HOW TO LIGHTEN THE CELICA?? Options

[mikecelica]

Im looking for ways to lighten up my 94 st, ive started by taking off the spoiler, adding light weight rims, i cant do anything crazy like carbon fibre hood/hatch, jst dont have the money for that but things i can take off, im thinking about taking the rear seats out.. would that do alot? maybe the spare tire..uhmmm??? anyone have thoguhts ????

This post has been edited by mikecelica: Jan 17, 2008 - 11:39 PM

[CelicaST_CALI]

get a Cf hood,um take out any sound dampening,and subs or watnot...

[Havok1997GT]

Im looking for ways to lighten up my 94 st, ive started by taking off the spoiler, adding light weight rims, i cant do anything crazy like carbon fibre hood/hatch, jst dont have the money for that but things i can take off, im thinking about taking the rear seats out.. would that do alot? maybe the spare tire..uhmmm??? anyone have thoguhts ????

if you dont have any money to spend on CF hood, or things like that and you really want to lighten your car, take out the back seat and all the carpet, that will help a lot.

[azian_advanced]

upgrading to a CF hood is the best weight reduction mod i can think of..
then there's the spare tire and A/C next on the list

[95celgt]

lets see, in track form i would do this to my celi for the 1/4:

"Stage 1" hahaha
Remove all trunk trim/spare/carpet
Remove back seat
Remove car audio if you have amp/sub

"Stage 2" (time permitting)
Remove a/c components and switch to small belt
Remove strut bars
Remove your crash bar
Remove your high beams while your there

The biggest change would be carbon hood and hatch but these cost money.

Another thing i did was scrap the airbag sensors and the acual passenger side airbag as it was really heavy. but if you fear for your safety (i didn't have a problem with it, to each their own) leave it in....

[Hanyo]

small car battery, remove power steering and all the bracket/hoses.
Door pannels speakers and sound system.

All that plus everything mentions above would probably reduce the weight of the celica by 200-300 pounds? Would it be worth it? not really. It makes the celica one unpleasent car to drive in.

[Kadett]

Get yourself on a diet and only fill up the tank with 2 gallons.

[SteveHall]

It depends if you want it to be a comfortable car to drive day to day or turn it into a track car. You could consider the GT4 bonnet, it's aluminium so lighter than the steel ST bonnet but a lot cheaper than a new carbon one.
If you don't carry more than 1 passenger, lose the seats.
If you don't care about a lot of road noise, lose every single bit of carpet and trim.
Don't listen to music? Lose the speakers and player
Don't mind calling out the RAC / AA, loose the spare tyre.
Replace side windows with plastic..

It's really all about what you can do without.

[playr158]

Things i've done/in process of doing

a) no interior plastic trim
b) no rear seats, get ltw racing front seats (Recaro, Sparco, Bride)
c) cut out the spare tire well, replace with flat panel
d) no jack/spare
e) remove door glass/motor/rails
f) remove rear side windows, replace w/lexan
g) remove sunroof (30lbs) (replace with ltw composite plug)
h) remove heater/ac unit from under the dash
i) remove sound deadening matterial from the floor
j) custom F/G hood and VIS CF hatch to come
k) LTW battery
l) Fiberglass doors *eeps*




m) remove engine

This post has been edited by playr158: Jan 18, 2008 - 8:22 AM

[Valo666]

buy a 5th gen...lol I donno how much weight reduction is gonna do in an ST. I remember at DWG Daftboy went and hit the drag strip fully loaded, came back, took out all of the stuff in his trunk, subs, jack and tools, tire, rear seats, passanger seat, and every thing that could come out easily and ran like 0.12 seconds faster or somethin along thouse lines. If i were u, unless your gonna b running your car as a pure track car, dont go crazy with it like removing your a/c. Ive been in Ottawa in the summer and it can get pretty warm up there. But if you do want a good idea of how to go with full weight reduction...check out this link.....

GT-Force

As for going with aftermarket seats for lightening. If you do, go with a single peice seat. Any of the reclinable seats come with an extra amount of weight for all of the peices that allow it to recline. I have 3 sets of seats that i can put into my celica right now..my sparco torino's, my stocks and 1 momo RSGT seat that my girl friend bought for her old celica. the lightest of them all is the RSGT single peice seat, then the second lightest seat is the stock. then the sparcos. The momo holds the best, then the sparcos then the stock, but if your gonna go for lightening, either spend the $ on a good single peice light weight seat, or stick with stock.

