Weight Savings

[03Z33]

Seems like everyone is always after more power, more handling, and more braking. A great way to improve all of these for little to no cost is "weight savings". The benefits of removing weight from your car can be felt in acceleration, turns, and braking as well as helping the car save fuel, use less tires, and brakes.

Since the Yaris is my daily commuter and not a pure track car, I will be more conservative in stripping this car compared to my others :wink: Here is a list of things I've removed and kept track of as well as some planned changes.

Removed/Replaced:
(132) qty 4-15" stock steel wheels and tires 33lb each.
(24) stock steel spare wheel and tire.
(37) rear seat back rest
(11) rear seat lower bench
(6) rear seat bench steel support
(33) stock battery
(8) luggage tray/cover
(2) rear luggage and passenger carpets
(4) sun/privacy shade mechanism
(13) stock steering wheel with airbag
(20) qty 2 - stock front strut 10lb each
(10) qty 2 - stock front spring 5lb each
(6) qty 2 - stock rear shock 3lb each
(6) qty 2 - stock rear spring 3lb each
(9) stock rear rebar/crashbar
(24) stock axle back exhaust
(7) under seat jack and tool kit (track only)

(352) Total weight of removed/replaced parts


Added/Replaced:
104 qty 4 -15x7 Watanabe wheels and Bridgestone 195/55/15 tires 26lb each.
3 Nardi 330mm steering wheel with Works Bell hub and quick release
13 Odyssey PC680MJ battery
18 qty 2 - Cusco front coilover strut 9lb each
11 qty 2 - Cusco front spring 5.5lb each
6 qty 2 - Cusco rear shock 3lb each
8 qty 2 - Cusco rear spring and height adjuster 4lb each
5 C-One rear bumper bar
3 C-One rear strut brace
18 Tanabe Touring Medallion axle back exhaust

189lb Total added/replaced parts


163Lbs. = Total "weight savings" so far :clap:

According to Toyotas literature the manual hatchback weighs in at 2293lb wet. I haven't weighed mine yet, but will do so shortly when I install my new coilovers and corner weight the car, but according to the specs my car should now weigh approximately 2130lb. Many of my measurements are approximations and I welcome others to correct me if you feel I've made any errors.

I also plan to remove/replace/install the following parts which will change my numbers:
Bucket seats (hoping for 20lb combined savings for both)
C-One front sway bar (probably a couple pounds more than stock)
C-One front under brace (probably + 3-5lb)
front strut brace (probaby 2-3 lb)
Progress rear sway bar (probably + 10-15lb)
header (probably same as stock?)
aerokit with paint (probaby + 5-7lb)
JDM front rebar (~ 5-8lb less)
remove rear wiper and motor (~ 10-14lb less)

At this time I don't plan to remove the stereo, speakers, A/C, heater, interior, etc... But I may do so in future if I decide to take it further. If I do remove these items, any weight savings will be negated by the addition of a roll cage.

I'll do my best to continue to weigh stock and replacement parts as I continue to modify the car. Please feel free to add any comments or ideas as to where else weight can be saved :thumbsup:

[KSIbucky]

has anyone seen people remove the rear seat and put some carpet in so it would look nicer mabye i just retarded

[Tamago]

stock xA seats weigh 65lbs. i replaced with MOMO START and T-Frame and had aluminum brackets manufactured.

total savings... 90lbs :)

[03Z33]

has anyone seen people remove the rear seat and put some carpet in so it would look nicer mabye i just retarded

Probably not a bad idea if you plan to store things and don't want them scratching up the interior. The stock carpeting only goes back as far as the rear bench, everything back is bare steel/paint.

stock xA seats weigh 65lbs. i replaced with MOMO START and T-Frame and had aluminum brackets manufactured.

total savings... 90lbs :)


Good news! I'm not sure that the Yaris seats are that heavy, I seem to remember someone saying they're actually pretty light, but I'll be swapping them out either way :tongue:

[Tamago]

i would imagine you are correct, as they do sit much closer to the ground.

