Curb Weights for S12 and many other cars

Can anyone give me a few points as to how to reduce the weight of my S12? Rear seats and interior stuff is pretty much out. I want to get this car as light as possible as its quite heavy.

Moderator Edit: Second post updated to show curb weight comparison for many different cars.

Shoulda put this in "Electrical & Chassis". tsk tsk  I'll move it there.

Well you did the biggest part... now scrape off all the sound deadening material in the floorpan... remove your dash and gut the HVAC ducting and controls, the stereo, the glovebox, ditch out the center console, remove your AC (if you have it), remove your door panels and make your own functional lightweight panels, get lightweight forged aluminum wheels, remove the spoiler from the hatch (if you have one), ditch any ground effects if you have them, remove any rubstripping, and the front lip if you have that.

Edited to include updated curb weight comparisons:

Updated the list with some oldschool musclecars and a new musclecar, as well as 1G Neon.

2,300 lbs. - Corolla GT-S (1986)
2,355 lbs. - 240Z
2,441 lbs. - 1G Neon ACR
2,493 lbs. - 1G Neon R/T
2,500 lbs. - Nissan Sentra (current)
2,524 lbs. - Toyota MR2 Mark II
2,625 lbs. - Maxda RX-7 (FC)
2,640 lbs. - 200SX (S12 Turbo/NA 4 cyl)
2,659 lbs. - 2G Dodge Neon/SRT-4
2,699 lbs. - 240SX (S13)
2,756 lbs. - Honda S2000 (2,855 lbs. in later years)
2,762 lbs. - 240SX (S14)
2,772 lbs. - 200SX (S12 "SE" V6)
2,822 lbs. - Mazda RX-7 (FD Series 8 )
2,840 lbs. - Honda Prelude (4G 1992-96)
2,899 lbs. - Honda Civic Si (2007 coupe)
3,000 lbs. - Toyota Supra Mark II
3,000 lbs. - Subaru WRX (2G)
3,095 lbs. - Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX (1G)
3,153 lbs. - Skyline GT-R (R34)
3,157 lbs. - Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX (2G)
3,265 lbs. - Toyota Supra Mark IV
3,299 lbs. - 300ZX (Z32)
3,300 lbs. - 300ZX 2-seater (Z31)
3,400 lbs. - Plymouth 'Cuda AAR (1971)
3,468 lbs. - Toyota Supra Mark III
3,560 lbs. - BOSS 351 Mustang Mach I (1971)
4,152 lbs. - Dodge Challenger (2008, 2009)

If its "track only" yank the windows & run plexi windshield. If your brave(or stupid enough) yank the bumper supports

Rear seat weight nothing.

what does the s12, say ca20 or 18, no wing, weigh stock wet anyway? any one know?

everything arro said is a good start.
also get a dry cell(odyssey) battery
invest in a hole saw kit and goto town swiss cheesing everything before the front strut towers and everything after the rear strut towers
open up the wiring harness and strip everything out youre not using
remove most of the brackets in the engine bay and replace them with zipties
remove the sunroof(if you have one) and put a fiberglass plug in its place
cut the inner exoskelton out of the hood
etc etc

woot woot.  Yeah what Arro and rage said is awesome.  All HVAC fron behind dash was 43lbs.  Floor carpet/pad was suprisingly heavy.  Lots of dirt and stains lol.  The rear seat alone doesnt weigh too much ya but when you strip out the entire interior, top to bottom, front to back and leave nothing but the dash and door panels you'll see all that stuffs weighs a lot.  BTW best to start with a zero option MK1 notch.  Lightest s12.  I have a low option MK1 hatch stripped to the bone and its mighty light.  Not sure how light but I can tell when i push it around that it svelte.  Mayb almost as light as my stock DD auto/AC CRX.  Rough guesstamate like 2300-2500lbs.

line the rear interior, then take off the hatch

I can't believe no one said to remove the spare tire...  By far one of the easiest way to drop some weight.  Ditch the jack and stuff too.  Remove the antenna and antenna cable, if its not too much trouble.  Also, removing the fuel tank and running a fuel cell can mean less weight too. Maybe run an aluminum radiator.  Pull and plug off emissions stuff if you still have it.  Consider using a Sparco(or other) seat.  They seem to be uncomfortable as hell, but if its a track only car it shouldn't be too bad.  If its for track only, consider removing the mirrors(at least the one in the car).

