Hey everyone.
Wanting to lose some weight on my euro 1991 mk2 crx vtec !
I know to start off with the b16a vtec engine is quite thirsty - however this is the car i have and im not changing the car or the engine .
Losing weight will not only increase mpg ( slightly lol ) but also make my car a little bit quicker ( overtaking etc ) so a bonus on both fronts !
Just so you guys know ive got the heaviest crx made weighing ( from a couple of sources ) at least 2220lbs up to 2400lbs !... compared to the " lower spec " models is a huge amount of weight difference! And this one doesnt have the heavy door mounted seatbelts. It doesnt have aircon or ps either !

Was looking for opinions on how to reduce weight on my honda crx, without lossing the back seats and carpets. I want the car to look stock in and out ,basically.
I have a couple of ideas so far ( and have done a few already ) :

1: Replace sunroof ( and headlining and motor + wires ) with fiberglass bung. Told this should save me around 15kg alone !

2: Lightweight Battery

3: Lightweight wheels (done : just bought some very lightweight 15" alloys )

4: Rear wiper + motor + wiring delete

5: spare wheel, jack and tools

6: rear standard wing delete - think this is going bye bye too.

7: mudflaps delete ( done )

8: im thinking lexan windows in the rear - anyway to do this and maintain the " stock " look ? They always seem to be riveted on , rather than bonded on ?

9: Remove the ABS ecu , sensors, wiring , and servo.

10 : soundproofing removed?

11 : side impact door beams delete ? possible?

Any more ideas or views on the above , will be appreciated !

One race team got one of these down to around 700kg , however this was completely stripped and probably used titanium fasteners etc !

Regards
Mark

I'm willing to bet that the CRX didn't have these in '91. (They were mandated in '97, which is probably why the CRX didn't survive that long.) If you do have them, I would suggest not removing them. My grandmother was broadsided by an SUV that ran a red, and it was NOT pretty at all.

11. Replace them with fluffy pillows? jk, I doubt them have them as well.

If I were you'd I'd focus more on aero than reducing weight. Aerodynamics will increase mpg more than reducing weight. I forget how much each .cd is worth in weight.

Agreed. If we were talking about power seats or luxury levels of padding, then certainly. But the CRX is so light, you don't stand to gain much by spending hours scraping off the sound deadening. Lighter battery, sunroof delete and maybe Lexan rear glass would probably be the best bang-for-buck for weight reduction.

I would only change the wheels if it had the wide sport alloys like my dad's old CRX Si. A narrower tire would decrease rolling resistance at the penalty of handling/braking performance.

how heavy are the wheels you are getting? Honda insight wheels, civic vx wheels and civic hx wheels are all around are around 9-11 pounds, take narrower lighter/cheaper tires, and unless you are racing, they tend to give plenty of traction.

in 1986 the crx hf came with aluminum brake drums, they are kind of pricey but are lighter then cast iron drums and work well enough that people who race and have to stop on the track like them.

I have fairly lightweight sports seats in there now.
I would rather not decrease any form of handling performance - as well as my daily driver , its my little " sporty " car too :) Depends if i want to be sensible or not :)
A rough estimate : i have saved 15-20kg by changing the wheels on their own. However the tyres will be more geared towards performance rather than lowering the RR.

Reason why i was wondering about the weight reduction is that the " other " crxs , some of them are like 200kg lighter !

Yeah ive heard many road racers use drums on the rear. unfortuanely mine comes with disks on the rear :(
My wheels are amongst the lightest ( 8.6lbs ) for 15" x 6.5" isnt bad eh :) although they probably arent the " cleanest " regarding aero

aerdynamics will be the next step - however i want to avoid using rear wheel skirts, although a full undertray would be great ( but not at the moment as im still sorting out suspension + welding a few bits and bobs )
Id also love to do a " race " mirror conversion / motorbike mirrors but i park on te street and im afraid someone would " borrow " these for their car.
As i said i plan on deleting the rear wiper and wing ( although still uncertain whether or not the spoiler helps aero )

Chances are i may do a 1/2 rad block as ive seen a lot of these cars running half size rads anyway.

Well, you're never going to be as light as the lightest Rexes; remember, they have the lightweight D15 in the lightest HFs and no sunroof (and thus, no beefed up supports). You might consider losing the jack but keeping the tire; that way, at least AAA can help you if you get a flat. (Get a donut spare if you don't already have it.) Lighter exhaust system, possibly a smaller radiator, underdrive pulleys, carbon-fiber hood?

