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1G Where does all the weight hide in DSMs?

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GSXftw

10+ Year Contributor
381
78
Dec 16, 2009
Medford, Oregon
Okay guys this might just be an open ended question, but Id do really wanna find out.

Here's a story, I had a 94 Eclipse GS as a parts car, it had no engine, manual windows, I took all the body panels off of it, (hood, fenders, ect) and sent it to the crusher. It went in as a stripped fwd roller, with a trans, on doughnut tires. IT STILL WEIGHED 2000 LBS!! How is this possible?

Many similar FWD cars weigh less than our awesome DSMs, to me that seems like kind of a flaw, so where is all this weight? Is it in the K frame? My 91 GSX weighs 3100 w/o driver, after a bit of weight savings, and just kinda wanna know where the weight savings would be that isn't taking out AC and PS. It's a daily driver so I like my comforts, and of course I've read the threads showing the weights of numerous things you can rip off the car, but honestly I don't think I can rip off a whole lot else before its converted to a track car all too fast, I've of course tossed the spare tire/jack, converted to 1Gb, changed to cloth interior, tossed rear wiper, power antenna, EGR, ABS. What else are you able to do, besides AC/PS, that still has the car manageable?

I'm sure there's people with cars lighter than mine that can still live with it. Thanks!
 
The stock exhaust system weighs in at 20kg!!!!! (44LB) Yes thats alot! From downpipe to the tip, my current system is unweighed at the moment but i can lift it with 1 hand! Im guessing about 5-6kg (11-13LB) total but i went 1.2mm walled SS so alot thinner then normal 1.6mm industry standard for the roads. Still is a good saving though
 
I love weight savings threads. when I got the evo 1 it was around 2850. it now weighs 2460. too much to list how it got there. but here is what it still has:
full quiet exhaust with two full size mufflers.
climate controlled a/c and heat
power windows and door locks
power steering and power brakes
full interior, no sound deader removed and plenty added as I like it quiet,
factory stock frames and suspension.
no carbon or fibre glass body panels
all glass in tact.
engine runs balance shafts

car drives like a new 2015 honda fit. smooth , quiet and fun. but with just tons more power. 490whp AWD. next year I will rebuild the rear end of car and goal is to shave 60lbs. more.

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I didnt import car. I bought it here. The rear beams were pretty easy to wiggle out. the front does not come out in one piece. I used a plasma cutter to cut it in pieces after the spot welds where drilled and it was free to wiggle around. the four bars weigh right at 20lbs.
 
I have had this one since 2002. I did buy a second one from canada a few years later. he delivered it accross the boarder. I have tried a few times since to get cars from canada but no one cooperates. its just easier to sell within boarders.
 
you guys know you can just swap a 93-95 colt/mirage and be even lighter yet right?
my awd colt is 2300 lbs, only weight reduction is both bumper supports are gone
 
you guys know you can just swap a 93-95 colt/mirage and be even lighter yet right?
my awd colt is 2300 lbs, only weight reduction is both bumper supports are gone
my yellow awd swap car has te37s and sparco 14.5lb seats. no stereo or rear seat belts. weighs 2570 on same scale used to weigh blue car. its far more practical to own a four door car. they shouldnt really be compared.
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Once it's in the usa howndo you reg it though? I'm american and living in canada but about to move back LOL and i wanma take one with me

bring two. one for me and one for you. I'll tell you how ROFL
 
who cares about practical?
coupe is 100 lbs lighter!
therefore coupe is better!
 
I had lots of enjoyment driving my coupe for sure. But even when the the coupe was at 599whp/2560lbs and evo 1 less than 400/2800lbs I was always jumping in the evo 1. it isnt always about power. enjoyment of driving from point a to b with no fear of transmission breaking was what it was about for me. over powered cars are no fun when they are broken. the yellow car broke four transmissions. one about every nine months. the evo has broke two at five year intervals. havent broke any other power related parts between the two cars. transmission is just the weak link when making power. I wish they were stronger.
 
For the record and I'm only typing this because it came up in this thread. I do not personally care.
Any and all early evo's are illegal to bring into the United States, in fact this goes for all cars that were not officially imported for sale into the US unless they have reached 25 years of age. There is a select list of vehicles that can be legally imported under some exceptions, and there are ways to make cars less than 25 years old legal. However, it is a very expensive process and would usually include proving that they will pass crash test ratings. Which literally means crashing several of them.

As for weight stuff. My current car with a 6 point chromoly rollbar weighs 2330 with me in the car. I used to have a long list of 1g parts weights in the wiki before it was erased. However, almost all of that information can be found throughout threads here on Tuners. I may even have a master list somewhere.
 
You can probably get an warly evo and not register it for street use, and ise it as track car

Not legally you can't. You can apply to bring a vehicle in as a racecar, but you normally must prove that it has always been a racecar during it's life and was never registered for street use.

Basically when you're attempting to get the car over the border, or while picking it up at a shipping point, if customs finds it, it's not going anywhere but the crusher. Of course a small percentage of vehicles ever get checked, or in the case of our Canadian friends they drive it over the border legally, but then illegally leave it here for one of us to own it illegally. Some states will even register it not knowing any better because it is a federal law not a state law.

