Weight savings, safety gear to keep

[ATaylorRacing]

I have taken 100 lbs out of my 96 Geo 3 banger but have not removed the air bags or the extra metal that is bolted to the quarter panels in the rear passenger area or rear bumpers. It is a dailey driver that my 3 year old is usually in so I did not go as wild as I could have. My car is a delivery vehicle that I use to transport rims/tires that I sell. When I do deliveries my car looses 1 mpg for every extra 100 lbs that it is carrying. It can carry 4 275x50x17 tires mounted on 10.5 inch rims and also 4 245x45x17 tires mounted on 9 inch rims. On my 1984 Plymouth Horizon that I drag race I have also gutted the rear doors of all glass and window cranking mechanisms, used Lexan on the rear doors and hatch, replaced double walled steel spare tire tub with thin gauge aluminum sheet, replaced the rear bumper with plastic rain guttering painted black (got a no rear bumper ticket before I did this)....on both cars I have kept only the drivers side wiper, but replaced the blade with one that is an extra 4 inches long. The Geo is 1630 lbs and the Horizon is 1790. The Horizon used to be about 100 lbs lighter when I dropped the exhaust, took out the heater, and had no carpeting. Future plans for both count on a 5 gallon race fuel cell.....why does my 50-57 mpg Geo need with a 10.5 gallon tank? Loosing 5.5 gallons of fuel is quite a bit of extra wt.

[RobertSmalls]

Originally Posted by busypaws

Removed the passenger seat so I removed the passenger Airbag. Now I have the flashing airbag light on the dash all the time. I'm keeping both if I ever have to reinstall.
Passenger seat 37lbs and passenger airbag 7lbs.

You may want to check with a lawyer and an engineer before you follow this advice, but:

The Honda FSM mentions an "airbag inflator simulator", which is just a resistor of the appropriate size, that can be plugged in to the airbag wire harness for diagnostic purposes. It looks just like an airbag inflator circuit to the computer, but it weighs a lot less (and doesn't inflate). You should probably look up the resistance value rather than measuring it, because some ohmmeters cause airbags to explode.


As to the contents of my trunk, I have a toolbox that lives in the car an contains only three sockets (8, 10, 12mm), a ratchet, an extension, a few feet of wire, and some needle-noze vise grips. I'm carrying around a winter tire as a full-sized spare, but I may replace that with a tire repair kit. That's more a consideration of space than weight.

[ATaylorRacing]

Originally Posted by busypaws

Removed the passenger seat so I removed the passenger Airbag. Now I have the flashing airbag light on the dash all the time. I'm keeping both if I ever have to reinstall.
Passenger seat 37lbs and passenger airbag 7lbs.

On Dodge/Plymouth Neons there is a company that makes a nice cubby hole that fits where the passenger side aior bag used to be and they include a resistor that eliminates the air bag light.

[Christ]

I wanted to put an 8 gallon cell in my Civic... could have lost a few lbs of steel for the tank, and lost about 20lbs in fuel when topped. Range would have dropped approx 120 miles, but 8 gallon @ 30+MPG still would have gotten me anywhere I needed to go, and back, most of the time.

[instarx]

When I was driving the Rockies I kept flares, a tow-strap, spare coat, blanket, kitty litter, jumper cables, a couple of cans of Sterno and some granola bars in the car. These days I live where AAA can get to me in fifteen minutes. I still have the spare and jack but its more habit than anything.

Unless you live in the wilderness I'd say substitute a AAA card for everything - 1/10 ounce.

[Christ]

Originally Posted by instarx

When I was driving the Rockies I kept flares, a tow-strap, spare coat, blanket, kitty litter, jumper cables, a couple of cans of Sterno and some granola bars in the car. These days I live where AAA can get to me in fifteen minutes. I still have the spare and jack but its more habit than anything.

Unless you live in the wilderness I'd say substitute a AAA card for everything - 1/10 ounce.

Unless you have a problem with AAA's environmental record/policy, I guess.

I have them... haven't had to use them, yet. Wife has the expensive version of a AAA policy, with unlimited towing, because she has to drive so far to get to school... ~ 3 hours, and we'd rather have her car back home than stuck at some pakisudannoneseian repair shop in BFE, PA.

[bestclimb]

Originally Posted by darcane

Roughly where in the Bush are you? I grew up in Wasilla...

I carry jumper cables and a tow strap in my truck these days, but I live in the city now. When I regularly traveled in rural Alaska, I tended to take a lot more with me. I usually had a square headed shovel and a bag of kitty litter or sand in my truck throughout winter. They come in handy if you get stuck in the snow. I never needed them myself, but I helped several others out in the middle of nowhere (i.e. Cantwell).

I usually had a gallon jug of water. Good for putting in the radiator, drinking, or even melting ice. Quart of oil and tranny fluid. Duct tape, hammer, mechanics wire, knife, crescent wrench, and screwdrivers (it's amazing how much stuff that particular tool kit can fix). Blanket, lighter, first aid kit, flares. Probably missing a few things too.

Was never a boy scout, but their motto of Be Prepared always sounded like good advice. Especially if you are travelling somewhere where you can't call for quick help on the cell phone.

Mike

We are currently way out west. Due to the lack of distance to drive anywhere out here the current ride only gets a spare, jumpers, and a tow strap. In the winter I am wearing the cold weather gear. We will be moving to the mat-su in a few months, and I will likely be doing a 50 mile commute with the civic as well as access to other places to drive to. I have a hard time giving up self sufficiency to relying on a AAA card for help even when I am nearer to help, I could likely have a tire changed long before the tow truck arrived. I too tote along a limited tool kit. I find it very difficult to give up a great deal of self sufficiency for 50 pounds. I see giving assistance when you can as a bit of a civic duty. If I don't have the tools available to me then I have already made the decision not to help.