I'm not sure if its possible(or an easy mod) on an s12, but one somewhat popular mod in Mustangs (and other cars) is to switch to a manual steering rack.  You'll loose a few pounds and free up some hp in the process.

and if you have money to burn, build some fiberglass front fenders and a fiberglass hood. run a one piece aluminum driveshaft, smaller aluminum radiator, aluminum exhaust manifold inplace of the iron one.

if its a track car, u can remove all lights as well, possibly the dashboard. yank the factory exhaust system and run a short aluminum one w/ a small light muffler, aimed out the side of the car.

front fenders weigh nothing
hood ya, but mine doesnt weigh much since theres no exoskeleton, its like somewhere between stock and what a cf hood weighs

if you wanna go real crazy cut out the spare tire well, like everything after the rear strut towers, like on the dent sport s13

also you could reduce weight on the engine itself, ditch the cast iron exhaust manifold in favor of SS or the like (oops julie beat me)

as for the intake manifold, maybe cut it up and put on itb's?
lightweight pullies, also

Run no oil or coolant, liquids weigh a lot.

Get aftermarket carbon fibre seats with no sliders. Run a harness bar and harness. Use Lexan instead of glass. Get rid of your clutch fan. There's a lot of supports, such as bumper and interior supports, that can be drilled/ removed
Ditch the intake/EGR for less weight
Get a lighter hood (probably the MKI flat hood?)

EternalSwapRun no oil or coolant, liquids weigh a lot.

My 84 notchback SCCA racer, weighs 2530 lbs, with 1/2 tank of gas, and me in the car.  Interior is stripped, only the dash remains, with a racing seat and rollcage

Wow, I didn't even know about your car... where are you at anyways? What have you done with your notchback?

tac911tMy 84 notchback SCCA racer, weighs 2530 lbs, with 1/2 tank of gas, and me in the car.  Interior is stripped, only the dash remains, with a racing seat and rollcage

Waylon like you did earlier, I'm suggesting he looks at Sterling's car, as it's damn close to 2,200 lbs... or less? He really stripped it bare. Honestly I wouldn't want to be lighter... it's gonna be grip-challenged on even decent street tires as it is.

On my WA Registration, it says my car weighs 2395lbs.

My Notch is complete basemodel, I've added a bunch of stuff since I got it, so I'm not sure what it weighs now. It has full interior.

ArroWaylon like you did earlier, I'm suggesting he looks at Sterling's car, as it's damn close to 2,200 lbs... or less? He really stripped it bare. Honestly I wouldn't want to be lighter... it's gonna be grip-challenged on even decent street tires as it is.

These cars are not heavy. SE's are about normal for a sports cars weight. These cars have poor power to weight.

I would like to see someone put a real full cage in and 1/16" aluminum everything non structural in the cockpit, tube the front end ...etc. That would be a sub 2,000lbs super safe car.

rageBS, i think hes realized how outlandish his quest is for the 2200lb s12. you would really have to swiss cheese an s12 chassis to get it that low, like the opera s2000. it definitely wouldnt come as easy as stripping it bare. hell, my s12 has nothing on it and its still quite heavy. the sad truth here is that were dealing with heavy cars from the factory

i guess i need to weigh mine

im aware of the weights of those cars and the bottom portion are what i routinely call 'heffers'

i guess when i think of a light road car
hachi's, MK1 and MK3 MR2's(MR-S), cr-x's, miatas, etc.. come to mind and eventually id like to get the s12 down there, but like i said wont come easy without being creative

damn Arro where'd u find all those weights?  google fails me for curb weight listings

ragei guess i need to weigh mine

im aware of the weights of those cars and the bottom portion are what i routinely call 'heffers'

i guess when i think of a light road car
hachi's, MK1 and MK3 MR2's(MR-S), cr-x's, miatas, etc.. come to mind and eventually id like to get the s12 down there, but like i said wont come easy without being creative

this is a great thread!

yeah, 2200lbs. LOL.

I have goals. Aspirations. Ideas.

not all are quite reachable  

but aim high, young man, and you may see the stars someday!

lol

I may have come close, but the heavier brakes and suspension parts pretty much blew that one.  but, we will see, in time...
 
I really want the guy with the race notch to post up more info!  where are ya, man???

You mean "tac911t" a.k.a. Todd Cohen w/ 1984 200SX SCCA ITB?

ITB's??? Yeah I wanna hear more about this! Looks like he's been here since '03.

