Dropping weight

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5thGenLuvin

Senior Member
I am trying to drop weight off my 5th gen. I started basically in the rear of the car stripping everything out inside. Carpet, all the panelling, headliner, backseat and rear seatbelts. Basically everything. Replaced the heavy civic seats with lightened racing seats. Now I wonder about the last piece of the puzzle, the dash. I know they are removable, but how much weight would I really be dropping. I was thinking about replacing it with an aluminum fabricated face, with reinforced bracets. basically I just need to know if this is even worth it, I mean.... the car is already completely gutted anyways:p
 
Door panels and center consel also. The sound insulation is defidently a must. You can also go to a smaller battery, aluminum (type-r) A/C mount. Get rid of A/C and heater components too. Power steering and cruise control too.
 
Originally posted by scottp11@Aug 7 2005, 05:21 PM
Door panels and center consel also. The sound insulation is defidently a must. You can also go to a smaller battery, aluminum (type-r) A/C mount. Get rid of A/C and heater components too. Power steering and cruise control too.
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Door panels, center consoles(2 pieces) sound deadening is going, as s the dynamat extreme for when I was in spl competition(fuxing NIGHTMARE), basically everything is going, I have no A/C, and because I drive this car, and doing a swap next month , I am leaving the PS for now. I am going to rid the heater of it's position the second I buy up my winter car. I live in Northern Canada, and this Civic has been my yearround car the past 2 years, but this year it begins the stages of being strictly a summer car/light drag. No feedback towards the dash thouhg... anyone seen this done? And is it still legal? I would imagine it is as long as no safety/airbag components are removed, since I don't have bags i should be fine for legalities.....
 
Anyone know a good way to get the access tar off the flooring from the stock insulation and the Dynamat? Basically been using a scraper, and balling the tar up has been doing ok, but I want to paint the inside of the car from the HIDIOUS green to somehting more suiting. I am not HUGE on the cosmetics of the car, hence the gutting, but I don't want to race a fungus egg either:p
 
If you can get liquid nitrogen, use that. Pour it on the tar to make it freeze and then chisel it out. If you can't get LN2, try getting some dry ice, they sell it in a lot of grocery stores.
 
I dont see why removing airbags would be illegal, only seatbelts are required
 
that works for the factory soundproofing, but that shit is easy to get off in the first place. the part inside the car anyways, the bitch of it is the tar residue leftover from the Dynamat removal, it is comming off with my technique, but it's a 3 day project and stil going, thank god I didn't get higher into spl and dynamat the entire car. I think i would have sold the car and started fresh if I did:/ haha
 
Seatbelts are manditory in every car on the road, even if it is old enough not to have had them from the factory. You have to fabricate them in. It is also illegal to remove an airbag from a vehicle that had one from the factory, although this law may change from state to state or country to country.
 
Removing the dash and heating components will save a good chunk of weight, but you might consider gutting out the dash and re-installing it. Alot of people don't realize that a padded dash is a safety device. I would much rather slam my knees into a plastic dash than metal.

I built an autocross civic hatch, and removed everything but one racing seat. The gauge cluster was zip-tied to the column. No dash whatsoever. But to each his own.
 
That is basically where I am aiming, but instead of ziptyping like a ghetoracer, I think I'll weld an aluminum bracket together:p I'd hate to get a tachometer in the earhole during a rollover:/
 
heat up the tar and dynamat leftovers with a hair dryer or something of that sort and peel them off. how much $$$ do you want for that center floor console?
 
Originally posted by 5thGenLuvin@Aug 8 2005, 07:42 PM
That is basically where I am aiming, but instead of ziptyping like a ghetoracer, I think I'll weld an aluminum bracket together:p I'd hate to get a tachometer in the earhole during a rollover:/
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Like I said, to each his own. an aluminum dash adds weight. Not much, but you may be better off with the padded dash. I'd rather get smacked in the ear hole by a plastic gauge cluster than an aluminum fabricated dash with razor sharp edges flying around the car.

Hell, I never got to drive it. I yanked the DX motor, got it ready for a swap, did disgusting weight reduction to it, and one of my racer friends from out of town saw it, and bought it on the spot. :p Have you ever seen a COMPLETELY gutted 91 civic hatch? It looks like a mini van inside! lol.
 
dash really isn;t THAT heavy but if its all stripped already why not go the extra step...

you already got rid of the heater core? and blower fan, wiper motor, etc?
 
blackie, I might consider selling the center console... hit me up at here2chill_22m@hotmail.com and we'll chat, I'll sell it cheap cause I have no use for it anymore, obviously.... I can also ship it threw my business possibly, and save you a little on the other end, but I live in Alberta Canada, so if you are in the southern states, you might want to keep looking locally... 200 shipping for a 50 dollar part might be a chunk outta yer ass:p
 
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