HOW TO LIGHTEN THE WEIGHT OF MY P5

[shibby]

http://msg.toprotege.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/thumbs-up.gif
hi i wanted to lower the weight on my '02 P5. i was thinking of taking the back seats out, and i wanted to take out the panels, but does anybody have any idea how to do it? lol thanks alot


justin

[rowan]

Back seats are not that heavy ... mostly foam and wire.
Front seats are heavy. You could replace them with racing buckets that would be light.

Look at one of the Protege touring cars and you will see what you have to do to get light weight http://msg.toprotege.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

All the plastic interior trim and carpeting would have to go.
Also .. the under-hood reinforcement and bumper rebars...

You could also consider a lighter-weight exhaust system. And lighter wheels.

-------

The back seats are bolted in on each side and in the middle. (2 bolts each seat back). You will have to pop off a cap on a part of plastic trim to get at the bolts .. and you wll need an extended socket to get down in there properly.

Most of the interior panels just pop off with a bit of force. (Held on mostly with clips).

[dr_sarcasm]

...this'll turn you into a chick magnet in no time at all...


dr_"ghetto-look is in"_sarcasm.

[shibby]

thanks for the replies, but im a cheap guy, so buckets seat prob cant do. how much lighter would that make the car? shoot i dont even know how to start taking all the crap off!

[MP5Navy]

Best way to effectively lighten your car is to reduce unsprung weight. Buy some light weight rims (maybe even a smaller sized rim). This can net you around 5hp if you go extremely light. For the rear rims you can run them ectra small and skinny, how bout a pair of spares.

Take out your spare tire and jack.
Take out your back seats and your passender seat.
Take off the rear bumper - it's a lot of drag.
Pull out anything that is soft, ie; floor carpet and sound damping.
Take out the dash.
Remove the AC compressor and it's associated parts.
Remove the power steering
Remove cruise control.
Take off the rear doors and the hatch.

How ridiculous do you want to be?

[rowan]

hahah .. Dave stop quoting Sport Compact Car mag http://msg.toprotege.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

The stock front seats may be as heavy as 30 lbs or perhaps even more.... you can get lightweight fibreglass or steel tube racing buckets (real fixed-back ones, not reclinable sport seats) for under $300 each.

Like navy said .. reducing unsprung weight will give you the most noticable differences. But lightweight wheels aren't usuall cheap.

[MP5Navy]

Lightweight wheels aren't cheap? I'll sell him my spare tire (with the rubber!http://msg.toprotege.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif for $100! Lightweight, extremely aerodynamic, low rolling friction - perfect and instant speed!

Or you could cross drill your stock rims and brake rotors to reduce weight.

While you're at it drill holes in the unibody to further lighten the load.

Trust me... This WILL NOT VOID your warranty. I've done all the above mods and I'm down to a 11 sec car.

[taxmasta]

dave is right about one thing... and as normal he BS's his way into multipule posts.

the one thing he is right about is unsprung weight meaning wheels

second thing is....WHY do u want your car lighter ?to go faster ?
i have read test after test about removing things from your car to make it go faster ???

every 100lbs u remove will get u a nice tenth of a second in the quarter mile..

[jali-p5]

one tenth of a second........holy crap!! i think i'm gonna start gutting my car right now.........hahahaha.......that bites!! considering the car weights what?? about 2000 lbs........you could run and maybe gain a lot more speed..........hahahaha.......

[rowan]

Not 2000 lbs. Try about 2700-2800 lbs http://msg.toprotege.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif

[jali-p5]

oh........maybe that's what mine weights now after i took the engine out, cut out the floor but my feet and started running to work...............hehehehhee....... http://msg.toprotege.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sly.gif

[taxmasta]

hay p5's still lighter than the sedan rowan http://msg.toprotege.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[feedb4ck]

hey Shibby...

I don't know what you're personal situation is, but I've been saying this for a while now...

the best mod is personal weight loss...

If i could ever get down to my suggested 'healthy weight' my car would be a lot lighter than it is now...

a good diet in the long run could lighten my car 80 lbs (it's already lightened it 20lbs) - but who wants to weigh 170??

[pawood]

Remember,
You can make weight "work" for you with the proper placement of extra poundage! Unless you're into very restrictive competition, removing weight won't help. For handling, often a bit of well-placed weight can reduce your track times.
I once took a Volvo PV544, weighing 2200 dry, and brought it down to 1740... and after all the money and effort, I got nada out of it.