Weight Reduction - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

Kuler2.0 · 06-05-2008, 04:58 PM

So I have decided to completely gut the inside of my 87 2g. So far I have removed everything from the trunk (spare tire and jack included and replaced with a portable air compressor and a can of fix-a-flat). The back seat and insulation are gone along with the rear deck. The door cards on all four doors, all the carpet (except on the drivers floor) the lower half of the dash, and all trim pieces. I am pulling the AC Compressor and Core when I get the new drive belt. My question is, has anyone done this before? What kind of results did you get as far as handling, speed, noise (is it TOO loud) etc? What else should I pull from the car?

aych · 06-06-2008, 01:00 AM

oh wow. thats... intense. you're basically driving in a shell. i do believe the rear deck acts as a rear stiffener, so that will affect handling. the carpet will affect noise. the ac can go without too much problems, i think you need to do a bypass somewhere too. the door cards weight next to nothing, and well.. it looks so much nicer! you can rid the lower half of the dash and trim, if you really want to save 2 lbs. why dont you carry less gas too? fill up only 5 litres at a time? get some lighter rims, smaller battery? there are so many things that weigh more than what you're planning to rid.

white90dx · 06-06-2008, 04:10 PM

It will be quite loud if you take out the carpet, door cards and rear seats. The 20-50lbs is worth it to me.

You should also consider removing the sound deadening on the floors. You can probably get at least 20 more pounds this way. Get some dry ice at the store, get it cold and hit it with a hammer... it'll crack off.

If you don't care about safety, you can also cut out most of your front and rear bumper beams. Remove cruise control (if you have it). Move the battery to the trunk and get a lighter one. Get a lighter driver's seat (racing seat).

This of course will all not really help you much if your suspension isn't already in good shape - springs, struts, swaybars, bushings, etc...

-Charlie

aych · 06-07-2008, 01:09 PM

why dont you place a huge balloon in the rear of your extremely empty car and fill it with helium? that'll let up 5-10 lbs too! and while you're at it. get CF hoods and trunks done, or remove the trunk cover and use your car as a truck?

sillysspeed · 06-07-2008, 04:16 PM

your well on your way to having a great demolition derby car!!! good luck

aych · 06-07-2008, 08:32 PM

lol. thats a nice way to put it. but isn't demolition derbies supposed to be heavy?

sillysspeed · 06-08-2008, 04:58 PM

haha they have different classes... I was thinking that he had already talked about taking out half the things you would take out to make a DD car

Actually an all-trac camry might make a good DD car

aych · 06-08-2008, 06:04 PM

maybe... just dip the frame in steel a couple times and maybe you can get a 6000lb DD camry. haha

Kuler2.0 · 06-08-2008, 10:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by white90dx

This of course will all not really help you much if your suspension isn't already in good shape - springs, struts, swaybars, bushings, etc...

-Charlie

You know if my tranny does loose a gear or something then that is probably what I would do. I have always wanted to build a DD car.

As to white90dx's post, I have done struts and springs. Any suggestions on where I should look for sways and who makes a good quality one? I haven't really looked into it because I have been fixing the motor so much.

white90dx · 06-09-2008, 01:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kuler2.0

As to white90dx's post, I have done struts and springs. Any suggestions on where I should look for sways and who makes a good quality one? I haven't really looked into it because I have been fixing the motor so much.

There's only one option for the swaybars - Whiteline. Superpro makes bushings if any of yours are shot.

-Charlie