legal wieght reduction?

[irwin83r]

dose the "wind blocker" even do anytihng?

why would u say its a give to someone else job?

to remove the soft top do you have to destroy the seal at the base of the soft top?
where can u drill holes though?

[Philip Lee]

to remove the soft top do you have to destroy the seal at the base of the soft top?
where can u drill holes though?

do u mean the rain rail? it is attached to the softtop so when u unscrew all the bolts, u can take the whole top out with the rain rail.

[Rob E]

Get rid of.....

1. Sunvisors - who needs em
2. Baby Teeth - Probably 5 kilos in them and they should not to be used for towing anyway (used a arms)
3. Fuel filler shield (a kilo??)
4. Take out spare + jack and use fix a flat (or join NRMA) probably 10 kgs there!

Did the above on mine, but probably should have lost 15kgs myself at the same time!

Do a search on miataforum "adding lightness"

[Sidewinder]

I can't believe I hadn't spotted this thread earlier!

• All carpet and sound proofing should have been gone ages ago.
• Same goes for the windblocker
• And the baby teeth
• The scuff plates can be removed, along with the pipe that keeps the left one from collapsing.
• Ther rubber material that keeps the doors sealed can go.
• The rear tow hooks can be sawn off.
• Take off the front license plates if you think you are able to talk your way out of trouble. ;)
• Two hooks on the engine are used to lift the engine into the bay - you don't need them
• There is a section of bracing on the left hand side of the engine near the oil filter. It does absolutely nothing.
• Do you really need a hood prop? You can keep a beach umbrella in the boot to prop up the hood if you plan to take it out for racing.
• The car will run fine without the heat shield over the exhaust manifold
• Almost all the heat shielding surrounding the exhaust can be removed. Your car will be hot, but nothing should catch fire.
• Remove the centre console. It weighs about 3kg. For power window switches, I got a couple of rocker switches from Jaycar and mounted them in balsa wood, and it sat neatly in the empty slot in the dash.
• Replace the drivers seat with a lightweight sport seat. The OEM seat and rails weighs a good 25kg.
• Replace the passenger seat as well, or ditch it completely.
• Most of the panelling in the footwells and under the dash can be removed.
• The plastic pannelling around the seatbelt towers can be removed, but you have to unbolt the seatbelts first unless you want to cut plastic.
• All the linings in the boot and the metal shroud covering the fuel filler pipe can be removed.
• When going to the track, bring jerry cans so you can keep the fuel tank near empty.
• Empty the washer bottle
• The head unit weighs about a kilo if you don't listen to music. The speakers weigh very little though.
• The metal plates that hold the doors open in two positions can be removed if you don't mind your doors flapping around.
• The plastic inner wheel guards can be removed. Warning: rocks flicked up by the tyres can dent your bodywork from the inside.
• There is a "Quick Softtop Removal kit" available in the States that allows you to modify the softtop so it can be removed or reinstalled in about 20 minutes. Or simply remove the softtop completely and replace it with a hardtop. AFAIK, the softtop can be reinstalled, but it's a pain of a job.

There you go - legal lightening. And all but the sawing of the rear tow hooks are reversible.

[irwin83r]

wow, you done all of this side winder??

im not sure if i want to go wuiet that far. but thanks loads! will look into this "Kit" from the states for the soft top.

but im tempted to remove it and leave it out. in any case i wont be doing this stuff till i hit the tracks more regularly.

oh and what the hell are baby teeth??

if i remove tow hooks should i install an aftermarket front and rear tow point for track?

[russs]

It was easier to lighten an Austin Healey Sprite... Roof off in 30 seconds, 2 screws for each side window (another 30 seconds), but the best bit was the 4 screws to remove the windscreen!

[Sidewinder]

wow, you done all of this side winder??

im not sure if i want to go wuiet that far. but thanks loads! will look into this "Kit" from the states for the soft top.

but im tempted to remove it and leave it out. in any case i wont be doing this stuff till i hit the tracks more regularly.

oh and what the hell are baby teeth??

if i remove tow hooks should i install an aftermarket front and rear tow point for track?

Yes, I did just about all of the above, along with removing a perfectly good air conditioner. Ultra light weight, semi slicks and aftermarket shocks/springs made it a damn good handling car.

The baby teeth are the front tow hooks. You can replace one of them with an aftermarket aluminium one (I had a trick fluoro orange one).

[irwin83r]

cool thanks man.

will be sure to remove as much body fat as i can further down the track, but ill wait till i hit the track i think