FYI, I'm at 2,360 dry - per the scales at Turners. With a PC680 instead of the OEM battery I'd be at 2,340.

I did pull the A/C a few years ago -- and hind sight is a b*tch.

1. the SCCA STX rules changed, implementing a take back for that allowance
2. I went to VIR that July with my son, and both he and my sweetie busted my chops for the whole latter part of that year...

And the STX Civics are in the 2,100 range I do believe.

For a while I thought 14 whp/lb would kick the behind of a car that is closer to 16.5 whp/lb, but isn't so. I'm quicker in a straight line, but the lighter Civic is quicker everywhere else, and the is a whole BUNCH of everywhere else on a Solo course...

 

I started with a base R53, no sunroof, no DSC, no options of any kind(except heated seats, Colorado winters) so far I have: striped the rear /seat/ plastics, removed the dumb looking rear wiper, took the carpet out and removed all the sound deadening(used a blow toarch and scraper), put tha carpet back(floor is too lumpy for a street car), cut the batery box out(replaced with sheet metal), put an Odessy P680 under the passanger seat( stock cable was perfect length, but had to change attachments), built custom 2.5" exahust(strait pipe into a single borla muffler), found more sound deadening in the doors(used the toarch again). I weighed it at Bandemere Speedway with me in it (160lbs) and a full tank of gas it weighed 2660lbs, in my oppinion it is still too heavy. So I am going to swap out to race buckets, remove the side curtian airbags, take out the S/D material if there is any on the roof, cut the aluminum bumpers(did this to the front of my old R50 and saved 12lbs in scrap metal, ditching the A/C that dont work anyhow,and I am changing suspension / wheels out with lighter pices. Even when I get all this done I doubt that I will get down to my 2000lbs goal. The chasis and body parts are just too heavy and thats just the way it is without swaping to carbon fiber I cant see it.
Sorry for the long rant and rave but I'm stuck in Iraq with nothing to do

 

Number 1 has to be NO Sunroof....56.4lbs

Other not yet listed ideas:

Xenon Delete w/ Halogen Replacement

H-Sport tubular 4130 Chro-Molly front (8lb) & rear (5.5lb) sway bars

MINIMadness 4130 Chro-Molly front lower control arms (2.5 lighter per side)


JIC Titanium Bullet exhaust (10lbs)
NM 6AL-4V Titanium Alloy rear control arms

Besides Carbon Fiber Bonnet and Boot, doors are available too through Seibon and VIS.

And here is some great threads from back in the day:

The Best Weight Loss Thread Ever

Sun Roof Removal

Nice Pics Weight Loss

Good Weight Loss Ideas

Back Box Removal & Straight Pipe

Want To Loose 25 Pounds-AC Delete

 

Anyone ever think about weight reduction for the driver him/herself? I am 6 ft and weight a little over 175 lbs, if i work out and run, i can probably reduce to 160 lbs, that'll be a 15 lbs weight loss.

This is legitimate weight loss. lol :D

 

I think that tere are some perfectly ledgitimate reasons to run, making my car faster however is not one of them. Here are some "GOOD" reasons to run;
(1) Your on fire = you better run
(2) Bee's, You accidently sit on a bee hive = probably a good idea to run
(3) A masked man holding a bloody knife = get out of there with a quickness

There are plenty more reasons for running but, to take 10 pounds out of my car. Its a lot easyer to just take an un-needed part off.

 

Re #1....No, you better stop, drop and roll. Didn't you learn that in kindergarden?

 

Has anyone tried removing the power steering components? This would reduce the weight greatly... It would be harder to drive but hey I could deal without power steering...

 

That wouldmt be too bad of an idea, some race drivers actually like the feel of the car without the power steering. I dont know if they use the stock rack or if there is a replasement non P/S rack but it has been done. If you are still going to use the stock rack the weight savings might not be all that much, its just an electric pump some lines, and the fluid.

 

After driving manual steering on '50s & '60s American cars, I see no problem with no P/S on a Mini... I'm interested in a parts source...

 

I have not found any parts sources for a non-power steering link...

 

Yeah but steering wheels were way huge back then too.....

If you don't have arms like Popeye now you will soon enough !

 

Whats wrong with my PopEye like forearms? There is only a couple ways on earth to get HUGE forearms, I have driven more cars without P/S than with it.

 

So much noobness in this thread....

 

No kidding.. Power steering delete? Xenon delete? Seriously?! Not having power steering really really blows. Halogen vs. xenon.. Whats the difference, maybe 8 oz? C'mon. Why not get rid of the brakes too? Thats got to be like 3 pounds total!

 

Actually, I was just kidding. I havent been on this forum in a very very long time but my Cooper is fully gutted and weight reduced to the almost max...I have no PS, no AC, CF stuff, 11lb. ATV battery, etc.....

 

Here...here's a in progress pic back from 06

 

I hope all that glass on the worst possible place is gone.

Why cant a company make a carbonfiber roof skin for people like us?

 

I just think its all a bit excessive. Can it possibly be worth it when you weight the possible gains vs the comfort you loose? Maybe if its strictly a track car, but if its your daily driver?! Sorry guys, but I cant help but laugh if any of you are midwesterners... I'm sure as hell not sweating through an Chicago summer so I loose a few lbs... Personally, I'll be glad I have my side airbags if I ever get in a side impact. Just my .02.

 

The answer is in your last statement.

Most of the people that are serious about weight do track their cars. Mine might still be street legal when it is done but it will be about as far from a daily driver as you can get. For me it's all about how fast I can get the car around a track, not how smooth or quiet it is. I am building it under the principle of torque and weight wins races, all the other stuff is just a luxury.

My DD is actualy a POS with about a billion miles on it waiting for another rebuild.

 

Ha...thats funny you say that because the last time I was on this forum I was in the middle of doing a CF moonroof. The mold has been complete for a year but my coworkers dropped it as they had too much going on. I just talked to them Friday and they are going to finish it at least for me. They said to break even they would have to sell 2 or 3 more...so who knows.

 

The car IS my DD. I am about to hit 100k in about 2 weeks. And I live in AZ...so your Chicago weather has nothing on us. 118 degree weather pretty much for the whole summer and all this week is 109. I dont mind it. My left arm is a little brown but no biggie. Plus, I LOVE my car the way it looks and drives. To add to insult to injury...my car is slammed to the ground. My 18's tuck about 1/2" up into the wheel well. And, to answer your last question...I have a 6-point AutoPower roll cage. I cant have airbags.

 

^^Ya'll would be amazed at how much attention his Cooper gets and all it's 115 horsepower glory

It looks and sounds like it should have about 300.....

 

If youre just tracking the car, why not remove the headlights completely? Or do a CF hood without the cutouts and paint headlights on it like they do in nascar.

 

Oh dang, I just saw a pic of your car UKSUV. That is a sick Cooper!

 

SCC Magazine had a carbon sunroof delete pannel made in 2003 or 4 by road race engeneering I think. (you can google it ) I dont have the glass top to start with but want a complete carbon fiber roof skin that replaces all the steel up there. Now that would be NUTs