Weight Saving

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Shatonapples

New Member
Jul 1, 2007
51
0
0
Austin, TX
I couldn't find another thread relating to this sort of question, and I apologize if I may have skipped over it.

Right now, I'm running a stock 7M-GTE at 11.7PSI with a three inch exhaust and high flow cat. Those are the only mods I'm running, and I'm estimating just around 275 BHP. Probably within 275 and 300, but I can't be sure. At this point, the two major upgrades I need are intake and fuel, but what I would like to do first, is try to shave some weight off. I'd like to make the 275ish go a little further. My supra is pretty much fully loaded, targa roof, fully adjustable driver's seat with lumbar support, A/C, etc. Are there any pieces of the car that just aren't necessary? I'd like to switch out my seats, since I hear my seat alone weighs 90 lbs, but buying a four or five point race harness seat isn't going to be too terribly cheap, either. Are there any cheap cost effective mods to eliminate some of the unnecessary weight from the car?

I just bought new wheels and tires for the car, so I don't have to worry about the weight of those stock wheels anymore. Speaking of that, does anyone know how much those wheels weigh? They've got to weigh WELL over 30 lbs.

Also, when it comes to fuel upgrades, I know I need injectors, adjustable fuel pressure regulator, and to have the car tuned, right? Is that going to require a new ECU at that point, or can they tune the stock system?
 
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dbsupra90

toonar
Apr 1, 2005
2,374
0
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indiucky
my 90 driver seat was 82lbs.

lightweight battery will save some weight.

spare tire is 40lbs

stock wheels arent heavy really. around 23lbs.

DO NOT RUN A RACE HARNESS WITHOUT A ROLL BAR
you can run the factory seatbelt. use a 89+ rear belt receiver and bolt it to the existing hole in the tranny tunnel.

our ecu is not tuneable. you will need something like an afc to tune, or at the least an adj fuel pressure regulator.

several other things you can eliminate, but it gets to a point of compromise.
 
Tun_x

Tun_x

Built to do the NASTY!!
Apr 1, 2005
878
0
0
Utah
remove the sound deadening material from the chassis and have lots of road noise like me :D I like noise..cause that's just how I roll!!

Jason
 
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Shatonapples

New Member
Jul 1, 2007
51
0
0
Austin, TX
That's some great input. Thanks a lot for the advice. I'll look into the A/C and seats particularly.

Quick question though, with aftermarket seats, I can't imagine why I couldn't retain the stock seat belts, is there any reason why I couldn't?
 
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Mk3runner

Supramania Contributor
Nov 19, 2006
2,033
0
0
36
Nor Cal
can't remember for sure... but someone will know better than me. the only problem would be if the actual seat belt lock part was on the seat its self... but as I said I can't remember clearly.
 
AGlobalThreat

AGlobalThreat

Acceleration
Apr 4, 2005
991
0
0
Santa Clarita
Yes exactly. The holster that the seatbelt buckles into is bolted into the side of the seat. I countered this by bolting the seatbelt holster into an already drilled and threaded hole that is a bit below the back of the armrest/center console. You will have to trim the plastic away a bit so it can fit and be bolted down correctly/securely. As long as you adjust it correctly it will work great and be just slightly lower than the stock location.
 
The Dude

The Dude

no more supra
Apr 5, 2005
186
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0
Okinawa, Japan
Look under "resources" on the right side of the page in this link. These are the closest weights you'll find for supra parts anywhere. Credit for making it goes to sammydafish.

http://www.trdsupra.com/

The easiest reduction would be to chuck the spare tire. AAA is your friend. Besides that, getting a lighter battery, relocating it to the trunk for better weight balance and replacing your seats are as far as I'd personally go, but it all depends on what YOU can live without (a/c, sound deadening material, etc.). Also don't forget about rotating mass (driveshaft, flywheel). Replacing the heavy ass hood with a fiberglass or carbon fiber version will also drop a good amount of weight off the front (where we need it gone the most).
 
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Mr.SelfDestruct

I build planes... yeah...
May 27, 2005
608
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36
everett, WA
removing the sound deadening is fairly easy.

get a crap load of dry ice, a chisel, and a hammer. the dry ice makes it some off in chunks, rather than peeling off. the only trouble you'll have is on the rear wheel wells, which is the heaviest and most hardcore of the sound deadening(2-ply w/chickenwire in between)

other weight reduction:

any unsprung weight you can reduce accounts for a lot more than sprung weight(weight supported by the suspension=sprung weight), so lightened hubs, upgraded brakes, and upgraded suspension components(RUCAs, Coilovers, etc.)=all good choices. spinning weight also accounts for more than stationary sprung weight, so lighetned flywheel, and a one piece aluminum driveshaft(a lot cheaper than it seems) are good weight reduction upgrades(they also help the response!*winwin!!*)

take out the back seats. they're too small anyways.

any interior you dont feel you need can be taken out and sold. my supra only had a dash and center consol.


REPLACE FRONT SEATS!!! they're heavy as fuck! a friend of mine got a signal auto bucket seat for something like 270 shipped, and you can just get one of those cheap schucks 'racing seats' for the pass. side. they hold up during a crash, are adjustable, and a lot lighter than stock seats. they also come in all black, without any stupid logo or anything. I'll edit in a link to the signal auto seat when I'm done.


removing needless shit like the A/C, the charcoal canister, and the emissions control equipment is also a cheap(FREE.99) way to reduce weight.

I think thats it... I'll check after its all up to see at once...


https://www.rhdjapan.com/home/catalogue_new.php?int_category_relation_id=621

BAYUM, all you lightweight shit right there. this place usually has good prices too. they use paypal, and you just have to create an account w/ them.


one more thing. if you feel you're up to it, a lot of guys swap over the manual steering racks from FC Rx7's, or fox body mustangs(?), which also saves a crapload of weight, and makes the steering more responsive. at the same time though, tendency towards bump-steer is increased.
 
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Mr.SelfDestruct

I build planes... yeah...
May 27, 2005
608
0
0
36
everett, WA
hahhah

I dont really treat tickets with the greatest of fear or respect...

mainly because all I have to do around here is pay some guy in a suit a couple hundred bucks, and they never come within spitting range of my driving record..

but both of those would have gotten me a reckless driving arrest up here, because the cops are assholes...

speed toasters FTW by the way. hahah
 
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