Lightening Up Our Overweight NG900/9-3s

[monza2t]

Ok, so our cars are sort of overweight. My particular car has a published weight of 2990, which IMHO is about 300+ lbs more than it should be. Yeah, I know its a 'premium' car with lots of fancy stuff.

So, obvious removal items aside (like the 32lb spare tire/ jack) what non-critical items can be removed without compromising the 'look', or safety of the car? I dont care if it gets a little noisier.

Fog lights are one example of what Im talking about. The ones I have are worthless from a functional standpoint. 3-4lbs.

Headlamp washers are silly. I already removed mine and sold them on Ebay (made $50) and they weighed 4lbs.

Dont think I can take out the AC. For one it works, two I live in the Midwest and the defrost feature is key in the winter.

Lightweight battery is a 20lb savings.

Now Im up to 20+32+4+4=60lbs in just those small things.

I dont have power seats, but I do have a sunroof (superflourous item I dont use, and its going to start leaking sometime soon anyway). Whats the weight on that item? I dont mind welding in some metal and re-painting the roof.

Its all the little junk that adds up. On a previous car I had (MINI Cooper S) I removed all sorts of useless crap and reduced it 200lbs and it still looked the same inside and out.

And please dont reply if you dont have anything constructive to add to the conversation. I dont care that I dont have a spare, I pay $100+/yr for AAA, I can get a tow if I have a flat. No, this isnt a track car, othewise I would just strip the hell out of it.

[lms]

You mention nothing about why you want to save weight, so why?

[monza2t]

The most effective 'horsepower' increase is through the reduction of weight. Plus, handling, fuel econ, etc... a lighter car is just more efficient.

['97 Saab SE Turbo]

Since you pulled the headlight wipers, pull the pump and reservoir. A gallon of wiper fluid has to weigh 7 lbs by itself. Did you also pull the rear wiper? That's another few pounds... Ron

[monza2t]

Good one. In 2 years I have rarely used the rear wiper. Plus its ugly.

Power antenna too. I dont even listen to radio, I have a dedicated iPOD for my car, and if I wanted to listen to radio, my iPOD has a tuner

[straycatkid]

I actually use my rear wiper pretty often, couldn't imagine getting rid of it. The headlight wipers on other hand...

The pad or whatever it should be called underneath the hood, that'd be something easy to ditch. Obviously this is fairly expensive, but some light weight wheels would help, too. Not sure what else you could pull, especially if you like your A/C.

[pitman]

take out stereo, speakers and wires. change glass to lexan, race rims/tires. gut interior and sound dending material. only need one race seat, if you have a sun roof remove that whole assembly and use lexan, maybe go on a diet. drive it with less gas in tank. 8lbs a gallon. swap power seats for manual seats. make it remote control. vaccum it. thats all i got

[monza2t]

Yeah, that pad probably is 2lb.

Already have some lightweight, but practical tires and wheels. Wish I had written down the weight savings. It was pretty significant, plus it was unsprung weight.

take out stereo, speakers and wires. change glass to lexan, race rims/tires. gut interior and sound dending material. only need one race seat,

Mentioned before it has to be a daily ride and cant look significantly different. If it was a track car I would gut it.

if you have a sun roof remove that whole assembly and use lexan,

Im seriously looking at that. The sunroof assy from my MINI weighed almost 50lbs. Its easy to weld in some metal or make a permanent lexan moon roof that doesnt open.

maybe go on a diet.

HA! I might waste away to nothing then... already @ 155

[monza2t]

Originally Posted by Meek

Monza2T = dumbass.

Such eloquent diatribe.

[mike saunders]

Keep on lightening.

[David Wishart]

Your car looks great. Nice wheel choice. I get what you're doing, and it is fun to modify for personal satisfaction, plus I like the idea of removing superfluous items, though I think my car is light compared to similar-sized cars of it's era.

My immediate thought with weight saving is removing/modifying the back seat - it's heavy! However, it feels like it's somehow structurally significant. It seems like an item that could be modified, while allowing 4 people to use the car.

Also, when I upgraded my stereo to SE spec I was surprised how heavy the amp felt...door speakers too.

[BobSaabit]

I think that you guys who want to lighten your cars should go the same direction that started with bicycle riders in the 1970's: http://prollyisnotprobably.com/2010/...finity_dri.php

I could also post the photos of the failed parts and crashed bikes that result from this, but you should get the idea from the photos.

[Martin_9-5t]

Weight Reduction lol.................




This is my track car tho, minus the dog.

[monza2t]

Originally Posted by David Wishart

My immediate thought with weight saving is removing/modifying the back seat - it's heavy! However, it feels like it's somehow structurally significant. It seems like an item that could be modified, while allowing 4 people to use the car.

Man, that whole back seat assembly with the top bar is absurdly heavy. Unfortunately, I need 4 seats often, and the whole thing is one giant safety device with seatbelts, headrests, and rear seat back latch/support.

Originally Posted by bobsaabit

I could also post the photos of the failed parts and crashed bikes that result from this, but you should get the idea from the photos.

Why do you insist on implying my goal is to remove stuff that affects safety? I have said before, no structural changes, no safety items removed. I agreed with your assesment on headrest removal when someone mentioned that. I would never advocate anyone else on here removing safety related structure or items. Safety stays intact. Superflourous junk goes.

[94_900t]

you can also do some modifications that will help both ways... lighten the wight wile providing performance upgradesyou can do performance breaksperformance intakeport and polish all manifoldsexhaustcarbon fiberlight weight flywheel... ectthat will lighten your car and improve it some more as well....

[BobSaabit]

Originally Posted by monza2t

Why do you insist on implying my goal is to remove stuff that affects safety? I have said before, no structural changes, no safety items removed. I agreed with your assesment on headrest removal when someone mentioned that. I would never advocate anyone else on here removing safety related structure or items. Safety stays intact. Superflourous junk goes.

No, seriously, I think you should start drilling holes in components to cut weight! Who cares about safety? There's lot of items that can be drilled to cut weight. Damn the torpendoes, full speed ahead!

Actually, more seriously, I think it's a rough parallel on the "makes sense" curve to what the bicyclists do, safety aside. You're removing minute bits to save a miniscule amount of weight that will make little difference and little gain in performance. Like the bikers, I hope you're also dieted to where you don't have any extra pounds, because whether the weight is on you, or the bike, or the car in this case, the effect is the same.

[David Wishart]

Originally Posted by monza2t

Man, that whole back seat assembly with the top bar is absurdly heavy. Unfortunately, I need 4 seats often, and the whole thing is one giant safety device with seatbelts, headrests, and rear seat back latch/support.

Yes, it is heavy, certainly more so than I recall on my 1980 900T.

I can't think of any other weight-saving applications. You seem to have the bolt-on stuff covered.

David