The quest for light weight

[nnamssorxela]

Hi,
In the search for better fuel economy, handling, and space I have been removing as much stuff from my saab as possible.

So have I have the A/C compressor, condenser, and the main hose taken off, the entire back seat, spare tire (broken) jack etc. all taken out. I plan to replace gaping seat hole with a carpeted board cut to fit to make it look pretty.

What else can I take out?

Also I could get lighter rims?

Thanks for the input,
ALex

[philjohnhb]

Why? - If you want a light weight 2 seater with large load carrying buy a pickup.

[SteveTheFolkie]

If you pull up the carpet you'll find sound deadening material underneath it - standard race/rally car practice is to remove it (this is not a fun task). Race seats are a lot lighter than the very comfortable chairs that Saab installs as stock, so that's another way to lose some pounds. Replacing side window glass and the back light (in the hatch) with plexiglass can whack a few lbs, converting to manual window cranks from electric lifts - it all depends on how far you want to go and how much discomfort you can put up with on the road. Designing new bumper sub-structure (the stuff under the plastic covers) can take weight off the ends of your car and centralize the mass better - look at a Lotus 7A - see all the stuff it doesn't have? That's why it's so light and why it can give outstanding performance with very little power -

Having been in a 7A for a fairly long (2 hour) trip once I'm not certain that it's worth the sacrifice ...

[TheRedBaron]

Originally Posted by philjohnhb

Why? - If you want a light weight 2 seater with large load carrying buy a pickup.

Well that's pretty much what a c900 is...

seriously, what other inexpensive, lightweight (at least in comparison to the cars over here), large load capacity cars are out there that are capable of 30+ MPG and that are as fun to drive as these?

...and that look good while doing it?

[ShadowWorks]

Don't drive with a full tank, that will be the biggest weight saver

[SpecialTool]

And it wouldn't hurt to lose a few pounds yourself...

[nnamssorxela]

I took the back seats out not only for room (good for sleepin'!) but mainly to not be the limo for all my friends when we go somewhere (on my shot suspension ) "hey alex, lets take your car" "oh sorry, it only seats 2." Light weight was a bonus, now I gotta make it look pretty like I said
-Alex

EDIT: I quit my food service job for starters and quit eating altogether....and getting excercise because everyone knows muscle weighs more than fat...

[Shan]

Originally Posted by nnamssorxela

because everyone knows muscle weighs more than fat...

Reminds me of this joke :

Q: Will sit-ups help prevent me from getting a little soft around the middle?
A : Definitely not! When you exercise a muscle, it gets bigger. You should only be doing sit-ups if you want a bigger stomach.

[nnamssorxela]

haha...yeah. I love it when people exercise like crazy and start working out and keep coming home crying that they only have gained weight.

[ejenner]

get a 99 bodyshell. book figure for my car is roughly 1000kg. The previous owner took out the whole interior. There is one light racing seat and one sporty seat from a small French car. All the carpet and sound deadening is gone. There are no bumpers of any kind. manual windows, manual steering. I've not had it weighed yet - but I'm thinking about doing that very soon, really wanna know. It does have a bigger than normal engine though.

[ejenner]

..oh, and as for noise/comfort/long distance.... it's overated... I drove to Sweden and back in the car and I wasn't exactly worried about not having an interior. My only concession to comfort is door-cards (for resting your arm on)

[SteveTheFolkie]

Originally Posted by ejenner

..oh, and as for noise/comfort/long distance.... it's overated... I drove to Sweden and back in the car and I wasn't exactly worried about not having an interior. My only concession to comfort is door-cards (for resting your arm on)

interesting that a person who owns a BMW 635 Highline considers comfort to be over rated ... Most of my VW's were pretty spartan and short on creature comforts - as was my Triumph (a Herald) and my 356 (a 'vert converted by one of the previous owners to a speedster - although they didn't bother to fit a top or side curtains). While I rolled a few happy miles in those vehicles when I was young, as I get older I find that I appreciate a bit of comfort!

[ejenner]

The main benefit of the 635 is the killer looks. There isn't another car that looks like that. There's also no functional basis for it's design. It is like that purely for aestethic reasons! There are some other tasty looking cars in the same league as the 635 but unless you're very wealthy you can normally only afford to own one of them at a time.

Also of note, the Sparco seat in the 99 is much better to sit in than the beautiful leather Recaro seat in the BMW. The BMW seat does not have enough lumber support and you end up slouching in the seat. After about 30 miles my back starts to hurt. The 99 seat is a lightweight, non-adjustable sports seat. The BMW seat is heated, electric leather with electronically adjustable headrests. They must weigh a ton compared with the sports seat in the 99.

[N]

I think the quest for a lightweight c900 is a very honourable one and one that should be encouraged at each and every opportunity!!!


I think that you should be weighing everything you take out so that you know how much weight you have saved, not just guessed. You also need to get it on a weighbridge once done.
My Ruby weighs in at 1498kg. If you could manage to save 4-500 kilos that would make for a very quick car.

[SteveTheFolkie]

Originally Posted by ejenner

Also of note, the Sparco seat in the 99 is much better to sit in than the beautiful leather Recaro seat in the BMW. The BMW seat does not have enough lumber support and you end up slouching in the seat. After about 30 miles my back starts to hurt. The 99 seat is a lightweight, non-adjustable sports seat. The BMW seat is heated, electric leather with electronically adjustable headrests. They must weigh a ton compared with the sports seat in the 99.

Interesting - I had recarros in a couple of VW's I used to own - they had an adjustable lumbar support (moved in and out) - very comfortable for long trips but with the side bolsters a bit of a pain to get in and out of during short trips! Perhaps they were different seat models as the ones in the VW's were lighter than a "standard" VW seat. Mine were not heated, nor did they have any power anything on them. One set was out of a GTi, the other in a GLi -

[nnamssorxela]

I almost bought a 20th anniversary GTi which had the sweetest recarro seats...

I'm looking to replace me seat but dont know with what yet. I want something cheap, light and comfortable, but more importantly...in one piece!

[ShadowWorks]

I got to be honest with you guys I do like the 635 with the Alpine trimmy bits on it, the 850 was nice as well, I like the shark look.

If you want a light weight car get an Ariel Atom thing, thats the tube framed one right?

[nnamssorxela]

yeahhhh, I want one of those soo bad, especially the wrightspeed one (an electric car in atom frame/"body" if you call it that...
It's sweet, if I had that much $$$$ I would
-Alex

EDIT: but you can't put an awesome sound system and lots of "infra"woofers in an atom like you can a spacious saab

[ejenner]

Never miss an oppertunity for a glamour shot...

[scubasaab]

I must say, that ia a nice looking BMW (don't shoot me!!)!

Have to keep my SAAB the way it is, but I listen to light jazz while motoring on the highway as I found heavy metal made the car a snail!