True Story. If I didn't have a significant other I'd remove....
 

IfI didn't have a significant other I'd gut my car of all things weighty. Like weighing anything and I didn't need it.

Passenger seat, rear seats gone, glove box gone, interior trim gone... Crazy you think?

It would be a car with only the essentials.

In real life thought this wouldn't work. Ha!

Years ago I restored/rebuilt/modified a camaro. I was going to replace the carpet and headliner, which pretty much means removing all of the interior, and install weld in subframe connectors while the carpet was out. I ended up driving the car with no interior for a couple months.
I got tired enough of all the extra noise that I added about 15-20lbs of extra insulation under the new carpet when I reinstalled the interior

it's not a 'true story' it's a wish.
Why would you even think about stripping a 1 yr old car???

I never understood the crazies that strip a daily driver out to make it accelerate faster. You could just buy a faster vehicle.

No way would I give up AC, or live with the noise caused by gutting the interior. Why would I prove I have no friends by removing the seats?

If I were tempted to ruin a car, leaving it noisy and only capable of hauling a single occupant for the sake of going faster, I'd just get a motorcycle... which I've done.

45mpg and 0-60 in 3 seconds.

Thats why you need 2 vehicles. A commuter vehicle and a family one.

I had to basically gut my insight, remove passenger mirror, rear metal and plastic bumper, rear seat and countless other things to get 103 mpg. Surprisingly it stopped and accelerated faster.

Once I installed about everything You could notice an increase in stopping distance and that it took longer to accelerate to cruising speed.

Im keeping the insight, so its going on a diet soon. I totally forget the hitch I have on with a welded receive for a 2 inch on top the 1 1/4. :eek:

The biggest mod would be removing the hatch and making something similar to it out of lexan and wood.:thumbup:

If anyone wants to be a crazy, here is an excellent thread about extreme weight loss. The car is an Acura TL, but I'm sure most of the things outlined can be accomplished on most cars. He lost over 700 lbs!

You can reduce vehicle weight by about 40 lbs if the fuel tank is only filled to half capacity.

Also interesting to note; although the car is driving in stop and go rush hour traffic, and over 700 lbs have been removed from the car, the driver only gained 1.5 mpg from the extreme diet. Removing weight has a very negligible impact on fuel economy.

I cringed seeing he removed all the plastic "cosmetic" covers under the engine, transmission, and car. This likely had a detrimental effect on the vehicle's Cd.

Id only remove the plastic and stuff inside the car. Anything that effects aero may lower mpg.

Removing weight the car just feels springier, peppier, stops faster, and corners better.

Yes, using a half or quarter tank is one way to instantly save weight. Some guys short their fluids a qt like engine, tranny, radiator over flow bottle and empty the windshield washer.

I feel the same urge to drop weight. I'm starting with the things that nobody else notices... plastic latches, back seat floor mats, spare tire, stuff like that. Don't need a spare since I have AAA. I know it won't make a huge difference, but I'm compelled.

If you didn't have her you'd save ~100lbs right there, and save yourself a lot of work :D

Weight is only your enemy if you let it be.
 

Weight is not the enemy, braking is. I borrowed a garden trailer from a DIY place and actually got a record trip MPG on the way home with it loaded (probably about 700lbs of trailer for a total 'train' weight of 2.3 tons - 5.6l/100km (~42MPG)). The return trip was slightly worse at 5.8 with the trailer empty. Keep in mind too that a trailer adds aero drag and CRR too. Do I really think the trailer improved my MPG? No, but it's clear it didn't really hurt.

A heavy car simply stores energy, it's up to you to use it wisely. I'm thinking about getting a set of big heavy alloy wheels so I'd be able to neutral coast sooner without slowing down too much.

Well, it depends on your commute. If I drove in a bubble I would go 45 mph all day, every day and coast to a stop.:turtle: The a-holes around me drive a 5 ton trucks and suvs, must go 70 in a 45 zone and race each other to the red stop lights. :eek:

I too notice on my 500 dollar shopping trips to Sams and walmart that filled the rear of my insight at night or early morning got better mpg, plus it was a rural trip taken at my own pace. Otherwise hauling more lower mpg.

I read through all 30 pages of the Acura diet. WOW..... Cant say I agree with removing the insulation between the firewall and car as Im sure it gets hotter than hell in there. Seems he left the ac and heater functional, so hes likely fighting a loosing battle when he needs he or air in the extreme temps.

Interesting the thing about the TB, spacer, water flow through the tb and use of a cai. Seems if you do not allow coolant to flow through the tb the mpg drops. If you use a spacer between the tb and intake and use a cai you gain performance.

My insight lost 40 lbs with new wheels n tires and it helped. Hes going on another diet like before. Just removed the back seat, amp, cap, sub, sub box and some seat brackets and rear floor mats. Id say 75 lbs, but Im too fat to own a scale that works or reads accurately. :eek:

You can still replace some of the interior trim with lighter (and maybe even more efficient regarding thermal insulation and soundproofing) pieces made out of different materials. Can also try a single-arm wiper conversion, among other weight-saving tricks. And on a sidenote, a single-arm wiper also has some good side-effects on aerodynamics...

I removed my hitch, sub and sub box, amp, cap, back seat and rear metal bumper. Id est at min 100 lbs. Maybe 145 is more accurate. Felt a tad quicker, only engaged vtec once today. Im sure Ill see a mpg diff as the hitch effects aero.

Or you could buy a 250cc bike that gets just under 80 MPG, with 3300 miles for $650 and the "significant other" would be very happy to see that you made it home alive, until she finds something truly trivial to gripe about again.

regards
mech

If I didn't have a significant other, I'd remove...

Myself. To a different house, one much closer to either my family (one and a half or five states away, depending on the time of year) or else much closer to work.

There are some fixer-uppers going for small change about four blocks from my work. And they're about six blocks from a grocery store, maybe eight blocks from movies and the Tennessee Theater in downtown Knoxville, a superlative venue featuring top-notch live performances. I wouldn't need a car at all.