bracketry in aluminum tho, a little spendy, but they weigh in at only a couple pounds each :)

i've weighed in at 2150 with a full tank of gas, on my street wheels, (+maybe 10lbs)

the next 150lbs will be expensive lol

[03Z33]

It does get $$$ after this :frown: I actually had my eyes on the Ist since it first arrived here in the states. Came really close to purchasing more then once :wink:

Overall I'm pretty satisfied with the weight of these cars... I enjoy trying to get it down as much as I can though :laugh:

[Tamago]

off topic but did you ever own a corolla? besides the GTS

[03Z33]

Nope... my only other FWD was a VW :wink:

[Tamago]

oh ok.. good good, thought i may know you from back in the corolla days lol

car looks good, any track footage?

[03Z33]

I'm usually to busy between prepping my cars, and jumping in and out of students cars... I wrote something up a while back on here:

http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1679&highlight=track

Now back on topic :wink: So who else has anymore ideas for weight savings? I'm not talking about little stuff like shift knobs and air freshners either :laugh:

[eTiMaGo]

I suppose if you wanted to be a little extreme you could lighten the doors, roof and frame by cutting out internal components like crash bars and so on. It would weaken the car, sure, but if you had a roll cage, it might be worth looking into?

[Tamago]

all the easy ones you've stated.. removing carpet and sound deadening sounds like a bit of savings there.. from below the center of gravity, but weight nonetheless..

i'd like to see swapped door-cards on my car in the near future. once i get my new (1988 toyota pickup 1 ton long bed) daily driver i'll be a little more frisky with the mods to the xA

[03Z33]

Yeah, there's probably a few pounds in rear door beams which I wouldn't mind removing since I'll never have passengers back there... The fronts I think I'll leave in for now, at least until I get a cage.

I actually checked out the Tein Yaris which is pretty well gutted, and it doesn't seem that there is too much to remove... the floor did look nice and shiny without any carpeting though :drool:

[501]

i need to lose wieght myself maybe 10-20lbs

[03Z33]

i need to lose wieght myself maybe 10-20lbs

Haha, I hear that! Holiday Season is always the hardest for me :wink: I could always fast for a few days before going to the track :tongue:

[SmellyTofu]

OK... it's going a little extreme when you remove a safety device like an airbag... but what ever floats your boat.

[03Z33]

OK... it's going a little extreme when you remove a safety device like an airbag... but what ever floats your boat.

Actually, weight savings is the least important reason for me to replace the stock steering wheel. I hated how it looks, feels, and I HATE airbags.

If you've never had an airbag blow in your face, you're in for a surprise! chemical burns, broken nose, broken ribs all because of a stupid minivan that backed into me at less then 10mph :iono: The airbag is the first thing I remove from all my cars. I know others will disagree and say I just had one bad experience, but I will take my chances with just a seat belt, for my passengers, I leave the choice up to them by leaving the passenger airbag in place.

Everyone knows that you should remove the airbag before driving on track anyway... this just makes it easier so that I don't have to pull the fuse anytime I want to go to the track. And you can't argue with the looks and feel of a Nardi wheel :)

[kngrsll]

i have heard alot of airbag horror stories! they really seem to do more damage than good in some cases. i have thought about removing mine, but we will see...

as for the nardi, a friend of mine got the deep dish all black with red stitching yesterday for christmas. it is HOT!! a good wheel seems to transfer more info to your hands too, althought the yaris wheel isnt that bad.

good to see the weight savings, i like doing that stuff! in my old 240, it had everything removed except the dash and front seats. i even went so far to remove the sound deading, stereo, ac, everything! i gradually put things back in though, door skins, carpet, and finally the back seat (never put a radio back in though, lol!) bc i couldnt get a date to ride with me! oh well, price ya pay i guess. when i track the yaris, ill probably just remove the back seats, all the stuff in the trunk, and thats about it. this is supposed to be my civil car, lol

[jcove]

