Weight Reduction Thread.

[Capri to ST]

I've had the car 3 years, and no one has ever sat back there, so I thought why not save some weight? I took the rear headrests out and put them in a bag and they felt pretty heavy, but when I weighed them all three only weighed 6 lb. Oh well, I guess every little bit helps.
I was hoping that they'd weigh about 20 lb and offset most of the weight of the sunroof, which I have read adds about 20-30 lb.
If no one's sitting back there, I can't think of any other reason that I would need them.
Has anyone else removed theirs?

Edit- This thread was originally entitled Removed Rear Headrests, saved less weight than I thought, but I changed the title to make it more generally cover weight reduction because people were offering a lot of good suggestions for how to reduce weight.
If you can please include how much weight you saved, or an estimate, and how it affected the feel or sound of the car if it did.

 

[M-Sport fan]

I deleted everything behind the front seats except for the rear door panels, jack and spare, and hatch side/interior plastic trim.
Not sure just how much I saved (never weighed it all), but it was more than 20 lbs., that's for sure.

 

[Hypergram]

Every pound counts! Eventually, it all adds up.

 

[Mikey456]

I upgraded my spare to the SE model. Basically a space saver aluminum instead of steel wheel. Also you can go with one of those smaller batteries in the front and the lightweight aftermarket wheels. That will save you some weight. And that before the carbon fiber stuff

 

[Hypergram]

For ultimate weight reduction, sell the car and buy a bicycle lol.

 

[Capri to ST]

I upgraded my spare to the SE model. Basically a space saver aluminum instead of steel wheel. Also you can go with one of those smaller batteries in the front and the lightweight aftermarket wheels. That will save you some weight. And that before the carbon fiber stuff

That's a good idea about the spare. I did get substantially lighter aftermarket wheels, saving about 5 pounds per corner with the Pro Race 1.2s.

 

[Clint Beastwood]

I've had the car 3 years, and no one has ever sat back there, so I thought why not save some weight? I took them out and put them in a bag and they felt pretty heavy, but when I weighed them all three only weighed 6 lb. Oh well, I guess every little bit helps.
I was hoping that they'd weigh about 20 lb and offset most of the weight of the sunroof, which I have read adds about 20-30 lb.
If no one's sitting back there, I can't think of any other reason that I would need them.
Has anyone else removed theirs?

lol yeah they feel heavy because the weight distribution on them is weird. It's really heavy on one side so it seems heavier than it is.

 

[Peter H]

...Also you can go with one of those smaller batteries in the front and the lightweight aftermarket wheels. That will save you some weight...

I saved 16 lbs in the front of the car when I switched to a MeLe Design Rally Spec Battery Mount and Odyssey PC680 battery back in April. Excellent quality, easy to install, and the battery performs as well as the big heavy sucker it replaced.

"Adding power makes you faster on the straights; subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere" - Colin Chapman

 

[Clint Beastwood]

I saved 16 lbs in the front of the car when I switched to a MeLe Design Rally Spec Battery Mount and Odyssey PC680 battery back in April. Excellent quality, easy to install, and the battery performs as well as the big heavy sucker it replaced.

"Adding power makes you faster on the straights; subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere" - Colin Chapman

10 lbs = 1 horsepower.

I stopped eating carbs and started sleeping more and... gained 9 horsepower

 

[Grendlehop18]

Having already gone this route, I read in another thread that with headrests, the larger rear seat back is ~26lbs and the smaller ~16. The rear seat bottom/cushion ~10. So that's not insignificant. I'm running OZ Ultraleggeras that weigh 10lbs less per corner than oem, along with tires that are each ~1lb less. I can definitely feel the change in acceleration & braking from the unsprung weight drop. Plus the car seems to hold the road better when the surface isn't perfect. My stretched RE050As would skittle across ripples in turns and I was constantly worried about denting a rim. Spare tire removal ~36lb loss.
Mine's a non-Recaro, no moonroof, base model, so that's already a good starting point. Dropping another ~88lbs out of the car and ~44lbs unsprung/rotating mass=

 

[scooter123]

I have my 2 outer headrests in the spare tire well, the center is hanging on the wall of my garage. Not concerned about weight but was concerned about rearward visibility and those headrests block a lot of what you should be able to see.

 

[lowda9]

hmm this post has got me thinking, I don't need my rear seats either since I never use the rear seats cuz no friends...maybe I should remove them for weight reduction. It would also make an excellent spot for a water/methanol reservoir if I ever decide to pull the trigger on doing a water/meth set up. It would be slightly easier to route the lines and it would look cooler.

 

[Capri to ST]

I have my 2 outer headrests in the spare tire well, the center is hanging on the wall of my garage. Not concerned about weight but was concerned about rearward visibility and those headrests block a lot of what you should be able to see.

I noticed that too, that was an added benefit of taking them out.

 

[Spork1569]

I noticed that too, that was an added benefit of taking them out.

Even folded down? I feel like the visibility is good enough with the headrest folded. Then passengers can unfold em when needed.

 

[Clint Beastwood]

Even folded down? I feel like the visibility is good enough with the headrest folded. Then passengers can unfold em when needed.

Lol at getting in the backseat without looking when the headrests are folded down... not that I’ve done it of course.

 

[Spork1569]

Lol at getting in the backseat without looking when the headrests are folded down... not that I’ve done it of course.

Had a friend get in and somehow not notice the headrest was jabbing his neck.

He's pretty tall though so I assume he's just used to being uncomfortable in small cars.

 

[Erick_V]

My rear seat setup. The rear seats are too small for anyone to fit in so I just deleted them. Kept the bottom cushion so I didn’t have to look at bare metal. Now I have all the rear visibility I need, more space for loading things and less weight in the car lol

 

[green_henry]

My rear seat setup. The rear seats are too small for anyone to fit in so I just deleted them. Kept the bottom cushion so I didn’t have to look at bare metal. Now I have all the rear visibility I need, more space for loading things and less weight in the car lol

I'm considering doing the same. Does the car handle any differently? Do you hear more road noise?

 

[Erick_V]

I'm considering doing the same. Does the car handle any differently? Do you hear more road noise?

It may be placebo but yeah it feels faster and feels more willing to rotate. Removing all that I did should be around 100lbs give or take. You will have a little more road noise but the trade off is worth it

 

[drinkgasoline]

Recently did this too.
It's faster, even without the spare removed. And louder inside for sure.
Seems to handle a little better, but haven't pushed it too much.