How I lightened up my Geo Metro by 70 lbs

[ATaylorRacing]

I bought my Geo Metro a week ago last wednesday for double the FE of my delivery vehicle (I sell & deliver 79-08 Mustang rims) and have put nearly 1000 miles on it already. It got 46 mpg for the 195+ mile trip home and after putting on new plug wires, cap, and rotor it got 53.6 mpg at about 5 mph less. Weight hurts performance and FE on everything so this last weekend I did what I set about to do. I also use this car with my 2 year old in his car seat so the back seat stayed entirely.

The car was 1800 lbs as it sat with a full tank of fuel, some extra toys and clothes for the kid and the baby seat.

I took out a few tools, frt lisc brkt,spare tire clamp, spare fiberboard cover, spare tire rubber sound deadoner, rear shock tower covers, misc screws, and all rear compartment trim. ONLY 11 lbs 6 oz total

Next removed was the drivers junk floor mat, extra ink pens, interior trim from both side mirrors, cigarette lighter, and ash tray. ONLY 4 lbs 4 oz more for a total of 15 lbs 10 oz.

Took out some extra clothes and toys. ONLY 2 lb 9 oz for a total of 18 lbs 3 oz.

Out next were a book, floor trim beside both front seats, trim around handbrake,metal bracket on left frt side of console. ONLY 4 lbs 5 oz for a 22lb 8 oz total.

Next was reducing # of excess keys on chain, screw driver, a couple of half empty water bottles, and lots of loose change. ONLY 1 lb 1 oz for a total of 23 lbs 9 oz.

Now I remove the passenger side wiper arm and replace the drivers side 20" blade with a 24" one, just like my drag car, and remove the "oh hell" passenger side handle. ONLY 1 lb 1 oz for a total of 24 lbs 10 oz.

Getting a bit more serious now, out with the worn out carpet and the rubber and cloth sound deadoner on the fire wall. ONLY 13 lbs 6 oz for a total of 38 lbs. (My goal was 30 lbs to the point I am now)

Last to go....passenger seat, but left the belt in place...if I need room for me, the kid, and 2 others I can simply reinstahl the seat in 5 minutes.....32 lbs for a grand total of 70 lbs!

This is about as far as I will go on this car for wt reduction. I have now added some thin plastic headlight covers and had removed the passenger side mirror, but reinstalled it since I like its usefulness. My next step will be some sort of grill to go on the bumper opening to help air flow and still have air going to the radiator.

On my race car I took the extra steps of removing the dash, all the glass except the windshield and replaced with Lexan....not practical for mornings where ice scrappers are needed.....the rear bumper is a PVC copy and I've also cut out all inner door supports, window crank mechanisms except drivers door, and replaced floor pan panels with alluminum. The car was near 2400 lbs and now is 1810 lbs, Geo like, but with a 2.5 instead of 1.0 and the one wiper is still on it and the heater is still in place since ity is still street driven.

[ATaylorRacing]

Oh yeah, when my 2 year old is not in the car it is an extra 30 lb difference! He was not in it when it was weighed.

[Arminius]

Not bad! If you don't need/use your passenger side door, you could probably bolt it shut and remove the hardware that's inside.

[MetroMPG]

Good post. I've currently got 77 lbs out of mine (pass & rear seat, spare & tools, spare tire "mat"). But then I added 130 lbs of batteries so I could drive without the alternator.

And my Kammback is going to come in around 15 lbs, I think.

You going to make a garage entry for your car?

[ECONORAM]

Wow, and I am aiming for 300# out of my truck. Not sure I will make that, but I gotta have a goal. Since it is 5200 stock, I figure I can scrap some stuff without much issue. The problem is all the aero panels I keep adding are making me go in the wrong direction!

[ATaylorRacing]

Originally Posted by ECONORAM

Wow, and I am aiming for 300# out of my truck. Not sure I will make that, but I gotta have a goal. Since it is 5200 stock, I figure I can scrap some stuff without much issue. The problem is all the aero panels I keep adding are making me go in the wrong direction!

The quickest way to get rid of wt from your truck, but costly...is rims. Go to tirerack.com and enter your year, make, model...then click on rims. Then you can sort by wt and you'll be amazed at how light some of them are, yet durable. The absolute biggest wt reduction would be removal of the bed, but then it would no longer be a truck....but I have seen some 4 banger little trucks that have had their beds replaced with anything from fiberglass reproductions to thin gauge metal frame work.

Since the last post on this thread I have removed a total of @ 105 lbs, but put on some sharp looking rims and tires to make it look better. The rims and tires added 32 more lbs and hurt the 1//4 mile times by .6-.7 seconds....the mpg remained the same since I can pump up the new package to 51 psi while the old 13s had a max of only 35!!!

Follow these links to see the car with the headlight covers and grill block:

Even the 3 cylinder Geo gets action
UMTR Nationals at Edgewater - 9/26/09 - Hyper-Performance Motorsports Inc. Photography
The White Gnat strikes again
UMTR Nationals at Edgewater - 9/26/09 - Hyper-Performance Motorsports Inc. Photography

[ECONORAM]

Thanks ATaylor, I would really like to get some 20" Centerlines, as they are 13# lighter each, but I cannot really justify the price right now. Maybe in another year...

[busypaws]

159 lbs in 97 Mazda Protege, so far: (5.5 mile commute 22 lights)
A/C 45 lbs everthing but wires:
PS 21 lbs
Backseat 7
Glovebox 5
Spare tire / Jack 27lbs
Honda VX rims and 155/80/13s on rear 6lbs per wheel = 12lbs.
Passenger seat 37lbs
Rear seat belts 3
Passanger airbag 7
(Not having to drive when going out to lunch --- priceless)

[gone-ot]

...pardon my humor, but if you stand outside and run along side the car, you'd eliminate another 150-200 pounds too (wink,wink)!

[jcp123]

Hmm, wonder what I could muster. I got a full spare in the back, though the car's so nose heavy I hate to take weight out from the back. Still, the trunk gets cozy once in a while. That's probably, what, 25lbs? I also want to get a different Optima Red Top that's 7lbs lighter than the one I have now...waiting until the battery gives up the ghost (still giving great service at over 7 years of age!). So there's 32 right there. Aluminum radiator would be lighter and also reduce the coolant needed...save, say, 5lbs? Plus I have some various and sundry items that could get left behind. I guesstimate I could get an easy 45lbs off the car in not much time at all.

I could possibly get a glass-fibre hood, that'd save a good 15lbs, but after purchase and paint I'm out over $500...so maybe not. There are glass-fibre fenders and deck lids, too, but again, that's expensive and that stuff's always hard to fit. And aluminum cylinder heads would shave about 40lbs, but the aluminum units out there are performance oriented and don't match the rest of the componentry in the engine now...but would go great on the 302 roller motor I plan to build after this one craps out