Saving weight

[shack]

Awesome idea! Cheap, lightweight, performs close to the same function! I wonder which brand works the best?

That stuff works if you have a small pucture or leak. Anything bigger and it won't help. Trust me...both of my kids have ended up with stuff inside their tires that made holes the size of you finger...no stop leak will work if that happens. Tire repair guys hate you when you bring a tire in with that stuff in it. If you are serious about not wanting a a spare or jack, check into the "run flat" tires. I hear they work pretty well. Expensive...but you don't need a jack or spare.

[madmax]

I wonder if there is a fixit kit out there that would allow you to fix a bigger hole THEN fill it with fix-a-flat? Either way I out there on a high wire with no net... :)
madmax

[ledhed]

You can always plug the hole and then use fix a flat.

[mwh9]

If I remember correctly, that car is basically a box on casters. If you get it too lite, a good crosswind could make for a bad day. Just a word of caution, don't want to see anyone get hurt. When you get it as lite as you can, just tell yourself that doing any more might make the car unsafe.

[madmax]

Maybe 200 pounds lighter than stock would be as low as I could get it. I doubt that would cause too much problem. I was in some really heavy crosswinds on the way to work yesterday and it felt the same as it had previously.

Funny thing about this box. If you look at it by itself you see a mini-van sorta structure. Tall and short. When you pull up to a little sports car you notice its not much taller and realize its not van like at all. Also, all the weight is down low which makes it pretty stable. Kind of a trick to the eyes.
madmax

[audiobliss]

Wow. Man. You're going all out on that thing. That's insane.

And I wanna hear about your race car!

[dudeinaroom]

sawz all all the pillars and remove the top. Take the doors off. Remove the rear wheels/tires and use low friction coasters(like on the bottom of equipment racks. losse the whole exhaust just let it blow out the side of the block. remove headlights, tail light and turn signals. Rip out all unneeded wiring.

That'll do it,
Ted

[audiobliss]

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!

[madmax]

Wow. Man. You're going all out on that thing. That's insane.

Its a fun little vehicle! Hopefully I'll find some time this summer to put in a little work on it. Right now work is kicking my a$$. I'll tell you this, removing the 200 or so pounds made it way faster than my supercharged blazer. Its all about the power to weight ratio. Thats the way they should rate all cars. I'm at about 117 hp, divided by 2100 pounds. That makes the p/w 0.0557. Thats pretty respectable.
madmax

[ledhed]

Its all about the power to weight ratio. Thats the way they should rate all cars. I'm at about 117 hp, divided by 2100 pounds. That makes the p/w 0.0557. Thats pretty respectable.
madmax

That was Colin Chapman's philosophy. Instead of tons of power, make a light car thus Lotus was born :D

[Sami]

That was Colin Chapman's philosophy. Instead of tons of power, make a light car thus Lotus was born :D

Yes but that's the ideal situation, having the good power to weight ratio on a light car. It'll be much faster than a heavier car with the same ratio, all other things being equal. I'm sure Jstas will chime in on this one so I won't bother to go any further on that issue... ;)

[madmax]

It'll be much faster than a heavier car with the same ratio, all other things being equal.

Not questioning you but I figured that p/w ratio told about the whole story other than obvious things like how well it turns, traction etc.
madmax

[Sami]

Not questioning you but I figured that p/w ratio told about the whole story other than obvious things like how well it turns, traction etc.
madmax

Faster car overall, not the fastest to accelerate but also to decelerate and corner. :)

[coolfishy101]

Removing all of that weight will raise the center of gravity. I would recomend getting sport springs and shocks along with upgraded sway bars (if the scion has sways) but you need to reduce the body roll because you might end up top side on a bad turn with a cross wind. I'm not saying your racing around corners, but just food for thought.

As for engine power, on a 4 - small 6cyl engine cold air intakes, exhaust systems, and headers aren't going to do much for producing power. They will free up weight though and sound better but it won't react like a muscle car with a 50 hp difference. You'll make about +5 hp at the most. Underdrive pulleys are another upgrade too. Also I believe 1pound of rotating mass = 10 pounds of dead mass.

[honda cber]

Since the XB is a FWD there is NO driveshaft....

right, there are two of them (CV axles). i know of no lightweight or hi-po versions of these for the scion, but almost anything can be fabricated with enough drive and/or $$$. usually the hi-po versions are not only lighter, but substantially stronger, often with more splines than stock, and made of materials like chro-moly. good for bottle-feeding and forced induction


BTW, one might be mindful of the attributes of the low horsepower engine with (i assume) a fairly wide gear range when considering things like a lightweight flywheel. you might have to do a lot more shifting, especially if it is hilly in max-land. FWIW. and i agree 100% that exhaust is a great place for weight savings as well as the inherent performance possibilities. hell, i have saved over 30lbs on a motorcycle--- there is alot more steel tubing under that scion.

-stainless cat-back and header, if available
-cold-air or at least upgraded intake
-remap
-under-driven pulleys, if available
-aftermarket clutch

unfortunately, OBDII is a bitch for performance upgrades.
a

***evidently, coolfishy beat me to the punch? lol, didnt realize there were two pages (doh)

[Serendipity]

How about removing the plastic things around your licence plates? Serves no purpose and adds another 1-2 lbs of weight.

Also stuff like cup holders, ashtrays, glove compartment, etc. can add up to quite a bit of weight.

[Face]

Lowering springs to reduce drag. Even though it has the aerodynamics of a brick it should still help.

[Serendipity]

Keeping your tires inflated, under-inflated tires give you lower MPG.

[exalted512]

use donuts on all four wheels.
-Cody

[Jstas]

Mmmm! Donuts!