:cry: i need to lose wieght myself maybe 10-20lbs

Right on! Me too. Currently 240lbs @ 6'5" - Ideal weight for me is about 210 - 215lbs so that would make a big difference. LOL

I want to do the weight savings, but this is my daily driver and I use it occcasionally to go on road trips. I want to put in some sound deadening so I'll more than likely end up increasing the weight a little. I'd like to pull the back seat but I have people ride with me from time to time, so that wouldn't work. :cry:

[Yarii]

Now back on topic :wink: So who else has anymore ideas for weight savings? I'm not talking about little stuff like shift knobs and air freshners either :laugh:

You could shave a few lbs with an aftermarket crank pulley and lightweight flywheel.

[KSIbucky]

i know some people that watch car weight by dieting it makes the difference

[Ronin]

What about a carbon fiber hood? It would be cool if someone made carbon fiber fenders, door skins, and a hatch! I would want door skins because of safety reasons, especially if it's a daily driver.

I've got a carbon fiber hood and engine lid on my second gen. MR2. I'm not sure on the exact weight that they saved. But it's probably more than if I had stripped out the interrior... it's my daily driver.

You could also drill 1"-3" holes out of parts of the structure. Racecar builders do this, but they usually done by structual engineers who know what they are doing. I read an article in SCC about this being done to an S2000. If done right, the car will be lighter, stronger, faster, and stiffer than before.

[spkrman]

has anyone seen people remove the rear seat and put some carpet in so it would look nicer mabye i just retarded

This is what I've done

It hink it was mentioned that it might be useful for storage space... thats exactly why I took em out :)

Good excuse to not cart people around too... "sorry you cant ride, no back seat"

[graywolf_14]

Yeah but I have kids, they have never rode in my car but there is always the chance. Unless I can get someone to make tubular car seat holders that would be safe and lighter than the stock seats.

[ChinoCharles]

Remove the rear bench and put a seat in to match the front... make it a 3 seater.

[platypus]

What about a carbon fiber hood? It would be cool if someone made carbon fiber fenders, door skins, and a hatch! I would want door skins because of safety reasons, especially if it's a daily driver.

I've got a carbon fiber hood and engine lid on my second gen. MR2. I'm not sure on the exact weight that they saved. But it's probably more than if I had stripped out the interrior... it's my daily driver.

You could also drill 1"-3" holes out of parts of the structure. Racecar builders do this, but they usually done by structual engineers who know what they are doing. I read an article in SCC about this being done to an S2000. If done right, the car will be lighter, stronger, faster, and stiffer than before.

I'd have to wonder how much weight you'd save with a CF hood. The hood's not that big to begin with! :)

Also, on the subject of adding Drillium(tm), you reallllllly don't want to get into that unless you're after the last .05% of performance gains. Yes it removes material and saves weight, but the part almnost assuredly wasn't designed to have holes drilled in it and so is nearly guaranteed to fail at the worst possible time.

Get Carroll Smith's books on car prep and design, and then you'll be armed with real knowledge.

[graywolf_14]

Yeah a 3 seater would be cool but than one of my kids would be riding in the trunk.

[spkrman]

Yeah but I have kids, they have never rode in my car but there is always the chance. Unless I can get someone to make tubular car seat holders that would be safe and lighter than the stock seats.

That would be interesting :)

A removable rear seat would also be feasable... or even the stock seat... its not that tough to snatch it out/put it back, but it doesnt exactly snap into place, and its awkword/heavy... but that heavy is what you want to remove anyway right? :)

[Tamago]

bumping a weight thread in relevance to today's discussion about removing all your seats.

has anyone weighed a stock yaris seat?

[Klink10]

bumping a weight thread in relevance to today's discussion about removing all your seats.

has anyone weighed a stock yaris seat?

I think I saw around 100 lbs. for the 60/40.

On the first post in the list I didn't notice rear seat belt stuff.

[cali yaris]

^ correct, I weighed those when I took them out.

CF hood saves 5 pounds
CF hatch saves 15 pounds (deleting wiper assembly)