2G Cutting Spare Tire Well

[Boosted98gsx]

Wondering if anyone has done this? I do not use my spare (always flattens itself anyways and has no leaks) and could use the weight loss on the car. Not to mention it would prep the vehicle for a fuel cell, and more room in the trunk for other fuel / battery mods.

Please post pictures if you've done this.

 

[zckry]

I'm wondering the same, I made a thread over on another forum and nobody seems to have photos of a 2G with it done like that.

I have everything out of my trunk because I never used any of it nor did I plan on it, our wiper squirters suck anyway so I took out the whole setup.

I was thinking about cutting out the whole section and taking it to a body shop to have them weld/bracket up a flat sheet metal floor right there then painting over it so it looks almost stock.

On another note, are you still in Arlington?
I live like an hour away from there, would be cool to meet up sometime when I get GSX back up and running.

 

[DSM_PWR]

I'm planning to do this next month, going to be cutting it out and using sheet metal to fill the gap...

I plan on mounting a fuel cell thats going to be sticking half way out...

 

[zckry]

Take photos please!
Are you going to bracket it up or weld it? Or both?
I've heard mixed opinions on which way it best.

 

[snowborder714]

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/handling-tech/228891-spare-tire-area-replace-sheetmetal.html

 

[Project2G]

This user has some pictures of his 1G.
http://www.dsmtuners.com/gallery/browseimages.php?do=member&imageuser=43089

 

[Side_Show]

is there really any weigh loss benefit from this? or is it more for looks

 

[cumpersgsx]

its so you can actually use the trunk. Every one of my dsms has had a trashed cardboard cover and I always remove it and have to deal with a hump in the trunk.

 

[snowborder714]

I believe I remember reading there's no weight savings from this considering the metal that you cut out is super thin anyway.

 

[324vr4]

Most people do it for mounting issues with fuel tanks, NO2, etc...

 

[zckry]

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/handling-tech/228891-spare-tire-area-replace-sheetmetal.html

Ah, that's what I'm looking for, that brace seems like a good idea that I wouldn't have thought of.

 

[TSimage]

I think its easier to do on a 2g than a 1g. On a 1g you have to redo your Tank as well because the tank has a hump in it as well. Not possitive as to wetehr the 2g has this hump since their overall tank configuration is different.

 

[turboglenn]

We did a 1999 2g AWD a while back. All we did was use a jig saw and cut around the part that sinks down for the spare, then took fiberglass and a piece of lexan coated with PAM cooking spray and used that as a surface to lay a new flat trunk floor.

We kept the fiberglass loose from the body after it was formed we put hinges on it and mounted the nitrouse bottle underneat and built a fiberglass floor to keep it out of the elements. All in all it looks near OEM when the floor is down with carpet on it, but then when you lift it up there's a well that's deeper than the stock on but only wide enough and shaped to hold two 20lb n20 bottles. I'll try and get pics nbext time i'm at his house as the car is still in the process of going back together from a new twin disk clutch (we smoked the last one during tuning)

 

[99gst_racer]

I cut the entire hatch floor and back seat floor out of my 1G. I have some .040" thick aluminum that I plan to rivit over in it's place (as soon as the interior gets painted). The weight savings isn't huge by any means, but there is some. And for some cars, every pound counts.

Mine is pretty much going to look alot like Joe Bucci's:

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[95GreenGSX]

Yeah, I did this for a buddy of mine on his 1g and 2g. I just cut it out the floor, cut a peice of sheet metal, and riveted it in. Optional to lay carpet over it, as I did. Looks/ works great. He has fuel cells in both of his cars. Ill try and get some pics.

EDIT: looks exactly like the picture above, just without a cage

 

[red_devil]

Very old thread but I'd figure I would update since I just cut mine out. It was missing one of the washer bottle supports but it weighed in at 12.2lbs. So minimal weight loss.

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[jdxnc]

The biggest advantage to removing it is ease of access to the rear diff bolts.

 

[BLACK'98DSM]

I opted for this modification on an FWD model a couple of years ago. There's many angles to view it from. Underbody aerodynamics, weight reduction, cleanliness, or simply opening the trunk and "look at this shiny shit". I don't regret the modification in any sense, but for someone starting off with an unmodified example, there's many better ways to drop $250.

Measuring panel for panel, the difference may not be significant. But consider starting with spare tire, jack, and washer fluid reservoir. That adds up fairly well.

 

[red_devil]

The biggest advantage to removing it is ease of access to the rear diff bolts.

I was just tired of the damn thing rusting

 

[Pjj]

dont you need to cut out the rear bumper after doing this too? because it would then act like a parachute?

 

[BLACK'98DSM]

Or you could drill holes

 

[jdxnc]

dont you need to cut out the rear bumper after doing this too? because it would then act like a parachute?

hasn't stopped me from doing 145mph

 

[Pjj]

hasn't stopped me from doing 145mph

be 150+ without the parachute like feel

be curious to see how much it actually affects it

 

[red_devil]

be 150+ without the parachute like feel

be curious to see how much it actually affects it

I'm guessing you would get some circulation in the area so probably not that much drag. Not great for stability though. I'm thinking about blocking off the area with a diffuser anyway.