im thinking of putting the car on a diet, but wanna keep the a/c and pwr steering til it fails.

what i had in mind is:

-change the stock seats to aftermarket ones
-change steering wheel to aftermarket one
-remove spare and just buy one of those flat-tire fix bottles that injects something in it to re-inflate...or goodyear run-flat tires
-aluminum hood
-lighter material for the rear hatch...whats that called?
-change stock rad to aftermarket one

any other suggestions?

as for my questions. is an aftermarket rad (koyo) or seats (sparco, momo) lighter than stock? i have 91 n/a gxl, cloth seats. basically, r aftermarket products usually lighter then OEM ones?

and do u guys think ill be able to save at least 50lbs (or more) with my ideas?

 

oh yeah, whats the weight/power relation?

i heard every 100lbs = 10hp....true?

 

I've heard a lot of different equations and opinions on weight reduction, but one thing is for sure - less weight means faster acceleration and improved handling. The hardest part about reducing weight on your vehicle is the sacrifices that come with it. If you wanna go light, you have to live with it.

I don't really think the seats are going to help that much with weight, considering I just took cloth seats out of my parts car and they actually are lighter than the Tenso R's my friend and I put in his car. Aftermarket steering wheels aren't a very good deal, either. You'll end up paying 100+ bucks to lose 1 pound. I'm not too sure about the radiator. You probably could find an aftermarket one that's lighter and does the job.

The best (and hardest to live with) way to reduce weight is to take out things that the car doesn't *need*. This would include rear wiper and motor, A/C, PS, air pump (That thing with the sticker that says "Never remove air pump"), power windows (convert to crankdown), radio and speakers, power antennae and motor, power mirrors, spare tire and jack, and sound-reduction materials. You're looking at a noisier, less comfortable, and faster 7.

Carbon fiber parts are a great (and expensive) way to go, too. Just don't waste money on replacing things that aren't heavy to begin with, like shift *****, dash pieces, and gauges. An aluminum or c/f hood will help some. I've also seen people selling c/f sunroofs on eBay.

Wheels, IMO, are one of the best methods of weight reduction. A good set of aftermarket 17's or even 18's with lower profile tires will reduce weight significantly, and improve the look and handling of the car.

So really you're faced with the question on just how much you can tolerate removing. If your car is a daily driver, than you probably don't want to rip her guts out, but you can still drop pounds with c/f parts and alloy wheels.

Well sorry for posting a book, but I hope this helps. Good luck!

 

i assume that since u want P/S and A/C you will not remove everything under the dash like I did. I took all that out along with P/S A/C, spare, some sound deadening stuff, extar nuts and bolts I didn't need.....no radio/speakers, aftermarket seats........I have not weighed the car yet.....as soon as I do I'll post the weight.

 

no horsepower gains.........i think its more like every 100lbs= .010 gain in the 1/4 mile.

 

actually i think? it's 100lbs=.1 seconds in the 1/4

 

Apply LizardFC's response for all of the ideas that you had.

All of your ideas are extremely expensive and won't end up saving you much weight, infact you probably wouldn't be able to feel the difference. Think of it this way, wouldn't it be more cost effective to increase the car's HP if you want to go faster, get better tires or suspension if you want to turn better, or better brake pads if you want to stop better? Weight reduction makes sense, but make sure you're getting bang for your buck.

I disagree LizardFC on the 17" or 18" rims to reduce weight idea. To get rims in those sizes that match the weight of the stock 15" GXL rims you're going to spend a lot of money. Not to mention your tires will be more expensive, etc. I switched from the S4 TII rims to 16" Mustang rims and saved 8-10lbs per corner, 32-40lbs total, which was nice, but my primary motivation was not the weight savings.

 

there are alot of aftermarket rims out there that will help you lose weight and rotating mass too which can help alot. also alot of factory rims that are light too,not sure if the millennia 15 rims would fit but they weight around 11.5 pounds each

get rid of the the power seat belt and motors

try finding someone to make a lexan or plexiglass rear hatch or go truck style and just get rid of the whole back hatch

you dont really need all that carpet,sounddeading and extra plastic do you?

Titanium brake rotors