bajaman

I took my jack out to get to my antenna whilst working on it and was just amazed at the weight of the jack and handle. All aluminum. Weighs about half a pound.
Incredible.

moconnor

iTrader: (14)

Yup - but I still can't understand the 30lb+ battery at the front of the car. (And the Bose thing makes absolutely no sense - thought at least it was not present on all models.)

sevensix

iTrader: (1)

come on its more than 8 oz lol

i drive around w/o jack and spare except when i go on road trips

bajaman

lol....yeah, but it IS extremely light!

DaiOni

Perhaps a moot point, but...

The majority of the US cars follow the pattern of the JDM type-x - which is a luxury car (highway cruiser) - and they weigh a lot more (200lb+, depending on options). The bose is part of that package - so it DOES make sense - but only in the sense of their initial marketing. Not many cashed-up businessmen buy them these days* - and, of course, the majority of us buy them with the explicit intention of modifying.



That was the initial target group for the type-x - tokyo businessmen who used them to get out of the city (to a golf course, more often than not). Whoever decided on the marketing/options for the USDM obviously thought that's what was also wanted.

Matt Hey

I was redoing my Miata battery to the passenger bin compartment today. I added a circuit breaker, more secure battery tie down, and better grounding. While I had everything out I checked my spare tire which was flat (be sure to check this one if you still have it) and weighed it at 20-21 lbs by my scale. I bet the spare, jack, blocks, and lug wrench with security socket don't weigh over 30 lbs. Pretty light stuff. My Miata battery relocation only saves about 10 lbs. The Miata battery weighs about 25 lbs vs the stocker about 39 lbs but the 2 guage cable to the back weighs almost 5 lbs. The funny thing is how much weight can be taken off the exhaust. I've taken about 55 lbs off the exhaust and I still have a cat.

BigWillieStyles

The JDM type R2, didnt even have a rear wiper and wiper motor, apparently because it was a kind of option that just adds weight.

sevensix

iTrader: (1)

^ only touring models in the US cars had rear wiper standard.

BenjiRX-7

iTrader: (3)

Crap, so my type-x rx7 is a heavy luxury car that has a rear wiper

there no way I'm gonna be able to make it fast

sevensix

iTrader: (1)

exactly

4CN A1R

iTrader: (6)

not mine

i have a very strange like, inbreed rx7. its a 94 touring but it has no bose accesories what so ever(no sub, ducts, speakers, or head unit) and no rear wiper. i have all original papers on mine since it was bought from the dealership. it says there not included in this touring model?

sevensix

iTrader: (1)

are u sure u don't have a 94 PEP. maybe it should have been sold as a PEP instead and was designated with the wrong package

4CN A1R

iTrader: (6)

says 94 touring on the 94 window sticker and all the papers...

sevensix

iTrader: (1)

^ looks like a mixup

BigWillieStyles

I was told that almost everything on the FDs could be ordered as an added option. Maybe the buyer opted for no rear wiper and to spend the money elsewhere on the car.

Smitter

if u want to see weight shavings on the fd. look at the aluminum pedals. drilled to lighten her up. i remember mazda even boasted about this in one of there magazine ads

Smitter

yeah my 400hp touring model is not fast at all

RaceDriver7

iTrader: (9)

I got rid of probably at least 80lbs on my 94' Touring by removing the Bose system, spare, jack, tools, power steering, driver and passenger airbags, airbag sensors and harness, foglights, and rear wiper/motor/reservoir.

I remember the Bose subwoofers, door speakers, center speaker, and center amp (everything but the radio/cd unit) weighed in at about 30lbs! That stupid subwoofer is heavy. Another very heavy piece is the passenger airbag.

bajaman

You did this for...what reason? Ruined the car's value to anyone but yourself, actually made an illegal modification (removing airbags) all for...about 80 pounds?
I take it you race it?

A kid here in Wichita had a TOTALLY stripped down single turbo that he'd gone to the EXTREME in 'weight savings'. Nothing but the basics left as far as the interior goes, etc.
Ran a 10.4 second 1/4 mile though...

Matt Hey

Did you notice he put a LS1 in it too? These guys usually strip the car down so they can say they don't weigh any more or are even lighter than 7's with a rotary. All that crap he took out was useless anyway. He would rather ruin a RX-7 than get a Corvette and take out the power steering, A/C, stereo, air bags, electric heated seats, gut the interior, etc. I'm sure his 7 weighs less than my slightly weight reduced base model 7 and is no doubt faster too. Improved in every way (sarcasm). I just feel like being an *** but I know some of you other guys were thinking the same thing .

RaceDriver7

iTrader: (9)

Yeah, all that stuff I removed is useless. Cruise control and rear wiper are useless and I never use them (and rear wiper didn't really work). The Bose system sounds crappy and takes up a bunch of trunk space. Removing the airbags isn't illegal, what's illegal is to manufacture and sell a car without airbags after 1998. The airbags weren't working anyway, the light kept coming on, so I decided it was safer and easier to remove them. The thought of an airbag malfunctioning in a car this old is scary. In my opinion all this stuff adds value to the car. Everyone prefers a Base or R1 model to a Touring.

DaiOni

no - it didn't get the option because the RII was one of the cheapest FDs ever offered. It was about as basic as they get.

(that's the JDM RII I'm referring to - not the USDM, which is basically a hybrid of the JDM type-r, version II. The JDM RII was an optioned-down, two-seater type-r.

BigWillieStyles

It was also made as a pure race inspired FD, and was made to celebrate the Australian victory's at Bathurst in 1992. Got that straight from the rx7 magazine

And you are wrong that it was one of the cheapest, Type R Bathurst (3.285 million yen), Touring X 1995 - ( 3.285 million yen), plus all type RB packages were lower than the type R2 (3.38 million yen).

DaiOni

The Bathurst was (to celebrate) - but not the standard RII. Remember, there's two RIIs - the RII and the RII-Bathurst.

The RII evolved into the Bathurst - which became the bargain priced 'sports' model (that's exactly how it was marketed) used to lure in more buyers.

The version II (93-95) price range =

rz (clubman racer): 4.35(million)
type-x (luxury): 4.23
type-r (sports): 3.91
touring-s (base spec): 3.74
rII: 3.38
rII-bathurst: 2.99

as you can see, pretty big jump from the RIIs up.

the bathursts are really quirky - as, while they were made cheaply (ie: no stock stereo), they were often packaged with odd options - such as red interiors (my personal theory there is that the red interiors are left overs from US stock - the US is (iirc) the only export country that got odd interiors (red, tan) - and perhaps they had some left over when that market collapsed).

You can only really use price as a guideline within the same version - as pricing over such a long period of time fluctuates in relation to the economy.

So, the rII is a cheapy. It's irrelevant anyway - we tend to buy these cars to modify these days - so who cares about their OEM specifications. If anything it's a bonus that they are a light car to start with.

BigWillieStyles

My prices were taken from goo rx7 history. Slightly different. There was also a touring X after 1995 that dropped below the R2 price.

I really prefer the interior of the type R2. The red interiors can look awful and the velvet seats feel crappy. i like the weightless R2s.