I'm currently working on a RX-8 on a diet post, which will cust the weight down by about ~150lbs will keeping the car streetable with A/C stereo most of the interior.

I'm pretty close to the 150 number, I'm trying to make sure there aren't cheaper ways of doing things but with a little weight shaving, you will be able to go hunt S2000's

 

The 3029 lb curb weight is given as with popular options which, at a guess, I would say includes the GT package. If your concerned about weight de-option the car, it will probably be at about 100 pounds lighter with no effort on your part other than restraint.

 

I stand corrected. never had time to learn much about celica's, There is an article in a recent Import Tuner about lightening a car that is interesting- highlights a lot of things already touched in this thread but goes even more extensive.- pretty cool- I am just gonna get safari doors to save all the weight from the glass windows and electric window opening motors and arm rests and tint and ....

 

Keep in mind where you are removing weight from. The car is very balanced as is. If you remove weight from between the wheels, slightly more of the car's weight will be on the ends of the car. If you remove weight from the bottom (titanium exhaust) the center of gravity will be higher. This is all very slight, and you're not likely to mess up the balance of the car really until you get really serious. It does however make a difference.

Replacing glass windows with Lexan is great, that removes weight from all around, and from the top half of the car. I'm not sure if it's legal for on-road vehicles though.

There's a lot of black magic to balance, like roll moments and center of gravity. Then again, we're not racing in a FIA series where center of gravity is the only thing you can change, so it probably will never matter.

 

Nope. No one is adding weight to the ends. The overall polar moment of inertia is still reduced no matter where the weight is removed from, excepting for the infinitessimally small theoretical center of the vehicle.


Yes there is a difference but it is a positive difference, not negative as you insinuate. The center of gravity is unimportant. The rolling moment is important. The rolling moment is the product of the mass and CG. Anytime weight is removed above the roll center of the vehicle the total rolling moment will be reduced. Damn near no weight on a street car is below the roll center. Therefore, any weight reduction on a street car is beneficial in regards to roll forces.

 

This is what the RX7 should be when it is developed and released. PURE sportscar, very low wieght, and high powered. Along those lines, the Elise should be the target for the RX-7, but with Mazda style, quality and the smooth powered 13B-MSP.

 

For future reference, the rear seats are just pads that sit on top of a bump in the interior body. If you don't believe / understand me, go to your back seat, and pull directly up (takes a bit of force) and the seat cushion will pop off. Then get a 13 mm (or was it 17??) socket and you can pull the back pad off. They weigh (almost) nothing if you have cloth interior.

 

When we are talking of removing the rear seat we do not mean the cushion but the entire secton of the vehicle in the vicinity. This would kill the rear doors and make the car 12-20" shorter and shed maybe ~200 lbs of lard.

 

how many have actually weighed their cars on accurate scales?

i remember the sport models coming in at 2850lbs or so. this is excellent for a modern 4 seat car.

james

 

Does anyone know what the 6-speed RX-8 weighs with no options?

 

excellent question,

This is why I ordered the basic sport NO BLOSE no NAV no SUNROOF, just DSC sport package xenon bulbs,

this is why I am going to put in a mulitchannel infinity amp with one perfect 10 sub, thats all ya had to say!!!! 5 channel amp fiberglass custom sub box and its all good