I'll point out that I know all this is because I spent a lot of time desperately looking for a loophole! The only one I found was bringing a lhd Evo VI TME RS in as a "show/display" which was approved for a guy. The regular VI TME is already on the list as not allowed. Of course show/display means it cannot be legally driven on any public roadways and must be towed to and from car shows and events.

Back to weight loss, the seats are definitely one of the biggest culprits in our cars as previously mentioned, the rear seat in a 1g can be upwards of 40lbs alone. Also mentioned was the seatbelts, there is a lot of weight that can be saved by switching to canadian or 2g seatbelts in a 1g instead of the suicide style that came in the cars. Of course you would want to find the proper Canadian interior trim and good luck with that. As with anything once you start tearing parts off and/or out of your car it gets addicting. You have to decide how much comfort you can live without. Wheels and tires can save you a lot of weight and as everyone should know saving rotating weight is even better than static weight. So be picky when buying wheels if you're serious about performance. But, also remember light wheels may or may not be strong wheels.
 
Okay guys this might just be an open ended question, but Id do really wanna find out. Heres a story, I had a 94 GS eclipse as a parts car, it had no engine, manual windows, I took all the body panels off of it, (hood, fenders, ect) and sent it to the crusher. It went in as a stripped fwd roller, with a trans, on doughnut tires. IT STILL WEIGHED 2000 LBS!! How is this possible? Many similar FWD cars weigh less than our awesome DSMs, to me that seems like kind of a flaw, so where is all this weight? Is it in the K frame? My 91 GSX weighs 3100 w/o driver, after a bit of weight savings, and just kinda wanna know where the weight savings would be that isn't taking out AC and PS. Its a daily driver so I like my comforts, and of course Ive read the threads showing the weights of numerous things you can rip off the car, but honestly I don't think I can rip off a whole lot else before its converted to a track car all too fast, Ive of course tossed the spare tire/jack, converted to 1Gb, changed to cloth interior, tossed rear wiper, power antenna, egr, abs. What else are you able to do, besides AC/PS, that still has the car manageable? Im sure theres people with cars lighter than mine that can still live with it. Thanks!

Ac system was a lot, power seats, Evap system, trunk stuff ( tire,jack, 6disk changer) windshield washer pump and tank in trunk, also my original 6bolt had a cyclone intake and there's a big difference between that and my jmf intake. Could also get light weight wheels and driveshaft as well as gut out. All that sound deadening stuff under the carpet if you wana get that crazy maybe a manual steering rack not sure on that one just a thought hope that helped a bit
 
hey guys just checking in. good to find this thread and see my old yellow car in all its glory.
the updates. yellow car was parted out. the shell went to scrap yard. blue car hasnt been driven in two years. car blew the head gasket. but when I saw the cylinder walls I finally see why I was fighting blow by issues. parts to rebuild are on the shelf. its just waiting for me to be interested. the summit has been on the road for two months plus. it had been sitting for two years as well. although it was started regularly. the car is on stock injectors. its awaiting the time to finish the fuel system mods and of course dialing it all in. the setup is laggy to very laggy. I removed the tomie cams as the quickest remedy for faster response. it helped but also killed the power. this setup really needs a 2.3 or twin scroll added. but those decisions wont be made anytime soon. need to get the tuning done. its still running a 2g maf. speed density conversion is in dire need.

my other life interests dominate my time. naked scooters. far more fun for me than cars. smaller easier to work on. and just plain cheap compared to cars. one cool scooter build costs about the same as one turbo.

meet my mp3. stock weight 575lbs. after jerry mods 480lbs.
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the $250 purchase
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@94awdcoupe Can't argue with scoots being cheaper than cars. Built a 1990 Yamaha prebug 2 stroke scoot a few years ago. Put a 70cc cylinder on it, pipe, cvt, upgears the works. But looked totally stock in baby blue. Its fun as hell to pull away from Harleys off the line. Those dudes give you the most confused looks haha.

You gotta get the Evo back up and going though man. That's a special car.
 
Old thread but in case anyone still cares about the original question, am I to understand that DSMs are "overbuilt" structurally, which explains why they weigh so much? I.e. thicker and stronger unibody frame, subframes and cross-members, than cars more intended for the general market? And why are they "overbuilt"? Is it to be able to handle the kind of driving many owners subject them to, as well as the power they put out? Or is it because the designers simply wanted to build a stronger and better-built car that would outlast more lighter and more cheaply made cars?

I ask because I've been restoring much of my '92 Talon's underbody parts, subframe, members, suspension, etc., and once I cleaned up decades of accumulated grime I was impressed with how solid and rust-free the body is. The parts I removed had lots of scale and surface rust that I wire and abrasive brushed off and painted, but the actual body has relatively little rust, and I've lived in rainy and snowy cities all this time, NYC and Seattle, and didn't take such great care of the underbody. Either I was really lucky, or the car was just built to last.

Everything about the car feels solid, the body, doors, hatch, hood, dash and console, etc. It's clearly got its issues but flimsiness isn't one of them.
 
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