The topic has been on my mind in the past couple of days and I wanted to ask if there is any significant improvements in gas mileage and power when you reduce the weight of the car. I was looking through my trunk of heavy tools, junk, spare tire, and other items, plus I was thinking of racing seats, cf hood and trunk for a winter or future mod. Does it make a big difference or is it not even noticeable to the point where you need more drastic methods of weight reduction? Thanks...

 

You will not increase power (dont know where you got that from) but if you strip enough weight off, you will definitely see some increase in gas mileage (heavy emphasis on "enough" though).

 

Agreed.....Keep stuff that are not needed such as heavy tools (unless you use them daily kind of thing) & other 'junk' out to keep weight down.......I'd advise keeping your spare tire in the vehicle however.

 

yes, just like others said, the power won't increase, but the power to weight ratio will, and that's a "standard" that people look at when they analyze cars

 

Thanks guys, i was thinking the same thing. I was refering to the power to weight ratio, not an increase in hp (that wouldnt have made any sense) or the same theory as stickers giving more hp lol. I was thinking decreasing some weight but i guess you really have to reduce the weight by much more to see any real difference.

 

WEIGHT is a cars greatest enemy. Period. A companies true challange should be to eliminate weight while increasing power. That is why aluminum was first used (lighter than steel) and now CARBON FIBER rules the exotics (they are all bulit with it). Thing is with safety requirements and the quest for more luxury and electronic gadgets, sometimes, it offsets any weight increase.
The I-6 Steel block 2JZ is only 2lbs lighter than the V-8 aluminum block 4.3 used in Lexus cars.
Lighter weight also means a better DRIVING FEEL. Its more rewarding and provides much better feedback.

The McLaren F-1, the GREATEST road car ever built hit 240mph (no one has done this yet). Cars TODAY, the ENZO, GT, etc CANNOT beat this 10 year old car. Gordan Murray wanted it SIMPLE. Low weight (it weighs 2200lbs), no GADGETS (no ABS, Trac control, etc), simplicity, (no turbos, supercharges, natural aspiratin) and low to the ground.
Horacio Pagani, the man who created the Zonda (which many call the ultimate sportsc ar today) was the one to really believe carbon fiber was the way.

Nowadays, the problem we have is companies dumping more and more power into cars, cars that are bigger, heavier and full of gadgets to overcome.

You will notive the most EXTREME sports cars offer low weight versions. The Porsche 911 GT-3 is a couple hunderd lbs lighter than the standard 911. The M3 CSL too. The Challange Stradale is lighter than a 360 Modena etc etc

Look at the pic and look at how much smaller the Mclaren in the middle is to the other 2 cars. And relatively speaking, the other 2 cars are small as well!

 

yup i agree with 1sick, weight is great enemy on performance. the nsx is a good example too i think. it ONLY has 290hp, but it's pretty light weight and that's what gives it the performance.

even for a very normal car, say civic (the old one, which is very light). it doesn't have much power at all, but you will be surprised about how "easy" the car pick up speed

 

Yup, why the Mini, MR-2 and Miata are hella fun

 

Yup!! The mr2 is definitely a little fun car to drive!! My bro has a 93 n/a( 5spd) and it handles really well. It picks up speed really good too, but lags alot once the rpm goes past 4000rpm. No more power there!!