Yet another Weight Reduction Topic
04-01-08, 10:38 PM
#31
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Dont put carbon doors on it if you plan on DD-ing the thing. My girlfriend and I both have SC300's, she got t-boned in mine by a suburban and walked away without a scratch and the door that was hit still opens thanks to the huge side impact beam and over built (IMO) door. If you were to get t-boned with CF doors they would drive right through your car. That would be way unsafe. Not to mention they are like $2200 from seibon. Get a hood and/or trunk, I wouldn't mess with teh sun roof as it is a pita for not too much weight saving.
I stripped down my whole interior as it was junk, there are a ton of things that are heavy that can be removed.
Under the glove box is a huge heat shield for the a/c that i pulled out (the thing is steel and prob weighs 15lbs). I dumped the factory amplifier and the disc changer. Don't bother removing the rear seats as they weigh almost nothing. Pulling up the sound mat only drops you less than 10 lbs and makes the car way noisy inside and is a pain.
Really all in all i prob droped about 150 lbs but my car is a skeleton inside, I dont have a/c, no carpet, headliner, and door pannels or side molding, most of the dash is gone, no center console. The seats are the heaviest thing in the interior and make a big difference.
I stripped down my whole interior as it was junk, there are a ton of things that are heavy that can be removed.
Under the glove box is a huge heat shield for the a/c that i pulled out (the thing is steel and prob weighs 15lbs). I dumped the factory amplifier and the disc changer. Don't bother removing the rear seats as they weigh almost nothing. Pulling up the sound mat only drops you less than 10 lbs and makes the car way noisy inside and is a pain.
Really all in all i prob droped about 150 lbs but my car is a skeleton inside, I dont have a/c, no carpet, headliner, and door pannels or side molding, most of the dash is gone, no center console. The seats are the heaviest thing in the interior and make a big difference.
Damn, I always thought CF would be more dent resistant, but a pain to repair. I'm not really sure how tough it is though. I always picture it shattering into a million pieces if it took a big enough impact.
04-01-08, 10:41 PM
#32
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The only way cf doors are safe for street use is if you have a cage that has some manor of side impact bars. If you have ever taken your door panel off to change your window regulator you know what im talking about, the beam is like a 1.5" steel bar. Way beefy. Mine didnt even bend when hit by a suburban at 45mph. The door still opens fine.
Last edited by Sakura_Pro; 04-01-08 at 10:48 PM.
04-02-08, 12:21 AM
#33
real, quality engineered, CF parts are extremely expensive. my dads friend work at an aerospace engineering company that specialized in composite parts for planes. they quoted my buddy 2500 for a CF swing arm for his competition dirt bike.
i talked to the guy and he said to have a set of CF doors that are just light but not strong would cost about 1500/door. for a real CF door that would be very strong yet light it would be upwards of 3000/door due to time, materials, and R&D needed to have it done.
CF is nice to lose weight on parts like fenders or hoods where strength is not needed as a structural function. otherwise its not cost effective for an average consumer. racing teams can do it because they are sponsored.
to lose unnecessary weight do the following:
replace seats
CF hood
CF trunk
CF moonroof delete kit(i think ill be making one soon, fiberglass prototype first)
lighter battery
remove spare(can of fix-a-flat is just as good)
remove changer
remove factory amp
remove cruise control
thats all you can do if youre an average joe
EDITED: ITS MY 800TH POST *****
04-02-08, 01:32 PM
#34
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Unless you wanna race i'm not sure why you would want to lose weight. Dropping less than 100 lbs will not make a noticeable difference in fuel econ, or performance. I drove my car around gutted and it feels exactly the same. If i picked up fuel econ it cant have been more than 5 extra miles per tank...
04-02-08, 02:29 PM
#35
Lexus Champion
Sakura, PM incoming on what mine weighed in at and what all I have taken out. I'd like to see what your car weighs if you say you don't notice much of a difference, because I certainly have.
04-02-08, 08:00 PM
#39
5sp, ive always been a fan of sunroof delete, however, ive been told that once you remove the sunroof assembly, you would have to add a brace to the roof, as the assembly is a stressed member.
04-02-08, 09:08 PM
#40
if a brace is needed im sure one can be fabricated pretty easily. i have stripped out a few SC's. non were hardtops though so i cant comment on the difference in the roof supports.
04-03-08, 12:06 PM
#42
the sunroof assembly is not that heavy. i took two out before when stripping out an SC. i didnt weigh it but it wasnt more then 60-70lb. so the weight difference between the two cars is not going to be that much. if you lose the stock seats, moonroof, trac(i dont have it eaither), abs, and other small electronics that are not needed, changer, amp, factory radio, then you could see some decent gain. you are not sacrificing much in luxury either. the stock seats suck. the factory sound system sounds awful. the changer by now probably doesnt work. the only thing that i would keep is abs. mine went out last year so it doesnt work anymore. i havent replaced it either because i pull the relays and fuses when i go the track anyways. i went through the whole winter with no abs without a problem. i kinda like it better. i havent had a situation where abs saved me. then again i dont get myself into situations that i cant get out...most of the time
04-03-08, 02:12 PM
#44
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Wow a lot of negative opinion of the stock seats. Are they really that bad? Mine feel so soft and cushiony. I love them; I just don't need the extra weight the power and heating puts on. I've read online that for the 97+, the seats were softer. Is that true? I'll have to ride in a pre-97 to feel how hard the older ones were. Anyways, how much does the traction control and ABS weigh?
BTW, if the sunroof does weigh 60-70 lbs, that's alot! Since removing my spare tire (which is just 50 lbs), my car feels much more agile around town. Yeah, on the highways I don't notice much difference, but from the stoplights, it feels much more responsive. The same thing when I keep my tank below 1/2 full. Every 50 or so lbs you drop, the car's 0-60 improves by a tenth, at least thats what my calculations tell me.
BTW, if the sunroof does weigh 60-70 lbs, that's alot! Since removing my spare tire (which is just 50 lbs), my car feels much more agile around town. Yeah, on the highways I don't notice much difference, but from the stoplights, it feels much more responsive. The same thing when I keep my tank below 1/2 full. Every 50 or so lbs you drop, the car's 0-60 improves by a tenth, at least thats what my calculations tell me.
04-03-08, 02:32 PM
#45
Not to mention the advantage of the high center of gravity from that weight loss. Something else, my headliner is in perfect cond. and a new headliner from Lexus if you remove the sunroof, is like$250.00, not installed. If you wanted to be hardcore you could leave out the headliner, wouldnt look to good. If someone fabbed a c.f. panel for the roof, maybe it could be extended to bolt to the orig. sunroof mounts and would also be a roof brace.