I think ITB is a class or series or somthing like that but he needs to do a thread all bout his car

Seems you're right, "In The Beginning" class if my searching is correct.

The Improved Touring category is broken into four classes based on the performance potential of the car. Those classes are Improved Touring A (ITA), Improved Touring B (ITB), Improved Touring C (ITC), and Improved Touring S (ITS). New for 2007, the Improved Touring R (ITR) will be added for former T2, T3, and other cars with a performance level too high for the current classes (like the 1997-1999 Porsche Boxster, 1989-1996 Nissan 300Z, Honda S2000, V6 Chevrolet Camaro and a variety of BMWs).

These basic rules make Improved Touring a popular class, since familiar and modern cars race together in groups which maximize the chances for a close finish.

IggyEGuanahow much do you think the cage adds to the car?  Any other mods for safety or otherwise that add weight?  I assume that all AC components inside and out are gone along with all unneeded emissions and electronic equipment and all sound deadening.   Chassis stitch welded?  Media blasted and reshot or just sprayed over the old paint?  Any plexi-glass/lexan windows?  Custom harness with only wiring needed?  Undercarriage blasted and reshot?  Thats all I can think of that I wanna do with my car.  Mayb acid dip it lol.  Dont think they even do that anymore.  I'm just trying to get an idea of how extensive your weight reduction is and what kind of weight I'm really gonna be.  Thanks tons for posting your weight!

I would wager the cage adds at least another 200 pounds or perhaps even more, as they're pretty stout (and that translates to *heavy*).

Todd, where do you hail from, and what tracks do you race on?

200sx heavey??? LMAO!!! No offense, but the precise reason i didnt scrap mine was because its so light and agile... and I have a stock ca20e... i can toss it around and drift n skid n slid it like nothing... i cant wait to work out droppin in the 2.3L turbo! its gona be rank! I had an 83 cordoba.. now THAT was heavey... a 91 Talon... that was fairly heavey.... the 91 daytona... ugh... not heavey, but not light... the 2 XR4Ti in my driveway... heavey!

My lil Nissy... hehe... like supermodel light...

Of course thats all my opinion... however, last weekeend when i went to pick up my kid, i happened past a wiegh scale.. id been itching to wiegh it, as its wieght is the exact very reason I didnt go about making an aluminum frame/chassi etc, and basicaly building a lightwieght go-cart that i'd disguise as a car.. hehe

anyways, i wieghed in at 1260 kg (dont know what it is in pounds) and then kicked the kid out, and got out myself, wich brought it down to 1130kg. fluids all topped up... (Well not certain bout tranny) and about 3/4 tank of fuel.

then when i got home the next day, i ditched the rusted spare tire, Jack, the tent, a few other odds n ends, and also ripped the grose insulation off the back of the trunk mat. stacked all on the tire and lifted.. rough guess, 80-100pnds...

I should be takin him back tommorrow, and will be re-weighing on my way through, also note, i got a rough guess of around 70-110pnds of stuff still in the trunk... subs in box, amp, crossover, cap, and a 2nd battery all wired in. I want to lighten the car further, as much as possible kinda thing, although without going retarded on it... maybe a plexi-glass hood or something .. or cut out a nice patern in the hood, cover with coloured plexi n put some lights in the engine bay...

OOooo.... theres an idea..hmm...

hehe

1130kg = 2491.2lbs

Amazing weight there.  MK1.5 notch.  Not stripped or anything and with extra crap in it.  The car low option?  Manual windows and such?

Mine was 2442 lbs with 17in rims and auto. I was close to reaching the 2002 mazada miata. I hope I can still do better taking off the weight.

shit, I might be closer to 2200 than I thought...

Mine's 2400 flat with the way it sits now, not sure where I could pull out another 200LBS though...
Back hatch glass for sure, tubular suspension arms would help, maybe a tubular chromoly front crossmember (I know that thing isn't light).

Sterling, you're probably right around 2300, since you don't have that heavy ass hatch glass to worry about.  We'll find out soon enough though, right?