[zoik]

get rid of backseats, interior plastics,spare tire, carpet, interior plastics, interior panels, audio system, fiber hood, no body kits, small size of rims, no windows washers system,no shield over exhaust header, ac, replace seat by ligther seats,
remove the kind of asphalt in hte interior of the car for insonorisation(usualy under carpets, its called "blaxon" here in france, i dont know the translation)
and the extreme mod replace glasses by plexiglass,remove airbag system,maybe oem bumpers fiber prints <----i wouldnt recoment those 3 steps if you're on the streets

This post has been edited by zoik: Jan 18, 2008 - 1:58 PM

[goferris]

sale celi
buy elise

[_mikeE]

wow you guys are pretty freakin crazy lo, but yeah i already had taken out my subs, amp, and wiring, and my jack and spare tire and bolted up a piece of plywood to close the gap in my trunk. but yes losing ur passeneger seat and ur rear seats are a big essential to weight, the same goes with getting the gt4 bonnet hood compared to price of a CF hood and the weight of our stock hoods, and from what i'm reading you guys are goin pretty all out taking out ur dash trims and a/c and power steering (i think is a dumb idea seeing how our cars are like a tank ur gonna have fun steering) but may i suggest taking out your door panels? and taking out ur retractable mirrors and somehow switch to manual rolling windows if you have powered windows.
Also, i dont know how your laws are over where you are but where I am, in Windsor, Ontario--I believe it's legal to drive without a hood. hehehe i just re-did my friend's car from ground up, and he sold his hood, so as of right now he's got no hood = better air induction for the intake and won't have to worry about heating up also that's a good 30lbs probably lost
p.s. take off your mudguards if you have them on.

This post has been edited by _mikeE: Jan 21, 2008 - 1:41 PM

[playr158]

you do know that that 30lbs you lost in hood weight you gained in screwing up the aerodynamics of the car and creating a TON of drag

[RedSunCelica]

lexan glass all around

[SteveHall]

I know this is going slightly off at a tangent, but if you lighten (by buying / making new ones from aluminium alloy, not drilling holes in your existing ones.) your drive pulley, power steering pulley and alternator pully you are saving an engine load in a slightly differnt way. Also, once you remove your stereo, electric windows and other items, you won't need so much power, so you can get an oversized alternator pully, further reducing engine load.
I wouldn't recommend taking out power steering unless you only want drag strip performance, if you want to do some real racing / track days you'll most likely go faster with the power steering. You could oversize the pully to make it a ligher load on the engine but slightly heaver on your hands.
If you're good with such things you could try lightening your cambelt pulleys (Make new ones from lighter material), but that's beyond me personally.

[ferngt4]

wow you guys are pretty freakin crazy lo, but yeah i already had taken out my subs, amp, and wiring, and my jack and spare tire and bolted up a piece of plywood to close the gap in my trunk. but yes losing ur passeneger seat and ur rear seats are a big essential to weight, the same goes with getting the gt4 bonnet hood compared to price of a CF hood and the weight of our stock hoods, and from what i'm reading you guys are goin pretty all out taking out ur dash trims and a/c and power steering (i think is a dumb idea seeing how our cars are like a tank ur gonna have fun steering) but may i suggest taking out your door panels? and taking out ur retractable mirrors and somehow switch to manual rolling windows if you have powered windows.
Also, i dont know how your laws are over where you are but where I am, in Windsor, Ontario--I believe it's legal to drive without a hood. hehehe i just re-did my friend's car from ground up, and he sold his hood, so as of right now he's got no hood = better air induction for the intake and won't have to worry about heating up also that's a good 30lbs probably lost
p.s. take off your mudguards if you have them on.

the celi is not that hard to drive without power steering, my opinion. Does it really make that much of a difference by taking out all the carpet and interior pieces? i agree with the back seats coming off because thers really not much leg room for the people in the back. I dont know i ask because i want to keep all my interior and still go to the track and have a beast. but like everyone says if its strictly race then take everything you can

[97lestyousay]

The st is pretty light, only a couple hundred more than a 88 corolla gts.
I have plenty of silly answers but I DON"T THINK THATS HELPING.
Look for stuff you can live without.

[95st-celica]

leightweight rims help a lot with moving mass...leightweight pullys and flyweel(if its stick) i know this sounds redicilous but leightweight lug nuts....plexyglass the car...no spairs...all plastics under the car to help with rocks and scratching the underbody....inner wheel well plastics.....that insulation under the hood if it has it? mine doesnt.....headliner....wing...no bodykit....and a hammock you can lounge in

[xs94st]

get those 14lb carbon rims, cf hatch and replace glass with lexan. get rid of backseats, carpets. get lightweight seats. put only a couple gallons of gas in instead of a full tank.

