[coyote-x]

Okay... Just curious. What (besides the power steering and AC) could I take out of my car to make it faster (besides the whole interior.) I.E. does anybody have any figures or know what weighs the most inside a third gen sedan (or even a 2nd gen, they seem similar...) I've had all the seats out and estimate that since I can pick both fronts up at the same time with one hand each, easily, they can't weigh any more than forty pounds. So I was wondering (exactly, before I start tearing up my near-mint condition interior) could I take out that'd give me more bang for the buck than that? Or is it just kind of everything in the interior put together so you'd have to strip it out entirely to get rid of any noticeable weight?

I have no power anything. Windows, locks, trunk, gas door, it's all manual without any electric motors or switches. So I can't take that stuff out...

Also, anybody know how much the stock 14" aluminum rims that came on my car weigh (roughly)? They're similar to those on the second gen GT's.

I figure if I can't afford good mods I'll just strip the sucker down till it weighs nothing.

 

[thescortgt]

buy lightweight racing rims, and if you're brave enough, take out the spare tire.
also, get rid of the stereo, speakers, stock amplifier and all that stuff. then, what you do, is go on a diet, and lose 10-50 lbs. altogether, that's about a maximum of 100 lbs you'd be losing from your car, minus the rims. for lightweight rims, these look decent, but they're awesome if you don't care for/want the sweetest looking rims:

http://www.zx2racing.com/store/closeup.asp?cid=14&pid=51&offset=0

a complete set of rims with tires will cost you $636, before you factor in shipping and handling. so probably you're looking at maybe, $750-800 total for a new set of rims and tires.

 

[coyote-x]

Yeah, before I do that though I wanna know how much the ones I have weigh. I know steelies weigh about 30 lbs per wheel, and alloys weigh half that, so 15 lbs for each wheel, maybe? Right now I'm broke and don't have 700 for new wheels. :wink:

I really like the way those rims look though. 17" rims... Weigh too much and look too flashy. I speed, a lot (well, less with gas the way it is.) and I don't want to draw /any/ unneeded attention to my car. I.E. no fancy rims, no body kit, no fancy lights.

 

[siragan]

I'm planning on buying that GT soon (tomorrow possibly, maybe tonight), and I'm stripping EVERYTHING I don't need.

Everything from overflow resivoirs to cowl covers. It's ALL coming off. My GT WILL be THE LIGHTEST GT out there. I'm even taking off the window cranks since I can just keep my windows rolled up.


The first thing you want to reduce in weight, to gain the most linear efficiency, is rotational mass, or "unsprung mass", as it's called in racing terms.

That means lighter pullies, tensioners, brake rotors, wheels, tires, lugnuts, etc. Make everything lighter, and pull off what you don't need.

Here's a list of what I would get rid of:

1. Headlights, grille, sidelights, taillights, brake lights, windshield wipers, etc
2. Spoiler, rear bumper, front bumper, sideskirts
3. Seats, interior panels, headliner, carpet, etc
4. Dash parts, ventilation system/heatercore/evaporator core (weld in a new steering column brace)
5. AC/PS, get a lighter crankshaft pulley
6. Get a smaller radiator
7. Lighter overflow tanks (Nalgene bottles)
8. Cut out/reweld spare tire compartment, ditch the spare, ditch the jack/wrench
9. Throw out all splash guards
10. Get a smaller fuel cell
11. Lighter battery (boat battery)
12. Lexan auto glass (big weight savings)
13. Lighter hood

That's only if you're really serious. Since I will have 2 GTs, I really dont care if one is completely barebones, since I've still got my nice black one. If you're only moderately into it, dropping a rad size, getting rid of parts of the dash, interior, lighter crankshaft pulley, and lighter wheels will make the biggest difference. It's the summation of the little things that makes the big impact.

 

[James92Scort]

You need to get Tito to type of a list of what he ripped out of both of his GTs.

 

[Electronikal]

could get an aluminium block....with aluminium tranny....with no ac no Power steering...no catalyst converter....disc instead or brake drums....no whipers...no windshield washer / washer components.... smaller intake plenum.... no floor matt...no speakers..no interior trims...and all..but....your car will look like crap man...so..if its your daily beater i would not recommend doing this lol...i have a gutted Hyundai excel..and its not fun to drive around lol...everyone look at you like you were a dumbass lol..but its fun for autoxing and racing

 

[siragan]

I'd like to rip out the interior and put in dynamat insulation... so it'd be quieter than stock, but also a lot roomier, and a lot lighter. I wonder if anybody's done that with a scort. hrm...

 

[coyote-x]

but....your car will look like crap man...

My car already looks like crap - It's a third gen. :lol:

But seriously, nobody can see what it looks like inside while you're driving it. If I had a wagon I'd rip out the entire rear & all the carpet from the whole car, so it would be lighter, then spray it with pickup truck bed liner and use it as a tiny pickup truck. I'd leave the front seats and dash in though. And the front door panels. For the rear doors, I'd rip off the panels, remove the entire crank mechanism and then bolt in some light-ish steel bars to keep the windows up permanently. That done, I'd then weld the two rear doors shut. I'd remove the AC and power steering and swap in the rack from a Pony. Then I'd swap in an SPI, get my wheels all that jazz as light possible, get some real stiff suspension, and have fun. But I don't have a wagon, and if I did that to my sedan it would just look hella hella stupid (to me while I was driving it), specially since it's all round and 'everyday sedan' looking. So yeah.

 

[James92Scort]

but....your car will look like crap man...

