Weight reduction = horsepower gain

[humblegumbo]

Remove Spare Tire ...... no way
Remove Jack ...... nu uh
Remove Floor Mats ...... maybe if they were lead
Remove Passenger Seat ....... hmmmmm.....
Remove Rear Seats ...... gone... CRX
Remove Muffler ........ street legal?
Drain Washer Fluid ........ now that's just silly
Remove Cruise Control ....... never had it
Remove Speakers ........ wait...i need those
Remove Radio ...... that too!

There's obviously a limit to how far I'm willing to go. This isn't a track car, it's my daily driver. I just happen to love embarrasing mustangs and such on the way home from work. That passenger seat just may come in handy one day...


What's amazing to me is how responsive the car is to little tweaks. I can totally feel the difference between a full tank of gas, 1/2, and 1/4...and she only carries ten gallons to begin with.

 

[phyregod]

Yeah, I remember having friends with me in my CRX.. Alot of my friends are 200+ pounds, and the car felt sluggish as hell with them in it.

 

[humblegumbo]

Funny.
My wife weighs in at around 100lbs fully clothed and I notice the difference. How'd you even fit a 200+ lb guy in there?

Then there was the day that I picked up a 52" tv from craiglist. That thing must weigh a solid 300lbs. No shit. I almost rear ended a couple people until I got used to the extra mile or two of stopping distance required.

 

[eg6sir]

umm, i'm 6'2" and over 200 and i fit in my old CRX fine..

 

[humblegumbo]

I'm sure you do fit, actually. Except I'm 6'0" and hit my head on the ceiling every now and then....

I gave a mustang owner at work a ride home one day and he was stunned at how much space there was inside. Another reason why Musangs are dumb...they're just as big as any other sedan, but there's no usable space inside. (try fitting 37" tv in *that* trunk!)

 

[jimboburgess]

I guess when you put an extra 200lbs into the car you are increasing it's total weight by nearly ten percent since the car is so light in the first place. Maybe it's also the low torque that makes the difference in weight feel that much more signifigant since the ratio is increase due to small numbers
i.e. 111 ft/lbs hauling 2500lbs reduces to
1 : 22.5
compared to say
a mustang with 300 ft/lbs weighing 3500
1 : 11.6

I gave a mustang owner at work a ride home one day and he was stunned at how much space there was inside. Another reason why Musangs are dumb...they're just as big as any other sedan, but there's no usable space inside. (try fitting 37" tv in *that* trunk!)

I totally know what you are talking about and it seems specifically mustang owners live with their head in a bag. oblivious to why their cars are only mediocre compared to most other cars on the market. it seems ironic that someone would buy a V6 mustang, since it is a slow sports car?!??!wtf?!?! Must be that they want to look but screw power and handling, the new ones aren't anemic in the power department at all yet they still are slower than anything running vtec. . .


Excuse my bias

 

[gee777theman]

Dude's Could u share some Pic's How to do a Stage 2 weight reduction on a EG CIVIC ^_^

 

[klyph]

 

[jimboburgess]

Stage 1 - remove interior carpet, passenger seats, install lightweight battery, Install light weight wheels and tires
Stage 2 - get your fat ass to the gym
Stage 3 - Plexi-glass windows, remove all non-essential equipment (a/c, radio, power steering), Remove sound dampening, fill cabin with helium.

 

[Seany-izzle]

Dude's Could u share some Pic's How to do a Stage 2 weight reduction on a EG CIVIC ^_^

LOL this isnt Forza or Gran Turismo

Look at your car, think of everything in it and decide if you need it to drive the car. Whatever you say "no" to, take it out. unbolt, screw, pull, rip, tear, smash, break, whatever you gotta do.

 

[phunky.buddha]

I've often heard that a weight reduction of 100 lbs. should reduce a 1/4 mile time by 0.1 secs

I've actually seen documented proof and video that it's more like 60 pounds per .1 seconds in the quarter. There was a group of journalists that tested it out with a Corvette and bags of sand on the drag strip. If anyone can find it online (not where I saw it), please post it up.

 

[jamesA]

I totally know what you are talking about and it seems specifically mustang owners live with their head in a bag. oblivious to why their cars are only mediocre compared to most other cars on the market. it seems ironic that someone would buy a V6 mustang, since it is a slow sports car?!??!wtf?!?! Must be that they want to look but screw power and handling, the new ones aren't anemic in the power department at all yet they still are slower than anything running vtec. . .


Excuse my bias

An 05+ V6 Stang is going to run even, or may even end up beating me out. The new Si though should take it by a length or two.

Please... instead of throwing bias about others' bias, go test drive or ride a new v6 stang. They're ballsy and they aren't sluggish on the road courses. Just like with Hondas, you throw some suspension on one and it'll handle very well.

There are a few sixxer owners who autocross them and do decently well.

 

[Matts96HB]

Bah. Just an opinion, but if I'm going to buy a new stang, I'm buying the V8.
The 4.6 is a great motor. Good starting platform. My dad is putting one into his 69 fastback.

 

[jamesA]

Hey go for it. the 4.6 is a great engine, although small for a V8 compared to bowtie engines... but the 3.8, 3.9 and 4.0 V6s should not be underrated when modded correctly.

 

[Matts96HB]

Most won't. Don't get me wrong they are great engines. They serve a purpouse as well. But IMO, when you have a car that weighs as much as the Mustangs / Camaro's do, it seems wise to go with something that has decent power output from the factory. Though the sticker on the new GT's is somewhat steep for what you are getting, as is with all new cars in a sense.

 

[93civicracer]

If you want to actually lose a couple of seconds on the 1/4, there's a post here that shows you how with just weight reduction. Of course you have to remove EVERYTHING from the car except pretty much the chassis, shell, engine, and the seat you sit in . The nissan sentra they used went from 16's to lower 14's if I'm not mistaken.

And mustangs are way overrated IMO. So are camaros. I'd rather get just over half their hp out of my civic and be faster anyway for less than half the price. I can understand if someone was raised around American muscle tho my dad used to have an old Chevelle and that bitch took OFF. I'd drive any car tho really as long as it's small, fun to drive, standard, and in good condition which I have to do because I have a life and can't dump every penny into my civic . I saw a blue hyundai tiburon I thought about getting if it's standard...anyone know what they're like to drive?

 

[99sidude]

get a lightweight flywheel and some vx wheels... that should make a noticable difference.

 

[jamesA]

Most won't. Don't get me wrong they are great engines. They serve a purpouse as well. But IMO, when you have a car that weighs as much as the Mustangs / Camaro's do, it seems wise to go with something that has decent power output from the factory. Though the sticker on the new GT's is somewhat steep for what you are getting, as is with all new cars in a sense.

I agree though... they're heavy and IMO somewhat overpriced. I'd like a GT500, but before I spend that 50k I'd rather save up 70k and get a Z06. Gonna go, ya gotta go all out.

 

[humblegumbo]

I'd rather save up 70k and get a Z06. Gonna go, ya gotta go all out.

Or I could throw 1/4 that cash at my Rex, carry the rest in the trunk, and spank the Z06 to the bank.

I'm not saying I would turn my back on it if given to me, but there's no way that buying a new car makes any kind of financial sense.

 

[micah]

theres also no way that dropping 5k+ into a 10 yr old honda makes any sense, but weve all done it