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Losing weight, dramatically increase mpg


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Hey all.

 

So 2 weekends ago I removed about 10kg - 20kg of weight from my boot. I was get about 200-230 miles to a tank. Now I have emptyed my boot I have got 250 miles and still a quarter of a tank left. I knew that reducing weight improves mpg (and speed :D ) but I never knew it was to that extent.

 

I think next up is remove the back seats and strip the sound system out and I may see 300 miles to a tank.

 

Sent from my PRA-LX1 using Tapatalk

 

 

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Unfortunately the back seats really don't weigh much and they actually block out a lot of sound, so my advise would be to keep them in if the car is only used on the road.

 

If you wanted to go into weight saving mode without making the car too loud/ uncomfortable I would:

 

Remove the secondary air system and all pipework (5-7kg)

Remove the A/C and all associated pipework (I'm aware this can sacrifice comfort in some respects.. but it weighs a good 5-7kg).

Replace the battery with a light weight one (OEM battery is around 15-17kg, the light ones are around 8KG or a little less)

 

The numbers above might not be particularly accurate, thats just what I guess they weighed when I took them out the car.

 

That's the easiest way of removing a good amount of weight without stripping the car down IMO

 

 

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Sound doesn't bother me, it bothers my gf but not me lol.

But I shall look into all that you have suggested and buy a new shed just for car parts, I already have half a shed full lol.



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Yeah stripping weight makes a big difference.

The first thing I done on the Red edition was to throw away that stupid subwoofer in the back.

Didn’t do a thing and weighed a ton :laugh2:

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1 minute ago, Crazy Cat Lady said:

It's a shame we need to cart around a spare wheel - that really does weigh heavy.

A lightweight get-me-home spare wheel maybe all we need (?)

 

The last time i punctured and had to put the spare on was 1988

 

Same here, I can’t remember when I’ve ever needed to put a spare wheel on.

I bet I’ll need it if I didn’t have it though :lol:

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3 hours ago, trophytr5 said:

Filling the tank and then driving to see how far you are going?

You are carrying around 55 litres of fuel which would weigh something lile 50 kilos

 

55L of fuel weighs 41.1895kg. Petrol is around 748.9g/L, different octane changes the weight slightly, some race fuel we used was 747g/L

Edited by Sheeple
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There are lots of things you can remove to save weight, you have to inspect every single component and asses it's use, design etc.

Rotating weight has a great effect on MPG, so light alloys will help for example, these also make the overall weight of the car less so it's win/win. Don't be tempted by light wheel nuts though, these are a daft idea and a safety issue.

 

plastic trims and covers that are just there to tidy the engine bay up can be removed, not things like fuse box covers but the plastic wit the VVTI logo etc. Taking this critical look at each part doesn't save much weight per part, but the numbers build if you keep going and look at everything.

It can get out of hand, the ultimate would be to strip the entire chassis and only put back what's needed, including trimming out spare wires in the loom, removing stuck on floor tar etc. But less drastic savings can add up. I intend to do this for my gt4 as it's very nose heavy but I'm not really looking to strip it out at all. My MR2 has had the full drastic treatment and saved huge amounts of weight.

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I've always been tempted to remove the  spare wheel as that is really heavy being full size.

 

All the punctures I've had I've managed to inflate enough to get me home. 

 

Though if I remove it I'll probably rip out a sidewall the next day. Lol

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It’s not just mpg that improves with weight reduction, acceleration, braking, cornering, tyre wear all improve lugging less weight around.

But don’t forget you will alter the balance of the car if you remove all the weight from just the rear.

Probably the best thing to make lighter without turning it into a track car is lighter wheels as already mentioned.

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If you want to change the seats, bucket seats are around half the weight of the stock seats, at least 14kg to be had here. Not a cheap option.
Could dump the misses and take the passenger seat out, good 14kg+ saving there :P

Floor mats? get them heavy fuel eaters out!

 

Cone filter instead of airbox, 2.5kg

 

Cut sugar from your diet and walk an extra 20mins a day, might be some weight saved there. But then you could be a 0% fat road cyclist for all I know.

Only wear race boots when driving, every kg helps so leave the doc martins at home.

Run with the screen wash only half filled. Have to top up more quickly but it's another 2kg saved.

 

Add all the ideas in this thread together and there is loads to be saved :D

Just added them up.. 97.5kg of savings! about the weight of a larger passenger.

SAS 7
AC  7
battery 10
spare 18
wheels 8kg

half tank 20kg
plastic trim 2kg
plastic windows 3
seats 14
mats 3
boots 1
washer 2

airbox 2.5

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To give an idea of what can be lost/changed, this is what Iv done:

 

Aircon

Power steering

ABS

Half sized rad

Engine mounts

Stainless exhaust and manifolds

Induction setup

Flyby wire throttle conversion

Light weight alloys

Coilovers

Carbon bonnet

Carbon spoiler 

Seats and belts - swapped for buckets and harnesses 

Interior plastics

Speakers and stereo

Spare wheel and tool kit

Sound proofing floors and behind dash

Sunvisors

Headliner

Rear wiper

3rd brake light 

Electric sunroof - swapped to ali plate

Electric mirrors - swapped to manual

Excess wiring

Removable steering wheel

 

Admittedly mine is a weekend/track car, there is still more to lose like the glass windows, doors, tailgate etc

I might go the ITB route yet so can lose the inlet mani, induction setup aswell.

 

Just depends how far you want to go, the more you lose the less comfortable it gets!

 

 

 

 

 

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