Borderline ridiculous weight reduction idea request

[HowLeTT]

Borderline is the key word here, as in something that has probably been done, could feasibly be done to a car that would still be able to be driven on the street and appear mostly stock from the outside. I've already gutted the car pretty thuroughly. A 9 lb flywheel is in the plan, and possibly power steering removal. This car will be very rarely driven on the street so streetability and creature comforts are of absolutely no concern (not that are now as I drive the car daily, heh). Here are some ideas I had so far:

Complete removal of undercoating material, removal of the majority of the exhaust heat shielding.. leaving only the part near the gas tank.

Lexan windows

Manual window & manual lock conversion.

ABS removal

aftermarket steering wheel w/ no airbag

removing dash, making a custom dash w/ aftermarket guages

removing hood latch assembly (hood pins)

taking out any unecessary wires in the interior & under the hood, wiring left over from the tranny swap, etc.

removing tow hook(s)



Does anyone have any other creative ideas? I'm considering carbon fiber fenders as well, depending on the quality of how they come out. Any input is appreciated. I'm taking care of the power aspect as well, don't worry

[pgt95]

Fender/bumper inserts

Go to an SE seat if you have a GT power seat

Remove all fo AC stuff as mentioned

Speakers and stereo if you arent driving it around town, at least the front speakers anyways

Get rid of the muffler is sound is not an issue

Only need 1 radiator fan prolly

Splash guards can go from under body

Winsheild wipers can go, front and rear, as well as fluid resivour

Dunno what else

[HowLeTT]

I have two sparco racing seats, A/C is all out, speakers & stereo are all out, I'm leaving the exhaust as it is because Bolra ownz and I will never ever consider any other catback setup, AC fan is already removed (it was actually pretty heavy w/ the motor), good call on the splash guards. I'll rip them out too. The washer fluid resevoirs are gone, I'd rather leave the wipers though just in case i have to drive in the rain sometime.

Thanks for the tips

[NoahFex]

If you are going Lexan, then forget about rolling up and down your windows. Remove that entire mechanism and bolt the lexan window into place (slide it in, and use custom mounts to keep it looking sort of stock)

Side mirrors

Remove stock gas tank, get a smaller, plastic-like one and mount it your hatch.

[HowLeTT]

I'm only going lexan on the rear three..

arent side mirrors required at most tracks? and a rer-view? I'd think side mirrors would be helpful in racing than the weight/drag benefit of removing them. Maybe some carbon fiber m3 side mirrors to match my ricey carbon fiber hood and carbon fiber fenders? Thanks guys. Keep em coming, any ideas are appreciated. Don't be afraid to sound ridiculous. I'm not taking the dremel to the interior though! A fuel cell is an interesting possibility. I never seriously considered it before.

[indymx6]

well like he was saying if its purely a race car and no around town stuff get rid off all your heater stuff the heater core the controls in the dash all if it your blower motor everything out of the dash can go. take all your speaker wiring out of the doors if you havent. headliner gone, gut your doors and if you want a stock look put the plastic back up. just ideas...

[spada]

not sure about these, but i'll throw them out there... hatch struts. and isn't the hatch like a two ply design. you could remove a lot of that inner metal, it serves no purpose. all splash guards removed? is the cross member that runs side to side under the y-pipe really needed for drag racing?? can't really think of too much else. do you still have the spare wheel well in there?

[Andrew]

At least get rid of the passenger side mirror.

[spada]

and lose some weight for god's sake! you'll be 160lbs in no time

[madmanbob]

I dont remember you talking about this before but you probably have it covered, what kind of battery you have in there?

[supergoat]

If it's a track only car....

Keep the headlight doors, but ditch the actual lights, motors and wiring.

Remove the fog lights and wiring. Cut the back plastic off the tail lights and remove all bulbs and wiring. Adhere the red plastic back on the body for the stock look.

Remove the bumper supports.

Any and all brackets that are left should be drememled off/unbolted.

Carbon Fiber brake pads.

That's all I can think of now.

[Quicksilver]

don't know if the weight is different but what about rear disc brakes converted to drums?

[HowLeTT]

Originally posted by madmanbob
I dont remember you talking about this before but you probably have it covered, what kind of battery you have in there?

The battery's a stock one, normal size & weight. I've considered some of the lightweight ones, dry cells, etc. Thanks for the reminder about that, I totally forgot. There's a thread I started somewhere back, probably in the archives though.

Rear drums are no good because I'm going to be road racing the car, and braking is essential to success. I'll probably have a big brake kit on the rear too actually.

The heater and all the associated parts will be gone once the dash comes out. Hatch struts, good call Ben. I had them out before because they hardly worked anyway. The two of them probably weigh a good three pounds though. That's a perfect example of a thing you wouldn't normally notice as a weight addition that isnt necessary. You have to really stop and look at every single little part and think- do I need this? How often will removing it be an inconvenience?

Speaker wiring will go out with the rest of the wiring in the interior. I suppose the passenger side mirror could go ;D The front bumper support I alredy cut in half as a compromise. The rear one's staying in, it weighs hardly anything and is the only protection I've got left against a rear end collision reaching the gas tank. The headlight guts is an interesting propostal, I'll look into that.

The e-brake handle assembly came out the other day, I'll work on getting the cable itself out later on.

[INDO1472]

removal of the factory fuel tank and put a small fuel cell in?

[NoahFex]

Originally posted by INDO1472
removal of the factory fuel tank and put a small fuel cell in?

I just said that.