Weight reduction? How do I add lightness?

[ManiacLachy]

If you're willing to make it temporarily illegal for track days etc, you can remove the passenger seat and rails.

Is it illegal to remove the passenger seat? Why is that?

[hks_kansei]

If you're willing to make it temporarily illegal for track days etc, you can remove the passenger seat and rails.

Is it illegal to remove the passenger seat? Why is that?

Because as it is a registered 2 seater it must have an approved safe place for a passenger to sit. ie: a seat and seatbelt.
Same as removing rear seats on a sedan.


In most cases a police officer won't be concerned, just have something bulky there like a wheel and tell them it wouldnt fit with the seat in so you removed it temporarily.

[speed]

Wow! I'm a bit overwhelmed by the number of responses.

Thankyou all very very much

As Nevyn72 kindly pointed out, don't really have any weight to loose. I'm 6.3 and weigh about 72kg.

My goal is simple. Remove the stuff I don't really need and increase the rawness of my na6.
Never use the stereo anyways, actually some may argue that I don't use the car enough but do want to join the mx5 club and learn how to steer.

My wheels are light enough at 5k or less. Have a sparco sprint as a drivers seat. Won't be spending sponsorship money to do this, just what I can on a DIY budget.

Like the idea of removing the insulation and the rubber mat thing behind the seats.

Will start a list when I get home, so you can all advise where to go from there.

Thanks again for all the feedback, I'm getting excited about ripping out some stuff, especially as it is much quicker than installing. Lol

[madjak]

Also Speed here is another tip. Whenever I work on the car, I always end up with a few bolts and screws left over. I'm not sure how my car doesn't fall to bits but so far so good. It also makes things easier to pull out again when there are only a few bolts holding it on. I think the front nose of my car is held on by 6 x M6 bolts. I wouldn't suggest applying this principle to any of the rotating bits though.... it's more critical that they stay on the car!

I also have a large storage box full of trims / flaps /guards / brackets etc that aren't really needed and only get in the way when trying to service stuff.

[speed]

Madjak, LMFAO!!!
Magpie, I don't have your budget

Ok, so I think I'll keep the spare and Jack whilst on the road but otherwise I'm keen to remove the following:

1. Carpet (is a this legal?) Thanks d3ck5 and Magpie.
2. Dash insulation and heavy mat. Thanks APU.
3. Tow hooks. Thanks SIB.
4. AC.
5. Maybe soft top. Do already have stock hardtop.
6. CF doors and hardtop but guessing not road legal?
7. Hollowing and bolt removal. Bolts I get, but what can I hollow or attack with a hole saw?

I don't have power steer and I removed both visors when I purchased the car to gain visibility.

Also Magpie, what rear brace are you referring to? Seatbelt tower?

madjak, how about an alloy exhaust with steel muffler connected with v clamps?

Also alloy IC piping?

Thanks again!

[Magpie]

Yeah the post about ceramic rotors was more tounge in cheek

Yep, mazdaspeed rear tower brace. They were all the weights I collected over the time.

Big saving in wheel nuts as shown in my first post.

Another saving is in removing redundant wiring etc, this only applicable if standalone ECU installed.

The heater and fan could be replaced with an electric type, weight saving there.

Swap battery for a lithium a good 8kg alone in this.

Remember as you lighten you will probably add weight. Like harness, roll bar etc.

Personally I find no carpet etc you hear every noise, every pebble hitting the underside, radiated heat. Bonus is you can't hear your passenger complaints

[madjak]

Madjak, LMFAO!!!
Magpie, I don't have your budget

Ok, so I think I'll keep the spare and Jack whilst on the road but otherwise I'm keen to remove the following:

1. Carpet (is a this legal?) Thanks d3ck5 and Magpie.
2. Dash insulation and heavy mat. Thanks APU.
3. Tow hooks. Thanks SIB.
4. AC.
5. Maybe soft top. Do already have stock hardtop.
6. CF doors and hardtop but guessing not road legal?
7. Hollowing and bolt removal. Bolts I get, but what can I hollow or attack with a hole saw?

I don't have power steer and I removed both visors when I purchased the car to gain visibility.

Also Magpie, what rear brace are you referring to? Seatbelt tower?

madjak, how about an alloy exhaust with steel muffler connected with v clamps?

