Rear seat delete worth it?

[Based]

Has anyone removed their rear seats? Does it make a big difference in performance? Right now I'm full bolt on (minus downpipe) and have spare tire and jack removed. It's pretty quick.

 

[MichiganST]

Took me a minute to find, but [MENTION=6964]SneakyPete[/MENTION] did this to his car. Not sure if he's still on the forums or not, but he may have some input. Also looks like [MENTION=1391]Siestarider[/MENTION] did this.

Also a link to a post with the seat weights: http://www.fiestastforum.com/forum/threads/3161-Rear-Seat-Delete-and-weights

 

[SneakyPete]

Hi all. Yep notable stop change with back seats out, spare, back and cover panel removed too. Added light carpet cover to conceal the wires, maybe 5lbs total. Had that glued down

 

[Bluedrank]

I don't think the rear seat weighs all that much. Maybe 30 pounds or less. Will it make a difference? Yes of course, the car is lighter. Will it make a noticable difference? Probably not.

 

[Pete]

I don't think the rear seat weighs all that much. Maybe 30 pounds or less. Will it make a difference? Yes of course, the car is lighter. Will it make a noticable difference? Probably not.

They weigh more then 30 pounds. I can't remember the exact weight as it has been a long time since I removed my rear seats. But removing them with the spare tire and tools you can feel the acceleration difference as well as a difference in handling.

 

[DvC]

Pulled my rear seats a few months ago. Its not the seat bottoms but the top that have the heft. I would say 50lbs or more

 

[Siestarider]

My rear seat delete was designed to create a usable and durable load carrying bed. Its made of two pieces of structural foam board that fit without fasteners, so I can pull it out in a minute or two. Total weight of bed is 30 lbs.

My personal best times at PBIR and Sebring are with the heavier (middle) section of bed out and running less than 1/2 tank of fuel. For comparison, last week I ran PBIR with full bed in and full fuel, lap times about 1/2 sec off personal best. But I also set a new sector PB, so my take is while every little bit of weight counts, the ability to "prove" it counts is dependent on the driver. If you can run consecutive laps within a couple tenths of each other, loosing the weight makes a difference. If you cannot consistently run laps, you are unlikely to find much difference.

Tires matter more. My time on BFG SC2 is about a second a lap slower than on Rival S.

The fun for me is getting quicker. Right now I am working on suspension setup. I should be quicker on Meister coils than I am, so obviously have more to learn about setup.

 

[Truth in Ruin]

Based- if you remove the rear seats, you'll be able to notice the -55 lb. decrease. Good luck!

 

[Based]

Ok. I might try it. I haven't had anyone in my back seat in a while


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[Waterfan]

Napkin Math: Reducing weight by 10lbs feels like adding 1hp.

 

[briandee]

It sure is louder! Can not hold a phone conversation over Bluetooth while driving!

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[Siestarider]

It sure is louder! Can not hold a phone conversation over Bluetooth while driving!

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Having driven around a few weeks like that while I was building my rear bed, nearly 4 years ago, I recall the "booming" very well.

Once the bed was in and carpeted, I was shocked the car was quieter inside than stock. Too quiet. Symposer already plugged.

So I bought a 409 MBRP and spent a year trying to control the drone at highway speed. Failed. Put lighter Mountune on, its about right for street, a little too quiet at high rpm on track.

 

[M-Sport fan]

I plan on doing this, not just for the weight reduction, but for the cargo carrying capacity increase (I doubt I will be able to fit the separate wheels and tires in the car, to get them to the shop for mounting and balancing, without doing this!).
I will put down some light weight closed cell foam/'acoustic studio foam', covered by a thick moving blanket, to try and quell the 'booming' at least a little bit.

My take on the weight reduction is that it means more, or at least becomes more crucial when one is still on the factory turbo with just a tune and minor mods, although yes, it DOES help everyone, even if you cannot "notice" the benefit.

(It DOES also help 'save' the drive train {final drive, gear box, half shafts, CV joints, clutch} from a bit more stress, especially those running BIG power setups.)

 

[briandee]

Having driven around a few weeks like that while I was building my rear bed, nearly 4 years ago, I recall the "booming" very well.

Once the bed was in and carpeted, I was shocked the car was quieter inside than stock. Too quiet. Symposer already plugged.

So I bought a 409 MBRP and spent a year trying to control the drone at highway speed. Failed. Put lighter Mountune on, its about right for street, a little too quiet at high rpm on track.

Looking to do a load floor also. My main goal is to shift the weight of my stereo system forward.(2 12" Subs) I weighed the components removed as follows:
Driver side seat backs: 32.2lbs
Passenger side seat back: 17.1lbs
Hardware: 2.45lbs
Seat base: 9.5lbs
Spare Tire: 30.8lbs (compact, not factory)
Jack: 5.5lbs
Factory floor: 5.75lbs
Cargo cover: 2.5lbs

Total weight removed: About 105lbs
(Still haven't removed seat belt retractors on each side.)

 

[Based]

Looking to do a load floor also. My main goal is to shift the weight of my stereo system forward.(2 12" Subs) I weighed the components removed as follows:
Driver side seat backs: 32.2lbs
Passenger side seat back: 17.1lbs
Hardware: 2.45lbs
Seat base: 9.5lbs
Spare Tire: 30.8lbs (compact, not factory)
Jack: 5.5lbs
Factory floor: 5.75lbs
Cargo cover: 2.5lbs

Total weight removed: About 105lbs
(Still haven't removed seat belt retractors on each side.)

Oh ok so really I could just remove the back portions of the seats and get most of the weight out. That's pretty cool I think I'm gonna do that tomorrow


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[worfab]

Do you guys doing it for load capacity not have seats that fold down?

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[GAbOS]

Do you guys doing it for load capacity not have seats that fold down?

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They don't fold flat and you will gain at least an additional 6 inches of head room with them removed completely.

 

[worfab]

They don't fold flat and you will gain at least an additional 6 inches of head room with them removed completely.

Ahh yeah true, I was debating on removing them and making a light aluminum panel to keep the trunk a bit more divided from the passenger area and maybe to help with sound a bit.

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[M-Sport fan]

Do you guys doing it for load capacity not have seats that fold down?

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Besides the obvious weight reduction, and slightly greater cargo capacity, I also did it to help save the cushions from being crushed/compacted by putting heavy items on top of them.

Also, If I am not going to be using them anyway, why have them fade/heat deteriorate from the strong summer sun, and extreme interior summer temps with closed windows?

 

[worfab]

Besides the obvious weight reduction, and slightly greater cargo capacity, I also did it to help save the cushions from being crushed/compacted by putting heavy items on top of them.

Also, If I am not going to be using them anyway, why have them fade/heat deteriorate from the strong summer sun, and extreme interior summer temps with closed windows?

Mine just get covered in dog hair [emoji107] [emoji107] [emoji107]

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