[Tigawoods]

race with a quarter tank.
remove the spare tire
remove the back seats and carpet
remove the passenger seat
and you will be running around 2400 lbs in your 95 gt!!

[Defgeph]

Thread cleaned*

Lets try to actually help this member with some real tips. Personal attacks are not acceptable here.


DEF

[njccmd2002]

do what nascar cars do. Fiberglass stuff.

Fiberglass fenders, carbon hood. all uncesseary interior trim off, hatchback glass/door, get one with cf and plexiglass.

remove all seats...

not much improvement but, could help...

[ILuvMyCelica95]

Does everyone realize this thread is from January?

[playr158]

so whats your point?

*updated*

FYI- most of this will render your car ILLEGAL on the street in most states

a) no interior plastic trim
b) no rear seats, get ltw racing front seats (Recaro, Sparco, Bride)
- B2) remove OEM seat belts, CORRECTLY install 4 point harnesses
c) cut out the spare tire well, replace with flat panel
d) no jack/spare
e) remove door glass/motor/rails
- E2) remove door cards, replace with CF &/or FG panel
f) remove rear side windows, replace w/lexan
g) remove sunroof (30lbs) (replace with ltw composite plug)
h) remove heater/ac unit from under the dash
i) remove sound deadening matterial from the floor
j) F/G hood
- J2) CF hatch
k) LTW battery
L) Fiberglass doors *eeps*
m) remove airbags
n) remove power steering
o) remove AC compressor, AC "radiator" thingy up front
p) remove crash bar (WARNING removal of this item can cause SEVERE damage
q) remove gas tank + replace with racing fuel cell
r) have a Titanium exhaust made
s) LTW lugnuts
t) LTW 16"/17" wheels


FYI- fiberglass fenders/bumpers readily available are pretty much the same weight as OEM pieces

[dabazied]

so whats your point?

*updated*

FYI- most of this will render your car ILLEGAL on the street in most states

a) no interior plastic trim
b) no rear seats, get ltw racing front seats (Recaro, Sparco, Bride)
- B2) remove OEM seat belts, CORRECTLY install 4 point harnesses
c) cut out the spare tire well, replace with flat panel
d) no jack/spare
e) remove door glass/motor/rails
- E2) remove door cards, replace with CF &/or FG panel
f) remove rear side windows, replace w/lexan
g) remove sunroof (30lbs) (replace with ltw composite plug)
h) remove heater/ac unit from under the dash
i) remove sound deadening matterial from the floor
j) F/G hood
- J2) CF hatch
k) LTW battery
L) Fiberglass doors *eeps*
m) remove airbags
n) remove power steering
o) remove AC compressor, AC "radiator" thingy up front
p) remove crash bar (WARNING removal of this item can cause SEVERE damage
q) remove gas tank + replace with racing fuel cell
r) have a Titanium exhaust made
s) LTW lugnuts
t) LTW 16"/17" wheels


FYI- fiberglass fenders/bumpers readily available are pretty much the same weight as OEM pieces

You forgot to add the part about letting rust eat holes out of your exterior n then just throwing vinyl graphics over it so you don't see the holes lol...... but really, yeah, there's tons of stuff you can do and playr158 definitely has the most constructive/organized list.... it all depends on how far you're willing to go n how much street driving you're trying to limit yourself from being able to legally do

[6_GEN]

Do we have the sound deadening tar under the carpet? We should right?probably 35lb's

[playr158]

yes we do have that stuff, i don't think its quite that heavy though.

[dutchboy]

get those 14lb carbon rims, cf hatch and replace glass with lexan. get rid of backseats, carpets. get lightweight seats. put only a couple gallons of gas in instead of a full tank.

What size are those 14lb Carbon rims?

RS Limited (same company as American Racing) has a 15" wheel called Concept Pro that is supposedly 13lbs per wheel(prob costs $1000s less too).

FYI, the Seibon OEM style CF hood is only 12lbs lighter than the stock sto hood, hardly worth $300-$500 in my opinion.

We need to band together and find a manfacturer that will make plastic replicas of our gas tanks that can be mounted in the same spot for convenience. Anybody know how much the gas tank weighs? Estimate or guess on how much a plastic replica might weigh?

[dutchboy]

get those 14lb carbon rims, cf hatch and replace glass with lexan. get rid of backseats, carpets. get lightweight seats. put only a couple gallons of gas in instead of a full tank.

What size are those 14lb Carbon rims?

