1G Where does all the weight hide in DSMs?

[GSXftw]

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!

 

[Helaman-99]

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.

A lot of cars in the 90s were overbuilt. I remember reading about SC300s (basically a Luxus Supra) and a lot on that car was overbuilt; everything from the engine down to the door hinges. I think it was more of a philosophy thing more than anything; they wanted to build a good, solid car. I actually read that profits weren't as good on cars like that back then, which is why quality has lowered since.

Now, I wouldn't really call DSMs 'high quality' but I think cars were definitely overbuilt back in the 90s simply because that's how they did things back then.

At least that's my theory

 

[XC92]

A lot of cars in the 90s were overbuilt. I remember reading about SC300s (basically a Luxus Supra) and a lot on that car was overbuilt; everything from the engine down to the door hinges. I think it was more of a philosophy thing more than anything; they wanted to build a good, solid car. I actually read that profits weren't as good on cars like that back then, which is why quality has lowered since.

Now, I wouldn't really call DSMs 'high quality' but I think cars were definitely overbuilt back in the 90s simply because that's how they did things back then.

At least that's my theory

I'm no expert but I'd say that 1G DSM were pretty high quality, especially for their price range. Maybe I've been lucky, and I've certainly had to replace, repair or rebuild a bunch of parts, but after 30 years and some abuse/misuse that's to be expected. But the core parts of the car, body, frame, engine, suspension, etc., have been rock solid and in pretty good shape, just needing some touch ups, like derusting and painting, replacing wear parts like bushings and ball joints, etc. I mean it's all taken a LOT of work. But, again, 30 year old car, lots of deferred maintenance, some abuse/misuse, etc., so all in all I'd say that it was pretty well built.