Weight reduction? How do I add lightness?

[speed]

Apologies if this has been done a gazillion times. I failed when searching

What can I do to reduce weight in my na6 mx5?

I realise that I could remove the air con for a 30kg savings and then the stereo for a further 5/6kg but what else can I do without decreasing the structural integrity of the car?

Already have lightish wheels.

the car MUST be road legal in NSW.

I look forward to your suggestions, thanks in advance,

Steve.

[d3ck5]

* no spare wheel and lose the jack
* lose all carpet (quite a number of people do this)
* lose the soft top (i think it was close to 20kgs and go hard top only (if you have money you can get a carbon hardtop or just replace the glass)
* get lightweight seats (some seats can come in at 6-5kg) may bend legality rules
* lighter panels will save some weight, but again, will bend legality rules
* lose weight! (hehehe, this has been suggested time and time again)
* properly properly clean the car. remove panels, get rid of crap behind the guards, high pressure clean underneath, see if you can get rid of dirt, grime, oil etc that always build up.

if you want to stay legal, the points above are kind of it

oh and read this

http://www.lightweightmiata.com/beast/

[Magpie]

http://www.lightweightmiata.com/beast/lightness/

What is the goal, get it as light as possible, no creature comforts and be road legal?

Here are some weights from my observations (kg)
Carpet ---------------------- 6.20 (inside cabin)
Rear Brace-------------------1.33
Radio/Speakers---------------2.65
Wiper Arm--------------------0.37
Dead pedal-------------------0.21
Visor-------------------------0.62
Harness----------------------1.70 each
OEM headlight cover----------0.63 each
F/Glass headlight cover--------0.22
F/Glass headlight cover--------0.23 (vented)
Project G vent 1/4 window-----0.20
1/4 window--------------------0.44
Headlight assembly-------------4.587
Jetstream headlights-----------1.040
Dash--------------------------0.887
IQ3---------------------------0.786 (installed)
Wheel nuts--------------------0.103 to 0.235 (per 4)

And DRIVER is best weight reduction

[SE]

1/2 a tank of fuel saves 20kg and a big poo before you go on the track saves another 2kg

[3gress]

Aquire a pair of front fibreglass fenders from 3gress.
Originally bought from mx5plus garage sale for cheap only to prop a wall in the spare bedroom.

[Trackphotos]

I was trying to remove some weight from my Nb not long ago. If you're willing to make it temporarily illegal for track days etc, you can remove the passenger seat and rails. That's about 15kg altogether. Running 1/4 tank instead of starting from full saves over 25kg. As you said, AC will do a lot too. I decided that as long as I was driving to and from the track, I wouldn't remove the AC. So I decided I'd lose 20kg myself I stead. 16 down so far. All told, the weight difference between a year ago and now is 50kg+ by losing weight myself, removing the seat and running with an empty tank. It's enough to make a difference if you are a consistent enough driver, although 5 degrees air temp difference can undo the weight improvement easily enough too.

If you're talking about removing weight for anything other than track use, I don't really see the point.

Sent from my E6653 using Tapatalk

[Magpie]

Trackphotos I agree with the driver weight loss. Lost over 30kg in the past 3 years aiming for another 20 over the next few years (slow and steady).

I may remove the passenger seat next general practice day and see if it makes a difference. The caveat being "It's enough to make a difference if you are a consistent enough driver"...

[Nevyn72]

* lose weight! (hehehe, this has been suggested time and time again)

If you'd met Speed you would know, short of amputations, this isn't really an option.......

[Apu]

Pull the dash out and remove the insulation behind it - that's quite a few kilos. And if' you've chose to remove the a/c, there is plenty of other stuff that can be taken out then as well.

There's also a fairly heavy mat behind the seats on NBs...not sure if that is the case with NAs. And 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!

If you have power steering, can remove that as well. I dropped about 20kg removing a/c and p/s along with all the associated hardware.

[Magpie]

There is 60kg that can be saved by swapping the hard top and doors to carbon fibre.

[SIB]

When I removed the front and rear OEM towhooks to replace with more track suitable ones, I weighed them and the bolts because they felt surprisingly heavy. From memory they were about 3kg all up.

[madjak]

Here is a good tip. Every time I mount something up to the car, it generally takes me a few goes to get the holes right. These oversized or extra holes over time add up to decent few grams of additional lightness!

[hks_kansei]

As said by others, carpet and all that stuff you can live without.

The tiny bits are things like hollowing out bits not needed for strength, removing bolts where the remaining ones could work, removing wiring for items not used, etc.

[SE]

Here is a good tip. Every time I mount something up to the car, it generally takes me a few goes to get the holes right. These oversized or extra holes over time add up to decent few grams of additional lightness!

[Magpie]

Carbon ceramic brake rotors.
Magnesium wheels.
Aluminium calipers
Titainium nuts/bolts
Aluminium nuts/bolts (non structural)
Carbon fibre seat
Carbon fibre every panel that is not classed as intrusion.