RS Limited (same company as American Racing) has a 15" wheel called Concept Pro that is supposedly 13lbs per wheel(prob costs $1000s less too).

FYI, the Seibon OEM style CF hood is only 12lbs lighter than the stock sto hood, hardly worth $300-$500 in my opinion.

We need to band together and find a manfacturer that will make plastic replicas of our gas tanks that can be mounted in the same spot for convenience. Anybody know how much the gas tank weighs? Estimate or guess on how much a plastic replica might weigh?

After finally doing some research, it doesn't sound like plastic tanks would be a good idea (mounted underneath anyways). Read that they will melt and dump the gas in a fire

[CAMAricer]

Seibon's CF hood is only 12 pounds lighter than stock? No freakin' way! Really?

I have the CF Invader hood and the difference between the stock and CF is night and day...I threw away the old hood and never actually weighed it to find out how much it was (or my CF hood for that matter), but even without a scale, I can tell the weight difference is a lot more than 12 pounds...

But I don't have the Seibon hood, so maybe they make their CF hoods heavier than ViS?

BTW, I have the Zyclone CF hood too and according to Jeff, it's like only 13 pounds. I can lift it between my thumb and forefinger on one hand...so I think that weight approx by Jeff is on the spot.

Also, when I removed my stock hatch, that thing was heavy like a mother! Needed two hands to carry it. The CF hatch, again, was lite enough for me to lift with a single hand. So it has to be at least 20 pounds heavier.

When I get home, I'm going to weigh my Invader hood and the stock hatch to see how much they actually weigh...then we can get an "official" weight list going.

BTW, I was going to see how lite my Celi could get with all the fiberglass and carbon fiber stuff I have on it...until I realized I had 2 amps and 3 subs in my car, doh!

get those 14lb carbon rims, cf hatch and replace glass with lexan. get rid of backseats, carpets. get lightweight seats. put only a couple gallons of gas in instead of a full tank.

What size are those 14lb Carbon rims?

RS Limited (same company as American Racing) has a 15" wheel called Concept Pro that is supposedly 13lbs per wheel(prob costs $1000s less too).

FYI, the Seibon OEM style CF hood is only 12lbs lighter than the stock sto hood, hardly worth $300-$500 in my opinion.

We need to band together and find a manfacturer that will make plastic replicas of our gas tanks that can be mounted in the same spot for convenience. Anybody know how much the gas tank weighs? Estimate or guess on how much a plastic replica might weigh?

[dutchboy]

Seibon's CF hood is only 12 pounds lighter than stock? No freakin' way! Really?

I have the CF Invader hood and the difference between the stock and CF is night and day...I threw away the old hood and never actually weighed it to find out how much it was (or my CF hood for that matter), but even without a scale, I can tell the weight difference is a lot more than 12 pounds...

But I don't have the Seibon hood, so maybe they make their CF hoods heavier than ViS?

BTW, I have the Zyclone CF hood too and according to Jeff, it's like only 13 pounds. I can lift it between my thumb and forefinger on one hand...so I think that weight approx by Jeff is on the spot.

Also, when I removed my stock hatch, that thing was heavy like a mother! Needed two hands to carry it. The CF hatch, again, was lite enough for me to lift with a single hand. So it has to be at least 20 pounds heavier.

When I get home, I'm going to weigh my Invader hood and the stock hatch to see how much they actually weigh...then we can get an "official" weight list going.

I used a bathroom scale. Note entirely acurate, but usually about .25 to .5 pounds off.

I went back to the stock hood after a while, didn't want to do hood pins, and I do a lot of windy highway driving, so I didn't want the loop that is anchored in fiberglass tearing loose and and causing me to wreck.

I was able to remove the CF hood and put the steelie back on all by myself (yes I've got long arms!). I think the stock hood weighed about 35lbs, and the seibon weighed in at about 23lbs.

[playr158]

get those 14lb carbon rims, cf hatch and replace glass with lexan. get rid of backseats, carpets. get lightweight seats. put only a couple gallons of gas in instead of a full tank.

What size are those 14lb Carbon rims?

RS Limited (same company as American Racing) has a 15" wheel called Concept Pro that is supposedly 13lbs per wheel(prob costs $1000s less too).

FYI, the Seibon OEM style CF hood is only 12lbs lighter than the stock sto hood, hardly worth $300-$500 in my opinion.

We need to band together and find a manfacturer that will make plastic replicas of our gas tanks that can be mounted in the same spot for convenience. Anybody know how much the gas tank weighs? Estimate or guess on how much a plastic replica might weigh?

