Weight Reduction

I really would like to have a nice little turbo or supercharged setup, but unfortunately being a poor college student I do not have the money at the moment to give my car the kick that it needs.

So with that in mind I figured that, for the time being, I would go in the opposite direction by decreasing the weight. I'm sure there are people here who have done it, and I was wanting to develop (with some help) a plan of sorts to get started.

I never really cared about comfort...BUT I do not want to just rip things out at random. I want to be able to at least put the car back together if/when I decide to in the future.

Anyone have any experience? Tips?

Simple enough... just keep everything for when the time comes that you decide to go back to stock. Although, selling the parts that come off can make up for some of the budget. There are a lot of lightweights around... 2,061 lbs. here at last weigh in and have lost a few more since then. Comfort and noise go to the wayside... its a give and take relationship.
"If it falls to the ground, it is too heavy to be on the car" - That was my mindset for awhile. I've since added a few things back in, but merely for function.

Plenty of ideas here.

Don't forget about the driver.

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Originally Posted by Electro

Simple enough... just keep everything for when the time comes that you decide to go back to stock. Although, selling the parts that come off can make up for some of the budget. There are a lot of lightweights around... 2,061 lbs. here at last weigh in and have lost a few more since then. Comfort and noise go to the wayside... its a give and take relationship.
"If it falls to the ground, it is too heavy to be on the car" - That was my mindset for awhile. I've since added a few things back in, but merely for function.

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2,061lbs...is that with you in it? I assume that it is. How much gas?

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Originally Posted by jrj512

Plenty of ideas here.

Don't forget about the driver.

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Thanks for the link. I'm about 170lbs.

One thing is that I don't have much money to spend, so I'm not going to be able to get the aftermarket race seats or lightweight wheels, etc etc...

If you are very tight on the budget, going light is definitely the correct approach to increase performance. Also, the used market is your friend. I see really cheap race seats on CL all the time for $40-$50. They aren't comfy or pretty, but they are light and cheap. If your goal is anything more than street fun and an occasional autox, you probably can't afford the safety requirements anyway. (Roll bars/cages, harnesses, tires, wheels, race suit, helmet,etc.)

There's a guy that can definitely tell you what to remove and what to NOT remove.

Paging Treibenschnell, Mr. Treibenschnell

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Originally Posted by onething

There's a guy that can definitely tell you what to remove and what to NOT remove.

Paging Treibenschnell, Mr. Treibenschnell

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I heard that he sold all of his worldly possessions and moved to Tibet to become a monk.

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Originally Posted by Titus

I heard that he sold all of his worldly possessions and moved to Tibet to become a monk.

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That is sooo 1990's

He's over that and studying to be a lawyer now.

I do know there's significant weight to be saved with the airbags(if you have a 94+). The passenger bag has a sturdy metal frame that extends pretty far under the dash and was surprisingly heavy. That plus all the wiring and sensors, can't comment on the difficulty of the latter since I haven't gotten to mine yet.

The carpet and plastic bits are probably the most obvious. But this will make your car louder than you think so if you have any love for road tunes be cautious here. I have only my rear deck carpet out at the moment, with the insulation still in place and i'm amazed at the road & drive train noise this has caused.

http://targamiata.com/tags.php?tag=weight%20loss

I stumbled across this on Miata.net looking for something unrelated. Didn't read through all of it, but probably would answer a ton weight loss questions.

http://www.lightweightmiata.com/

/thread

If this is your daily driver, and you eventually want to be able to put everything back to stock, I'd advise to leave things alone. Without spending some money for lightweight replacement components there really isn't much you can strip off a Miata and keep it appealing as a daily driver.

If this was a track car, or a weekend driver, I'd say start cutting.

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Originally Posted by Titus

I heard that he sold all of his worldly possessions and moved to Tibet to become a monk.

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http://images2.fanpop.com/images/pho...72-377-382.jpg

???

Yes?!

My little BUR is now my daily driver... stripped out and all.

The only thing I've added has been a hard top. You're more than welcome to come by and see it.

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Originally Posted by mr brg

http://www.lightweightmiata.com/

/thread

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Thanks!!! ;)

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Originally Posted by Treibenschnell

The only thing I've added has been a hard top. You're more than welcome to come by and see it.

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That would be nice. :)

I took out some random things today...

-center console/cup holder
-both sun visors
-window washer container w/ pump
-floor mats
-all the junk out of the glove box and trunk
-carpeting in the trunk
-shield for the gas tank tubes in trunk
-foot rest next to clutch pedal
-all the spare change

I also tried to take the passenger seat out, and I was able to get all but one bolt removed. The last one was stubborn. I even tried some seafoam on it that I had left over, but to no avail.