My car already looks like crap - It's a third gen. :lol:

But seriously, nobody can see what it looks like inside while you're driving it. If I had a wagon I'd rip out the entire rear & all the carpet from the whole car, so it would be lighter, then spray it with pickup truck bed liner and use it as a tiny pickup truck. I'd leave the front seats and dash in though. And the front door panels. For the rear doors, I'd rip off the panels, remove the entire crank mechanism and then bolt in some light-ish steel bars to keep the windows up permanently. That done, I'd then weld the two rear doors shut. I'd remove the AC and power steering and swap in the rack from a Pony. Then I'd swap in an SPI, get my wheels all that jazz as light possible, get some real stiff suspension, and have fun. But I don't have a wagon, and if I did that to my sedan it would just look hella hella stupid (to me while I was driving it), specially since it's all round and 'everyday sedan' looking. So yeah.

Damn I like your thinking...I might pick up a 2nd Gen wagon and start ripping shit out of it...now that I'm in my own apartment i don't have to worry about my parents being pissed about clutter anymore. :wink:

 

[91sleeper]

A wagon isn't the best choice for a lightweight car . A fully stripped one would probably weigh the same as my un-stripped pony.

 

[coyote-x]

Yes, /but/ you can't throw a load of wood in the back of your pony, now can you? It can't perform like a light duty pickup like the wagon would be able to. :lol:

Really, I think the main reason the wagon weighs more is that rear gate. If one could figure out what's so heavy about it and replace whatever that is with something lighter... Maybe replace all the glass in the back with lexan. I dunno. It doesn't seem like it should be that much heavier.

 

[thescortgt]

what is this lexan you speak of??? and if i got it, approximately how much weight would i shave off of my 94 EGT, and also, how much would this cost?

 

[grav1ty]

If I had a wagon I'd rip out the entire rear & all the carpet from the whole car, so it would be lighter, then spray it with pickup truck bed liner and use it as a tiny pickup truck.

heheh That is what the Escamino (in process) is, and I lightened my gate by throwing it away and making a thin sheet metal rear wall. The nice thing is all models (at least 1st gen) have the same wheelbase. I will be using lexan for the rear cabs 3 windows. I will get it from a local racing shop (the same shop that my 1.5" X .095 DOM cage tubing came from)

http://wryday.com/~edson/escamino/index.html

Grav1ty

 

[DirtyJim]

Id start by deciding WHY you want to lose the weight in the first place. If its for drag racing at the track, then you need to determine what kind of racing you will be doing. Then you need to check with the track officials to determine what would be legal at the track. For one, no brake lights is a no no at the drag strip unless your in a full blown Pro Class dragster, but even most of those have some sort of tail-light now; Plus, youd have to trailer the car to the track unless you want to spend 4 hours stripping the car before tech inspection. Also, if your engine runs, it better have the proper reservoirs in place or the inspection official may very well ban you from the track. Also, if your front windshield isnt made of safety glass, then you may be required to wear a full face helmet or have a roll cage installed. The track here requires all windows to be rolled up during the race, if you dont have them or some sort of safety screen, then you dont get on the track. Just check on the legalities where you race before you rip the car apart. Dont sacrifice your safety or the integrity of the car just to gain a few pounds. The stock car is a 15 second car at best, so dont worry about a few tenths unless your running a lot of single elimination, grudge drags or something; but if you were doing that, youd be increasing power now wouldnt you?

 

[James92Scort]

A wagon isn't the best choice for a lightweight car . A fully stripped one would probably weigh the same as my un-stripped pony.

I'd like to see your pony out handle BeaverBoy's wagon though.

 

[coyote-x]

I haven't ever nor do I intend to take this car to the track. There's not really much point, it'd be like... 'Hey, I wanna find out /exactly/ how slow my car is.' I'd like to make it lighter so it's faster on the street, whether for racing (which I don't really do...) or just my own personal enjoyment. You know, just for kicks, really. It's a 17 second car, 16 at best. No third gen that I know of has broken 15. :\ Sad, but that's the truth. I figure if I strip it it might be able to keep pace with a five speed GT. (I can keep up with an auto.) Anyways. It probably won't happen, if I make enough money this summer so that I have enough left over from classes, I'm probably gonna buy a project car. :\ Someday I'll have something nice to drive. For the most part though I was just curious. Tomorrow I think I'm gonna get myself a car domain site and borrow a digicam (something I've been lazy about doing.)

 

[Beaverboy]

A wagon isn't the best choice for a lightweight car . A fully stripped one would probably weigh the same as my un-stripped pony.

I'd like to see your pony out handle BeaverBoy's wagon though.

Uh oh.. I might be getting in trouble now.

I've still got some tweaking to do.. (not to mention having to learn how to drive ) so don't throw me into the ring yet.

 

[Electronikal]

Yeah ! Wagon pride

the thing that is reallly cool with wagons....is that whenever you throw some subs in the car...man.....the sound is so rich and so much louder then in any other car lol... so if your aiming for SPL competition...get a wagon man

And plus...how could you resist to this delicious silhouet !....its so tastefull!!

 

[thescortgt]

i should find another GT with a manual and TOTALLY strip it out (take off all accesories like A/C and junk) and take out all the speakers, the amp, the radio, spare tire, make a fiberglass bucket seat i can bolt in there and put a cushion on, strip out EVERY plastic panel inside the car, take off the bumpers, sideskirts, take out all the windshield washing equipment, wipers and everything, have a harness built into the seat so i can take out all the seatbelts, take off the hatch and make a fiberglass cover with a plexiglass window on it, get some lightweight racing rims with good rubbers (hehe) and go to town! (along with doing the basic engine mods, as well as a high flow cat, a cone filter, and suspension mods to make it handle better)

 

[91sleeper]

A wagon isn't the best choice for a lightweight car . A fully stripped one would probably weigh the same as my un-stripped pony.

I'd like to see your pony out handle BeaverBoy's wagon though.

It would be nice to find out, since I have a suspension very comparable to his, yet the car weighs a lot less.