Anyone have ideas for serious weight reduction? Not just small things, like major reduction.
by DaltonKRS, October 29, 2010
Anyone have ideas for serious weight reduction? Not just small things, like major reduction.
Dan_H
http://www.nerocam.com/SCC_TAP.asp
^^^ Great link! Just as funny now as it was the first time I saw that.
But seriously, about how much weight savings are you looking at - your definition of "major" reduction. 10lbs, 20lbs, even 50lbs? That is completely doable.
Looking at a couple of hundreds of pounds? That will be much tougher, direction will depend on if you are looking at "free" mods or looking to invest some money into the car. The 9th gen Corolla doesn't have too much for it, as far as bolt on replacement panels. Aside from CF hoods and front fenders, possibly CF trunk - Lexan for windshield replacement, strip the interior, remove SRS equipment, etc.
How about weight reduction for the seventh generation corollas? I was thinking of taking out the trunk lining and maybe getting a lightweight battery.
And how hard would it be to relocate the battery to the trunk compartment for better weight distribution?
Relocating the battery to the trunk is not too bad. Easiest way is to get a marine battery kit - generally they come with a fairly beefy cable that is more than long enough and an enclosed battery box to prevent electrolyte and normal fumes from contaminating the trunk. Light weight battery will help quite a bit, depending on how much reserve battery capacity you are looking for - most cases, you can easily shave off 2/3 to 4/5 of the original battery weight.
As for weight reduction - depends on how extreme you want to go. Ditching items like carpeting, spare tire, tools, unused seats, scraping off sound deadening material, etc. could save you use a hundred pounds or so. Light weight body panels, removing body garnishes, might get you another hundred pounds.
Dang! That's a whole lot of weight out of such a small car! 
Ok, so more specifically, if I removed the trunk carpeting, cardboard supports, relocated the battery and replaced it with a lightweight one, what would be the savings? I do need to keep the spare and jack though - I really wouldn't feel great about taking long trips without them.
If I went a little farther by getting out the sound deadening and maybe removing the windshield washer fluid system (still debating that one), would it be worth the effort?
And where would be the best place to get a battery kit like the one you mentioned?
Best place to get those battery kits is online - Summitracing or similar. A marine shop, tractor supply store are other places where you can get those remote battery kits.
As far as weight is concerned - trunk liner doesn't weight too much - couple pounds at most. OEM battery is something like 30-40lbs. A lightweight battery like a Braille or Odessey battery can be as light as 5-6lbs. Still have to factor in the longer cable run, if you got a battery box (recommended) - all in all, probably able to save 20lbs with just battery relocation and trunk liner removal. I know that my spare was 25lbs, according to the bathroom scale, all the extra stuff (jack, handle, lug wrench, other tools) were another 15 lbs. I carry a can of Fix-a-Flat - works for me. But I can see that for road trips especially in areas that are off the main throughways, having that physical spare tire is good insurance.
Sound deadening, hood liner, those you can loose without too much issue - aside from more road noises getting in. Sound deadening material is probably an easy 20lbs - trunk, inside the cabin. Loosing the washer fluid reservoir - that is your call. Myself, I can't think of a day where I did NOT use my windshield washers (lots of bugs, construction here).
Reducing your unsprung mass in the corners is where a lot of gain can be had. Swapping out the 20lbs OEM steel wheels or even heavier alloys for light weight alloys and lighter weight tires can help quite a bit. There that weight is roughly equivalent to 3x-4x static weight. So if you shaved off 10lbs per tire/wheel for an overall 40lbs total savings, that would be the same as lightening the car by 120-160lbs!
Granted - all this will not turn a Corolla into a Ferrari - but this is generally very simple to implement and gains are tangible. Better than even well known - typical bolt-ons, like intake/exhaust/header.