Replaced crank pulley with a genuine honda ctr n1 pulley ( approx 180dollars from honda, i didnt pay that though ) this saves a huge amount of rotational mass , and it also gets rid of the two unused slots on the pulley where the ps and aircon belts would go. Also getting a lightweight flywheel ( probably going to be detrimental to mpg i know ) which will save quite a few more kg's.
I think by now people have started to think " is this guy actually wanting mpg or performance ? " well my main goals to be honest will be performance , and any mpg i can pick up will be a serious bonus !

This sight is for the 96+ years but gives a general idea of how much things in a car weighs and alternatives to replace them also with weights. Hope it helps

Honda Civic Weight Reductions

weight reduction
 

It would require a 220-240 pound weight reduction to net you a 3.7% in mixed mode fuel economy.Honda was very sparing in the original execution of the CRX.The things you could remove would probably destroy the "civility" of the car.I gutted my Karmann Ghia in the name of weight reduction and all I was rewarded with,was a car that was punishing to be in,and no redemption at the filling station.For the trouble you're willing to go to,I'm afraid you'll be disappointed with the results.

Volks CE28N?

It really depends on what you are willing to pull and how much you are willing to spend. Adding lightness can get VERY expensive. Get organized and write out a plan, which will change as you go. Find out your actual stock weight. 5 minutes on the web. I'll guess at 2250. I have about 300 lbs. out of my EP3 Si and will lighten another 150+. 3 mpg from the weight drop so far. But what you will like more, from the sound of it, is it is quicker and handles better. It's harder to pull weight from the front of an already front heavy car but that's the best weight to pull on a Honda. Battery, lighter intake, exhaust, internals, flywheel, body, brakes and suspension. Definately the sunroof. With the kind of weather you have to deal with I'm guessing you can't go with a really serious summer performance tire. They are heavy. I found a tire with decent performance and high rr that is 5 pounds lighter than stock! That's 20 lbs. of unsprung weight (I have another set of performance wheels/ tires for the track). Some people may not want to ride in your car the more extreme you go so consider that. Personally, I'm ok with that:D.

wheres my gas, desmond regamaster evo.

hasbro , what is this " secret " tyre of yours ? ;)
Ive been thinking of a c/f bonnet and a full bodypan

No secret, it's a General Tire Altima XP, which weighs 18 lbs in the 205/55/16 size. I'm sure a lot of sidewall stiffness is sacrificed but with the -20lbs and about 60 psi I'm hoping for about 2 mpg more. A high performance tire would be in the 24/25 lb. range. Your car, of course has lighter and smaller tyres but every bit helps.
By the way, an EP3 Si over here looks the same but is quite different from the UKDM version (CTR).

General Altimax HP

thanks :)
who said anything about an ep3 or ctr ? :P

You should remove your hood, fenders and bumper and replace them with a one-piece fiberglass unit. Install lights and you are street legal. It will be a huge aero benefit since you can make your own rad ducting hole as large as you want, and there are no seems.

I put one on my track car and I'll do it to every track car in the future. Mine cost 900 dollars cash and included a lightly changed fender shape that stuck out more front and top to reduce the pressure in the wheel wels.

Mentioned in my first post that I own one.

Wish they made them for my car!

I'm sure they do... what car year/model? You could also make your own if you were interested, but you'd want to make a mold and bring it to a fiberglass company with a chopper so they could make it very thin for light weight.

oh yes see it now hasbro :P silly me :)
like i say i dont want to go mad on the exterior . no wheel skirts etc . defo no fiberglass frontend !

Yes, it sounds crazy, but seriously consider it... go look at your car and think of what it would look like with fiberglass in place... it would look the same. It woudl jsut weigh a lot less and have less drag. I've got one on my race car and I'd gladly put it on a street vehicle! Need to work on your engine... take off the whole front!

04 Civic Si Hatch. Sorry to hijack, Chip.

its cool its cool :)

http://memimage.cardomain.com/member...545_6_full.jpg

car a couple of months ago , before respray to be and wheels :)
theres not much grill to block is there :(

No, but everything below the lights is pretty 'dirty' and could be smoothed...

Oooorr....

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