knight1976

Im looking for any site that has weight reduction ideas projects tutorials etc. I am looking for the radical weigh reduction here. Post what ya got!!!

alien_rx7

Check out the latest edition of Sport Compact Car. The had an article on weight reduction and as they removed items they would re-weigh the car and take it on a 1/4mi run to show the new time and speed. By the end they had most of the body chopped, hehe

knight1976

Someone was tellin me about that this afternoon. It was an accord right? And when they were done it was a pan engine and tranny right? They were prepping it for a race right? I hear it was a nice accord to beguin with too Too bad......

But i need stuff i can apply specifically to my rx7 that doesnt make it non street legal. Has to be able to drive to the track thats the only limitation.

Manntis

that was a spoof article showing how rediculous "weight reduction" can get.

If you want to reduce weight, strip the rear hatch area, remove the sound deadening mats from beneath the storage bins, in fact remove as much trim as you can. I've seen some interiors that are a driver's seat, pedals, shifter, steering wheel, and an instrument panel with everything else bare metal (except padding over the race-required roll cage)

I'm sure others in this forum have some great suggestions on lightening the car up.

WackyRotary

I was sort of thinking of stuff of this nature at times to get the weight down with out seeming to have tubbed car. I was thinking of taking panels off in the car and remove all pading behind them so its all hollow and just the carpet, outer shell of the paneling in the car was there so it "looked" stock relatively. Ofcourse I can not imagine doing this would reduce the weight dramatically enough to make it worth while. But it would sound more loud and hollow in the car like a dedicated track car. I've aready removed the rubber pad under the area by the spare tire, and the spare tire is gone also. I have all the typical things removed from the car like A/C system, crusecontrol, hotstart assist, choke, air pump, charcal cansistor, etc etc. I am running a bridgeport with a Weber 50DCO.

knight1976

I know about all that stuff im looking for the CRAZY weight reduction. The stuff that doesnt make it into the forums is what im interested in. What kind of radical weight reduction can be done without affecting the structural integrity of the car. I plan on having just pedals, shifter, two seats, window cranks, guage cluster, steering wheel and door handles. but what other weight can be removed? I plan on doing all the engine weight redux but what else can i dump to lighten up the car? **** what can i drill out to make the car lighter? WHat crazy ideas do you have? LEts hear em or if you know of a website that has a amazing gut job of a fb let me know.

Also what is the lightest first gen on the forums? How much does it weigh in at withoug driver? Just so i can get a realistic weight goal.

WackyRotary

I KNOW the craziest weight reduction is removing the engine!! It is so easy to move by hand and the steering is SO easy! LOL. In place of the engine, just strap a rocket in place and run a thruster pipe back and light the fuse and see how fast it will go!!!

alien_rx7

Yeah, it was a 2001 Sentra SE with a SR20DE engine. The kid owed money and if he didn't beat his friend that he owed the money to that drove a Mazda MX-6 he was going to get his *** kicked. The car looked good when they started. At the end the car was nothing but like you said, pan, engine, tranny, two regular 15" tires and two spares. It went from running a 16.3@84.0mph to 14.3@93.2mph by the end. The weight dropped from 2,762lbs to 1,674lbs.

Anyways, as far as staying legal on your RX-7.....

Tear out the carpet, all interior molding and door panels, radio and speakers, radio antenna (especially if it is the electric antenna, all of the a/c (just my pump alone was 18lbs!!), all of the pollution control stuff like the rats nest and air pump (the air pump is a boat anchor!!), yank the spare tire and jack out, storage bins, electric motors on the windows if that's what you have, change electric mirrors to manual mirrors, drop the exhaust manifold and get a header (not only weight reduction but hp goes up), get rid of the cats, take out the passenger seat or change the seats to some racing seats, rear wiper motor if you have it. This is stuff to get you started. There is always some more extreme stuff like replacing glass with lexan.

Manntis

Careful about asking for crazy ideas about drilling out sections of frame, etc. One guy on this forum told someone to rub grease on their brake rotors to stop a squealing noise.

knight1976

LOL trust me info on this forum is ALWAYS taken with a grain of salt. Common sense and research are always applied to any decision about my car (it is my *** on the line after all) Im just trying to get the monster to run a really low number without having to do any port jobs on her. I am going to be applying all this weight reduction to a gsl shell. I am curious if lexan windows are legal though.

Pittdp

Hook up an RC remote, lol
That will free some dead weight behind the wheel

knight1976

Anyone got anything besides the usual info? ANyone have any weights they know are realistic?

alien_rx7

Legal where? On the track or on the street? I use to ride around in a car with lexan side windows and no cops ever bothered us about them. Of course we could no longer roll down the windows. It had little slider windows in it and venting on the roof for bringing in air.

knight1976

I guess i could replace the rear hatch with lexan that ought to shave about 20lbs. No i wouldnt put lexan in the side windows they would still have to work i live and in texas if you dont have ac(and i wont) you better have 2 55 ac.

Kill No Cone

iTrader: (6)

Don't forget to go under the car and remove the sheilding and extra material under the car.

knight1976

Ahhh man i had forgot about that one!! Thanks for reminding me ! Cant forget about all that heat sheilding material.

Pedestrian X

sumoen shoudl make a website just some dinky lil page that has a list/pics or watever just of crap you can do to reduce weight. that way all the info is together and stuff.

Manntis

I've started a dinky little website at http://www.wigglepup.com/gear/ but so far I just have a couple of how to's about making cupholders and start buttons

knight1976

Nice site manits. ANyone have any other sites for weight redux???

knight1976

Anyone???

cros

how much do are cars weight?

Manntis

about 2400 lbs

A GSL-SE owner commented about how his '85 was 2400 lbs and had 135 hp... a decade later he test-drove a Miata; 2400 lbs, 135 hp.