Going lighter....

[tailz]

Hi,

I\'m still paying for my rebuild last year so I don\'t have much dollar to spend, but I still want to get faster.

I\'m thinking about the following ways to go lighter - if anyone has any hands-on experience or comments, I\'d love to hear them:

1 - take out air con (it doesn\'t work anyway). Can I do this myself easily?
2 - change seats to carbon fiber - any good makes or models?
3 - lose the carpet - just how hot does it get?!
4 - spare wheel to go

Thanks guys
Tailz

[Jit]

1. aircon aint that heavy...you aint gonna notice it..well not IMO.
2. Yeah go for it...just be warned that on some journeys, they will **** you off and give you a headache...not to mentionyoull look like an idiot when you try and clamber out of them.
3. heat is the leat of yur worries.....imagine the road noise.
4. from the time you break down with a puncture, youll be screwing.

thats my opinion anyway. i done all the above to my integra and regretted it. not to mention the amount of hassle it was putting the carpet and trim back in.

[RobMatthews]

Ok in your order,
#1- take out the air con saves a little weight,takes an unnessary loading off the engine which will give better engine response:Thumbs-up
#2 seats are heavy so changing them will save weight, carbon ones will be very expensive around a grand  or more i expect for a pair or get some buckets which will be lighter than stock and keep ya arse planted in for those fast corners.:Thumbs-up
#3 I have not noticed any heat really coming into my cabin (only dash left and coming out soon)and you will get a good reduction in weight depending on how far you go with stripping it out so:Thumbs-up
#4Maybe leave the spare it could get you out the sh#t sometime when you most need it,mazda made it out of lightweight alloy so it quite light as it is and wont loose you too much weight,then again if you have big brakes the spare wont fit anyway so bin it!

[interloper393]

rip the aircon out bud, you dont save much weight but will aid cooling alot as the a/c rad covers the whole radiator , as for the rest, not much point imo... the most you`d save with everything out is maybe 10kg?

[monkey-fd3s]

I don\'t really think there\'s that much to gain from Carbon seats over FRP...

Here\'s a comparision of the Pro 2000 by Sparco...

Carbon Weight: 6.2 KG
FRP Weight:  8.6KG

Carbon Price: £725.00
FRP Price: £275.00

Now that\'s 2.4 KG Per Seat But the Cost Difference is £450 per seat.  For £900 you could save much more weight by switching to FRP front wings, FRP bonnet, ditching the rear seats, rear trim, speakers and stereo, abs, aircon, etc.

[RemarkLima]

Also get the lightest wheels that you can!

They will make a huge difference, on rotational inertia it helps leads and also it\'s less unsprung weight, so really help with the handling.

I\'ve been trying to find a site that lists wheel weights as well as pictures of just how bling they are.

[BlitzBoy]

Right if you rip out the Air Con properly , including the actual matrix inside the car underneath the glove box (a lot of people who delete the aircon forget to do this)and all the pipework, you will save just under 20KGs this includes the weight of the gas.

Seats I agree just go for FRP Bucket seats u will save loads of weight over stock seats.

I would leave the carpet unless u like extra heat and noise in the cabin, if you delete the carpet make sure you put some heat wrap stuff around the exhaust and downpipe otherwise u might fry ya clutch foot

Spare wheel dont weigh much but I removed mine as I needed the room

[monkey-fd3s]

Indeed - I took out my Matrix and it weighs a fair bit...

[JohnnyP]

Cheapest way is to go on a diet!:WaveBye

[interloper393]

is there a how 2 on removing the matrix? removed everything i can from the engine a/c wise but does the whole dash not need to come out?

[BlitzBoy]

remove the glove box , two screws hold in on undeneath on the hinges, then you will see a metal bar across it , remove this, then you will see the Heater\\aircon plastic boxes, remove the centre one they will be screws around it to undo the ones are a PITA to get to, then remove the circlips, then drop the bottom cover off, you will see the Aircon matrix so then tug at this so you can manipulate the pipes behine it throughthe holes on the bulkhead, so with a little bit of force it should come out

[McCARTHY]

Don\'t forget to get the gas removed. If you don\'t and you just let the gas out don\'t do it in a consealed area, like a garage, it won\'t be nice!!!

[michaelb]

Hi,

I\'m still paying for my rebuild last year so I don\'t have much dollar to spend, but I still want to get faster.

I\'m thinking about the following ways to go lighter - if anyone has any hands-on experience or comments, I\'d love to hear them:

1 - take out air con (it doesn\'t work anyway). Can I do this myself easily?
2 - change seats to carbon fiber - any good makes or models?
3 - lose the carpet - just how hot does it get?!
4 - spare wheel to go

Thanks guys
Tailz

Hi

Go de cat, lose the cat, it is about 30kg, lose the air pump...

Regards,
Michaelb

[Brett]

Perspex instead of glass :yes

[FD3SNuttah]

go on a diet.