over again. What intake works best, what lowering springs work best, if I do X how will it effect Z. It's always the same. The FAQ at the top of every forum answers 9 out of 10 questions in any given forum, and yet people post them. So why chose this thread over another to flame?
Opfer benotigt. Keine Erfahrung notwendig.
Victims needed. No experience necessary.
hmmm, i havn't heard the cutting of the spare tire tub and replacing with tin thing. what do you use to fasten down the new metal? don't know if you can really weld tin or not.
Matt wrote:hmmm, i havn't heard the cutting of the spare tire tub and replacing with tin thing. what do you use to fasten down the new metal? don't know if you can really weld tin or not.
I cut the tub out and used rivets to hold the tin fill plate I used. It's sealed with a bead of silicone to keep water out. The tin isn't very thick and it's lighter, even if only by a little, but when you look at everything else I'm doing or have done, my madness has reasoning because every little bit counts. Nothing in my car was welded except for the cage and a few pinch seams just for piece of mind.
Opfer benotigt. Keine Erfahrung notwendig.
Victims needed. No experience necessary.
id preffer to ADD tons of weight
that is in sound deadenign material.
and thats exactly what im going to do very soon. i am sick and tired of the loudness of the interior. and it WILL be gone. and i dont care about addign or subtracting a 10th of a second.
:::
Creative Draft Image Manipulation Forum:::
ive been thinking of lighting my car..but i want to keep the stock look..i know you can remove the foam and insilation(cant spell) but is it heavy enough to make a difference and does it affect sounds and outside noises at all? thanks for any info
smooth and simple
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