Arro2,355 lbs. - 240Z
2,500 lbs. - Nissan Sentra (current)
2,524 lbs. - Toyota MR2 Mark II
2,625 lbs. - Maxda RX-7 (FC)
2,640 lbs. - 200SX (S12 Turbo/NA 4 cyl)
2,659 lbs. - 2G Dodge Neon/SRT-4
2,699 lbs. - 240SX (S13)
2,756 lbs. - Honda S2000 (2,855 lbs. in later years)
2,762 lbs. - 240SX (S14)
2,772 lbs. - 200SX (S12 "SE" V6)
2,840 lbs. - Honda Prelude (4G 1992-96)
2,899 lbs. - Honda Civic Si (2007 coupe)
3,000 lbs. - Subaru WRX (2G)
3,095 lbs. - Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX (1G)
3,153 lbs. - Skyline GT-R (R34)
3,157 lbs. - Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX (2G)
3,300 lbs. - 300ZX 2-seater (Z31)
3,265 lbs. - Toyota Supra Mark IV
3,299 lbs. - 300ZX (Z32)
3,468 lbs. - Toyota Supra Mark III

WilkieJust a question because a friend of mine has been having a "friendly" debate with me, but where does the Supra MkII fit in here?  I'm also surprised that the AE86 or Rx-7 FD aren't even on that list.

seishuku
Sterling, you're probably right around 2300, since you don't have that heavy ass hatch glass to worry about.  We'll find out soon enough though, right?

200sxkitcarHell yeah!  2300ish is sorta likely, the last 100lbs could be a bitch, esp with the chassis reinforcement I have to do b/c of rot damage.  I'll get there, maybe, eventually, lol

A guy I work with had an old 82 Yota pickup that seemed to lose weight yearly.  This thing was so rusty that it matched the Rust-orange paint and you could lift the box off the bolts.  I wish I still had the pic from when he was selling it, but it must have weighed 2x less than my Chevy S10 does.

IggyEGuana1130kg = 2491.2lbs

Amazing weight there.  MK1.5 notch.  Not stripped or anything and with extra crap in it.  The car low option?  Manual windows and such?

you can cut the bracing out of the underside of the hood, it isn't very stiff then, but latches just fine.  Mine went from 40.5 to 28 or so lbs by doing this.  Free mod! lol

idk about the lexan on a dd car for the windshield, not sure on how that holds up to scratches over time.  I've heard at speeds the lexan tends to bow inward...

rear glass, you could do in sections.  some work, tho...

WilkieJust a question because a friend of mine has been having a "friendly" debate with me, but where does the Supra MkII fit in here?  I'm also surprised that the AE86 or Rx-7 FD aren't even on that list.

200sxkitcaridk about the lexan on a dd car for the windshield, not sure on how that holds up to scratches over time.  I've heard at speeds the lexan tends to bow inward...

rear glass, you could do in sections.  some work, tho...

the lexan has some measure of flexibility, and if they can put a lexan windshield on the merkur, then it should go on just fine for the nissy... but i do agree, it will get plenty scratched up n stuff over time, but if ya take it easy on it, it should last for a good while, and possibly, maybe some kinda treatment like we use on the yeallowed plastic headlights.. oh wait.. wrong car... ugh.. too much car stuff in my head during the course of a day... but softer wipers, and etc etc... i can make it work.. lol

anyways, some bimbo i had helpin me at the shop hooked one of my batteries up reverse... i had one mounted up front, and one in the rear runnin my subs etc... i wondered why she was havin such a problem gettin the batt terminal on, poundin on it etc... by the time i got there, the both batteries and half my car is fried, not to mention the original proble, of the alternator... it litteraly reversed the polarity on the smaller battery.. sighs.

now i gotta rip the whole damn car apart... looks like engine swap is commin sooner than expected.. i had hoped to keep the parts n pieces etc for some other futur project, but *sighs* gona be spring before i can do anything with it...

*Tear*

It might bend enough for the front windshield, but I wouldn't put it there... in any case I was talking about the hatch glass and notch rear glass... in which case it won't bend enough at the sides.

Do you think my S12 would pass a V.I with lexan rear glass

No, because I just said that you can't bend lexan that sharply.

But since you either ignored that or think I'm a lunatic, I'll show you the rear glass

Notchback:





Hatchback:





FYI, a guy tried a lexan rear glass replacement on a hatchback, and even tried to use rods underneath to help curve it. It shattered on him. And the notchback is worse. So it's not gonna happen, unless you cut it into angled sections, then like i said above, your car's butt will look like a diamond, and you think the car inspector will notice? lol

lol my bad i didnt read it properly
i was wondering that myself and how sharp the bend is in the rear glass

Has anyone thought of using heat to bend the lexan/plexiglass?

Ive done it before for art purposes, and I managed to get a curved V shape out of a sheet of 1/4 inch plexi in an art class without it cracking at all, only problem is it distorts the view a bit.