Progress report!

Using a mix of sources, here's the weight loss so far:
wheels -19.5 lbs
tires -7.0 lbs
brake rotors -18.0 lbs
battery -29.5 lbs
muffler -27.0 lbs
high-flow cats -6.5 lbs
cargo divider -10 lbs (only when at the track)
oil catch can +5 lbs (estimate)
TOTAL: 102.5 lbs weight loss!

Still waiting to install:
headers -11 lbs
seats -40 lbs each (estimate)

Eventually:
lightweight flywheel -17 lbs

All said and done, I should be able to break 200 lbs of weight loss without removing any sound-deadening, glass, stereo, air conditioning, etc etc. The only removed "features" are the seat warmers and seat-mounted airbags due to the seats being replaced.



Some highlights:

• The loss in weight from the wheels and tires is especially noteworthy, as I went with larger tires and a more aggressive offset for the wheels. Plus, it's unsprung rotating mass, so the weight loss has a much greater effect than static weight (ie, battery and seats).
• The battery can be swapped in 5 minutes compared to an hour - the base plate of the mount stays in place, and the battery can pop out without removing any trim pieces aside from the parcel shelf (which is just sitting there).
• Weight loss from the exhaust is an added bonus, since it was done for performance and sound more than weight savings, but it's a huge weight loss nonetheless.

Potential drawbacks:

• Smaller battery has less power reserve, so a trickle charger is highly recommended (which is true even on the OEM battery). I installed mine last week, fired it up and it did so without a complaint. Let it sit for a few days without a tender and it fired up again without issue.
• The exhaust is louder than stock (not a drawback for me, or for most of us).
• Oil catch can does add a few pounds, but does protect the engine (oil ingest bad, oil capture good).
• The seats are not everyone's cup o' tea. But I've daily driven a car with fixed buckets (Recaro PP) that were hard-mounted to the car (not even a slider adjustment on it) and was perfectly comfortable. Massive weight loss, but not for everyone.

 

Weight savings from mods: 200lbs

Weight gained from having gf sitting in passenger seat: 110lbs

Net weight loss: 80lbs

Dollars spend per lb loss overall including dinner and dates: $$$$$

 

There's a 10lbs somewhere that I'm not seeing...

 

It can be explained the same way as a woman celebrating her 30th birthday four or five years in a row

 

I knew the info was encoded! ;D

 

Either richard only dropped 190 lbs from the car or the gf is 10 lb heavier than claimed

 

pretty sure no one around here is claiming their GF's weight

 

We are getting into dicey waters here haha

 

awesomeweight savings, just remember if you take off a lot of weight in one area, you could throw off the cars handling and cornering characteristics.

 

I've considered that, and the route I'm going shouldn't be a concern. The car has a slightly rear-biased weight distribution (49/51, if I remember correctly), and the only real weight loss from outside the wheelbase is the muffler. There isn't much weight outside the wheelbase (even the engine is a true mid-mount). The muffler plus the lighter battery help shift the weight balance forward, but it's still very close to the 49/51 distribution (maybe 50/50).

As far as vertical distribution, all the weight is down low - these are very bottom-heavy cars (which is a good thing). So the weight is being lost from down low, which isn't ideal, but it's the only way to lose weight unless you want to change out glass for Lexan (which I'm not willing to do)

 

You could also consider a carbon fiber hood or roof to keep the center of gravity as low as possible.

 

Planning a carbon fiber hood - would LOVE the hood from the GT12 but the price, if available at all, would be ungodly I'm sure.

I think a carbon fiber roof requires cutting away the original, which is a non-starter unless the roof needed to replaced anyway.

I've got a buddy that started doing 3D printing of things that are structurally super-strong, so once I get my hands on that thing it should get interesting

 

that!

 

Just weighed my oil catch can - it adds only 2 lbs to the car (guesstimated 5 lbs in my original post, edited version below).

 

This came up in another thread, so here's some wonky math to figure this out. Yes, I understand that this isn't perfect but I think it's a decent guesstimation without actually weighing the car to determine its exact weight and weight distribution (some day I'm sure I'll get around to that).

If we assume the original car weighs 3550 lbs, with a 49 front/51 rear weight distribution, that puts 1810.5 lbs in the rear half and 1739.5 in the front half. Here's where I've lost weight:



I'm not taking the seats into account because 1) they're smack-dab in the middle so they shouldn't affect weight distribution, and 2) I haven't bought them yet lol

So based on that, I've lost 88.5 lbs from the rear, and 37.5 lbs from the front with a new total weight of 3424, with 1722 in the rear and 1702 in the front - nearly a dead 50/50 balance.

When I get to the seats, the distribution shouldn't be affected. Changing out the front and rear bumper beams would be ideal for weight distribution, and should keep the balance a touch toward the rear.

Also, I'm wicked proud of my Microsoft Paint skills.