I am pondering if I should remove the spare tire and jack. It would save a significant amount of weight, but I don't want to be caught stuck on the side of the road and having to bug a friend.

The seats are probably one of the heaviest items in the car. My Bride replica seat is easily half the weight of the factory seat if not more than half.

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Originally Posted by BFPW

2,061lbs...is that with you in it? I assume that it is. How much gas?

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No. Just the car with 1/8 tank of gas. Mainly for grins one day at the TXMC just to see where my efforts have gotten me.

A bit of advice...keep your driver's side sun visor. Been there, really missed it!

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Originally Posted by miataspeedracer

A bit of advice...keep your driver's side sun visor. Been there, really missed it!

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Really? I got rid of mine 10 years ago and have never missed it.

I miss mine every now and then, but quickly realize the visor never was usefull while it was on the car.

I say yank em and get a decent pair of sunglasses. You can always reinstall them in less than a minute.

...but then I am taller than the average miata driver so YMMV.

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Originally Posted by Titus

Really? I got rid of mine 10 years ago and have never missed it.

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+1 ... first thing I did in every Miata I've owned is removed the visors. Cap and shades work better.

How do you remove the carpeting around the base of the center console (see below)? It was all self-explanatory once I got the seats removed, but now I'm stuck in a rut.

http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/3658/img0087ce.jpg

Remove the dash, or cut the carpet as high as you can in the foot wells.

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Originally Posted by sammm

Remove the dash, or cut the carpet as high as you can in the foot wells.

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I would prefer not to cut...what is the easiest way to remove the dash? It doesn't look as simple as removing the seats.

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Originally Posted by BFPW

I would prefer not to cut...what is the easiest way to remove the dash? It doesn't look as simple as removing the seats.

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I have done it... it is manageable, but not fun. It is easier with 2 people but I did the reinstall by myself and got by.

http://www.miata.net/garage/DashRmv_89_93.pdf
http://rmtconsultants.com/tallen/Das...Page/index.htm

Just yank on the carpet in one quick whip...like a table cloth. ;)

By the way, if you're going to be pulling everything out around the radio, i'd be interested in that little 1/2 inch finish panel between the radio and the cubby hole. I've been looking for one of those. Let me know if you go that far and want to toss it.

Edit: can't tell if it's a separate piece or not form the photo, but still interested.

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Originally Posted by Jiggerachi

By the way, if you're going to be pulling everything out around the radio, i'd be interested in that little 1/2 inch finish panel between the radio and the cubby hole. I've been looking for one of those. Let me know if you go that far and want to toss it.

Edit: can't tell if it's a separate piece or not form the photo, but still interested.

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I'm pretty sure it's all connected together, but I can take a look tomorrow.








I decided to cut the black carpet out. I realized that I never really cared about it anyways. It makes the summers unbearable and it's a magnet for grass and dust.

That floor pan will get mighty warm in the summer. You might want to be cautious about letting your right leg hit the bare trans tunnel come June.

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Originally Posted by juxt3r

That floor pan will get mighty warm in the summer. You might want to be cautious about letting your right leg hit the bare trans tunnel come June.

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I always wear jeans, even in the summer. ;) I got used to it will working in an non-air conditioned wear house last summer. It would get about 115-120 degrees inside.

To respond to Jigg, the 1/2" piece doesn't come out.

BTW, the floor pan gets BEYOND hot. With or without jeans, its hot.

Its the only place I've considered placing some sort of heat barrier.

I dumped the visors 10 years ago with no regrets. I made a windshield banner using static cling that I cut for a darker tint at the top of my windshield. Weighs less that the screws that hold one visor, and I still have some if you are interested.

http://gallery.onething.us/main.php?...geViewsIndex=3

Banner can be no taller than 5" according to the tech at the inspection station ;)

There are a couple of 2" or so strips of carpet forward of the gear selector that tie the two sides together. One is under the radio and the other is above the gas pedal and under the heater core. You can get to both with a pair of scissors and snip them and use gaffers tape to reattach the two sides after reinstalling. I've got mine cut the whole length on top of the tunnel to be able to get under one side or the other without having to take out both seats. It's completely covered by the center console.

The batting under the carpet is a bunch of weight, but don't underestimate its value in sound and heat dampening (or overestimate it's ability to hold water, dust, rust, bugs, or anything else generally considered nasty).

Chris