Removing interior metal (Weight reduction)

[95eclipseSlow]

I am removing all of the unnecessary metal from the interior of my car. I took a few pictures of things that are questionable in regards to removing. I will be installing a 10 point cage, but I just want to make sure that removing some of this metal is not going to cause structural problems. Here are some pics of what I would like to remove (please excuse the mess, I am doing some remodeling ):

These pieces which are above the rear strut towers:

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Rear strut brace:

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Strut brace support pieces:

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Driver side rear inside quarter panel area:

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Passenger side rear inside quarter panel area:

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[shibby1036]

First of all DO NOT remove the rear strut brace unless you can fabricate or purchase a replacement. However with a 10 point cage you can probably get away with removing it without too much body roll.

also if your going for extreme weight savings think about removing the door inner panels, carpeting, any sound deadening. think about lexan glass to replace both the windshield and hatch glass, it's a big weight saver. as well as a carbon fiber hatch. I'd say a carbon fiber hood but our hoods on a !GA !GB are already pretty light and I don't feel the 600 bones that you'd part with to save 4 or 5 pounds is worth it. find a different way to shave some weight.
going to a manual power steering rack and ditching the power steering pump, lines, cooler, ect will also save in weight. get rid of the charcol canister, and if you have cruise control, delete it. Street Tuned Motorsports sells a non-cruise throttle cable for 50 bucks. remove the cruise control motor, and all the cable wheels.
hope this helps

 

[arrowhead]

Be very careful where you remove your weights, remember you will need the interior metal at different places to tie your cage to the body.
There are threads on here on roll cages which will give you a good idea as to where you could trim some metal.
In my case I have not removed that support and will try to keep it if possible, make sure to get underdoor bars to tie your A pillar to the B pillar.
I do not believe in the roof flex deal most of the flex begins at the bottom so you have to make sure to tie that in.
In the case of the dashboard, like I stated to you before, I would not do it unless you were going to see more track time than street time.

Plan your work ahead of time and you will not regret it.

Order that I would suggest:
Seats- 85x2=170 more or less
Rear seats they will be useless with roll cage
Doors-87x2=174
Rear hatch and all hardware

These would be your heavy hitters plus all the normal stuff that is usually taken out.
If I can be of further help feel free to contact me.

 

[91-GS]

What is your target weight for the car? And how heavy is the roll cage? Will the car be purely for racing?

Don't think cutting out the metal you are asking about will be too benificial since it's not all that heavy and you are going to spend alot of time on cutting it. On the other hand, if you are going for basically NASCAR style (rollcage/frame supports the drivetrain and all, body mostly for aerodynamics and looks) then by all means cut away everything you don't need.

 

[95eclipseSlow]

I do not have a target weight for the car. I just wanted to decrease the weight to make hitting my target ET easier. I think anything below 2500lbs should be fine. Not sure on the weight of the cage, probably around 100 pounds? It will be a chromoly 10 point. The car is being built to perform at the track while still being able to be driven on the street. Not a daily driver, but something fun to drive on the weekends/nice days. As far as all of the basic weight stuff (panels, sound deadening, crash bars, seats, wiring) all of that has already been removed. I am waiting for a speed glass kit to come out so I can just buy all of the pieces as a kit and install them without having to cut or form them. I also have a chromoly rear subframe, rear tubular toe arms, and rear tubular control arms that are going to be installed. CF hood and hatch are also on the agenda as well as lightweight wheels and aluminum driveshaft.

 

[Archer Fabrications]

The stock hood weighs over 70lbs cf hood is 15-20. I'd re think your opinion on that. Our hoods are steel not aluminium like the evos. Ive got similar plans. 10pt roll cage, same color too

 

[shibby1036]

ok so is 60 pounds worth 600 bucks to you. how about spend that 600 on a payment for a larger turbo like an HTA 76, or FP red with the HTA 76 billet wheel, or dsmlink v3, wide band and injectors. damn newbies. ignorant till the end.

you get this guy to light and he's gonna have traction problems. then he'll have to think about load springs, and adding weight just to keep his nose down off the tree so the front grips as well as the back. do you kids actually know anything about racing or are you just winging it. you wanna dump as much weight as you can but add a 10pt CM cage and street drive this thing. do you have any idea how much of a pain in the ass it is to climb in and out of a car like that..... dont answer because if you did know one of the last things you want to do is to do gymnastics to get in and out of your ride. not to mention you car is gonna have the rigidity of a rock. awesome for the strip sucks super bad on the street WHY IS THIS SO.. because everyday street use is filled with pot holes, tar lines, speed bumps, and all other kinds of crap to make it a completely unenjoyable ride. you wont be able to wait to get to your destination just to relieve your a$$ end but hey what would a 9 year dsmtuners vet know about these sort of things were all just idiots on here. heres a better piece of advise
get yourself a daily driver dsm and your track toy. set one up for realistic daily driving and the other up for your cage and all your other go fast parts. make sure your bank roll is up to the challenge and prepare to go through some expensive parts. make real good friends with your machinist and learn all that you can. listen to the wisemen on here and half of what everyone else tells you. spend within your means, and dont put all your eggs in one basket. like say if this dsm is one of your only modes of transportation, then leave it be or you'll end up screwing yourself over and be without a ride until it's fixed up, which could take months.

 

[Archer Fabrications]

Well insurance paid for mine so wheres your logic now? And as for getting in and out, just depends on how you make it. Pot holes and such shouldnt be as big an issue if you actually have good suspension. I personally already have a big turbo so why not.

 

[phunny]

The stock hood weighs over 70lbs cf hood is 15-20. I'd re think your opinion on that. Our hoods are steel not aluminium like the evos. Ive got similar plans. 10pt roll cage, same color too

Not even close. Stock 2g hood is 40 lbs and my cf hood is 20.

 

[shibby1036]

urbanamoker1 looks like you smoke too much bud and lack common sense but hey do what you want your money your ride. like i said all us seasoned dsm guys are just idiots to you so much smarter generation.

 

[Archer Fabrications]

Didn't say that but it looks like the "seasoned" ones really know how to put words in us " youngins" mouths. Sorry i got the weight wrong, i ddnt weigh it on a scale, all i know is that i can guarintee you was worth the investment for me rather than buying a secod steel oem hood an paying to have it painted, would have cost well over 600, but i digress..

 

[arrowhead]

Stock hood 40# without the mating inside.
I left it out of my list because you may need that weight up front for drag racing,
But I am not a drag racer if it was for road racing I would say replace it but it is a lot of money that you could maybe use somewhere else, my fiber one will come in about 10# but it is only a skin.

You better make up your mind as to the use of the car, you really can not have both and be happy.

 

[Flash]

I think you highlighted good areas that you could remove weight, because after all, it's steel, and steel is heavy. Have at it and keep us all updated on the outcome.

BTW, I must point out that one area you seemed to have ignored is the roof. It's typically made out of the same steel as all the other bits you took pictures of, but by removing the roof you will lower your COG.