12lbs is A LOT of weigth to be removed....very worth the $

and you wanted to get a plastic replica tank?! talk about not worth it....

2 words = Fuel cell

[lagos]

All these weight savings amount to MAYBE a 16sec car? Not worth it imho.
Boost it and keep the creature comforts.

[SoundSlut_dotcom]

yea so instead of doing 17.9s we can all do 17.7s

[GriffGirl]

I know a company here that manufactures fiberglass gas tanks for motorcycles. They actually started out using plastic (it doesn't melt, btw, it's a thermoset plastic - not ALL plastic melts!) but switched to fiberglass several years ago because it's higher quality. Anyway, I bet if someone had the right design and the right money, they could custom fab a fiberglass tank for a car. They've been in business for years and years, and are VERY well known and reputable in the motorcycle industry.

[playr158]

All these weight savings amount to MAYBE a 16sec car? Not worth it imho.
Boost it and keep the creature comforts.

newb there is more to racing than straight lines....

removing any weight improves speed, and increases handling.
Rotating weight that is removed is even more significant.
Removing weight that is placed higher in the car (sun roof for example) has large positive effects on handling.

This post has been edited by playr158: Jun 12, 2008 - 10:48 AM

[lagos]

All these weight savings amount to MAYBE a 16sec car? Not worth it imho.
Boost it and keep the creature comforts.

newb there is more to racing than straight lines....

removing any weight improves speed, and increases handling.
Rotating weight that is removed is even more significant.
Removing weight that is placed higher in the car (sun roof for example) has large positive effects on handling.

If you remove your sun roof, your left with a hole in your roof. What are you going to do if it starts raining?
There isn't a single person on this forum that has a race car. Everyone here uses their cars on a daily basis and such drastic weight savings are just not practical and wont amount to all that much.

Throw a turbo kit, v6 or 3s swap on your car, and you'll do better in a straight or curved line. Want better handling? Replace those oem blown shocks with a nice coilover setup. If you do that, youll end up with a faster/better car, then what you would get by gutting your interior.

[playr158]

All these weight savings amount to MAYBE a 16sec car? Not worth it imho.
Boost it and keep the creature comforts.

newb there is more to racing than straight lines....

removing any weight improves speed, and increases handling.
Rotating weight that is removed is even more significant.
Removing weight that is placed higher in the car (sun roof for example) has large positive effects on handling.

If you remove your sun roof, your left with a hole in your roof. What are you going to do if it starts raining?
There isn't a single person on this forum that has a race car. Everyone here uses their cars on a daily basis and such drastic weight savings are just not practical and wont amount to all that much.

Throw a turbo kit, v6 or 3s swap on your car, and you'll do better in a straight or curved line. Want better handling? Replace those oem blown shocks with a nice coilover setup. If you do that, youll end up with a faster/better car, then what you would get by gutting your interior.

boosting isn't always the answer + it can move you out of a class you are currently competing in to one you will get CRUSHED in.

If you remove your sunroof....umm dur umm... replace it with a plug?! zomgz brilliant! its pretty easy
not to mention a sunroof can be removed on a friday night in 20 min. before a saturday morning autocross and you can duct tape a freakin cardboard box in its place and get a decent result. and then replace. It depends on how dedicated you are to what you do.

plus weight removal = free
boost/swap = thousands of dollars + more understeerz

but anyways this is a HOW to lighten a celica...

what does your boost have to do with this topic?!

This post has been edited by playr158: Jun 12, 2008 - 11:13 AM

[lagos]

Like i said.. there isn't a single person on here that has a race car.
Most people use their cars as daily drivers and such drastic weight savings are just not practical for them (i know they are for you, but im talking about the rest of the people posting).

And there is no way Im duct taping anything to my car.

[SoundSlut_dotcom]

well which body kit is most aerodynamic ? lol

u guys really shouldnt be debating this topic... f some1 wants to remove there AC becuz they want there daily driver to be faster let them.

This post has been edited by SoundSlut_dotcom: Jun 12, 2008 - 12:52 PM

[dutchboy]

Step 1: Remove the power antenna (if you have it)
Step 2: figure out how to connect the antenna in the hatch glass to your radio instead.
Step 3: Tell me how you did step 2

[aznpnoiboi55]

i garantee this will work....

remove rims
remove steering wheel
remove all front and back seats
remove the motor
remove all interior and exterior
and there you have it!

[D-Man]

^ damn...

1) remove car.

0 Lbs / 0 Kg

[snapshotgt]

This thread has gone on long enough, we all get the idea. Closed.