Also alloy IC piping?

Thanks again!

Alloy exhaust is great. Nice and light and easy / cheap if you have someone who can weld it. I cut it all myself, taped it up and sent it off to get welded for $100. Aluminium V-band clamps you can get from Summit Racing. Even the aluminium Vibrant muffler I ran was awesome until I blew all the stuffing out. That thing weighted nothing! The weight is all down low and in the center of the car so it really only helps acceleration.

Making lightweight hubs is a good little project. You can do them in a night easy enough, plus it takes weight off the unsprung parts of the car.... and it's free. You can also take off the brake shrouds whilst your there. It's very satisfying to drop them in the bin when you've finished hacking them off.

Probably already mentioned but you can pull off rear bumper and get all the heavy steel bits out from there. Fix it back on with aluminium brackets and rivets instead of the stock brackets.

[davekmoore]

whilst you have the carpet out, get some dry ice in plastic bags to remove the insulation...you should know what to do with those!

Is this the same stuff? http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/5-SHEETS-ESK ... Swy4hUTzIP
and any tips on best way to use it?

[madjak]

Order some "Light n Easy" frozen meals and you'll get dry ice with it for free. Also helps by reducing the driver weight too

[NitroDann]

Alloy exhaust is great. Nice and light and easy / cheap if you have someone who can weld it. I cut it all myself, taped it up and sent it off to get welded for $100. Aluminium V-band clamps you can get from Summit Racing. Even the aluminium Vibrant muffler I ran was awesome until I blew all the stuffing out. That thing weighted nothing! The weight is all down low and in the center of the car so it really only helps acceleration.

There is a performance limit to alloy exhausts, Ive found it.

Making lightweight hubs is a good little project. You can do them in a night easy enough, plus it takes weight off the unsprung parts of the car.... and it's free. You can also take off the brake shrouds whilst your there. It's very satisfying to drop them in the bin when you've finished hacking them off.

Probably already mentioned but you can pull off rear bumper and get all the heavy steel bits out from there. Fix it back on with aluminium brackets and rivets instead of the stock brackets.

Calling BS, seriously impressive, how?!

[3gress]

There is a build log on mx5nuts and clubroadster called panda2. The car had some serious weight reduction. For an example the boot latch and rear support stamping was removed along with boot hinges. The frp boot lid was held down with latches. The hole saw was powered up here and there too.
It got fairly extensive with frp doors added along the way. See if you can find the build log, it was in the epic roadsters section of the clubroadster build log forum.
Also search targa miata for inspiration.
These two build were built for racing predominately though there are ideas enough relevant to street cars.



Post no.#100

[davekmoore]

Order some "Light n Easy" frozen meals and you'll get dry ice with it for free. Also helps by reducing the driver weight too

Yup, thanks for that. Been there, done it.
Is this the right sort of stuff, and what's the best way to use it? http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/5-SHEETS-ESK ... Swy4hUTzIP

[madjak]

There is a performance limit to alloy exhausts, Ive found it.

Well I blew the muffler to bits. I would have thought my engine would stress any exhaust system. The exhaust pulses are extreme. Still my main pipe is holding up fine. No cracked welds. Any more info on what you know about alloy exhausts.

Calling BS, seriously impressive, how?!

My "making" I really mean grinding. Spend 1 hour on each rear hub with an angle grinder and flapper wheel and you can get off around 300-400 grams in material without any structural loss. Only poblem is cleaning up all the waste filings.

[beavis]

You don't need dry ice to get the sound deadener tar off.
Just use elbow grease and a suitable scarper/chisel/hammer etc

[NitroDann]

There is a performance limit to alloy exhausts, Ive found it.

Well I blew the muffler to bits. I would have thought my engine would stress any exhaust system. The exhaust pulses are extreme. Still my main pipe is holding up fine. No cracked welds. Any more info on what you know about alloy exhausts.

300+whp sustained is enough heat energy to melt an exhaust 1500mm after the exhaust ports.


Calling BS, seriously impressive, how?!

My "making" I really mean grinding. Spend 1 hour on each rear hub with an angle grinder and flapper wheel and you can get off around 300-400 grams in material without any structural loss. Only poblem is cleaning up all the waste filings.

Ah, well yes thats a great idea.