A/C delete would yield additional weight loss in both curb and rotational weight.

 

blackndecker. very nice work so far. I bet it makes a noticeable difference cutting all that rotational mass. I would be very curious to know what the steelies weigh (what I'm currently 'pimpin').

I'd decimate you on weight reduction, but the fit is my DD and is the only car I am not allowed to touch. Weight reduction has always been my favorite part about prepping cars. I love taking 60 pounds of wires and turning it into 7.

and about doing a bedliner... probably not in your best interest, there is an insane amount of prep work if you wanted to do that (you don't want to spray over the wires) and its likely to come up heavier than carpeting. You can always scrape out the sound insulation. Thats also a lot of work and your likely to only get about 5 pounds out of it. The battery is definitely what I would put in next, the oddessy's are amazing, but I've also been a huge fan of SVR's batteries (its been a while, I don't know how to track them down anymore)

 

Thanks for the tip about styrofoam. Thats a nice trick.

Now where am I going to get styrofoam though.

 

Alright, I weighed the stock 16" wheels with tires and it came up to 35.4lbs a piece. The rear seats with seatbelt latches and bolts came up to 65.8lbs. Didn't feel like taking off one of the RE30s in the dark to get a comparison, so maybe this weekend.

 

I recommend you guys go on a diet and drive naked to save weight. LOL, this is not a sport car. It is not going to get you much faster even if you lose 100 lbs.

 

couple of points to make about this statement:

1. I am assuming the fit is not a sportscar statement is just a jab at the post currently running about that very statement. if not, please read it.

2. not a bad idea about driver's losing weight. I know i need to.

3. I personally shed 78 lbs from removing the rear seats, belts, and brackets (inc. the belt in the ceiling and rears behind the body panels). I know you wouldn't understand this because it seems like your mods are about adding things to the car instead of taking away, but I seriously really can feel the difference. is it faster? maybe. is it quicker? most definitely. Think about it: 100 lbs out of a car that weighs 2500 is a greater overall percentage loss and more effective than losing 100 lbs on a heavier vehicle. Same point can be made about the engine: 100 lbs out of a car that makes 100 some horsepower is going to be way more effective than losing 100 lbs on a more powerful vehicle.

Sorry, but you just can't argue with physics.

 

What kind of dumb logic is that? Because a Fit isn't a sports car you won't see any benefit from weight reduction? A freaking bicycle will benefit from weight reduction. And actually lightweight cars like the Fit benefit more from weight reduction because they lose a higher percentage of their weight compared to a 3000 pound sports car.

 

Yea
Different strokes for different folks.
Don't be a haterr

 

The definition of "sports car" has drastically changed since the days of marques like MG, Triumph, Healey, Jaguar and such were the definitive examples of the term..... I am sure that what is being discussed on this thread was also discussed by the enthusiast mechanics and engineers that created the cars that originated the term "sports car"..... Cars like the Fit may in time be recognized as the definitive example if manufacturers decide to recognize dedicated enthusiast rather than people that are easily enticed into driving the popular status quo definitions of what corporate pitch men decide to tag their products with..... If there had been no hot rodders there would have never been muscle cars in the sixties.

 

vwli, I really can't afford to lose but maybe 5~7lbs, weight is just 148 now and I stand at 5'9.5". So do you want to go back to the drawing board with your comments?

Hmmmmm, my car is listed as 1050kg stock and I have lost at least 45kg maybe more when I weigh my replacement wheel/tire combo. So nearing a 5% loss is not much in your opinion on a car with an output of just 120ps, especially a loss in unsprung weight (that is a multiplied effect). And it is not about trying to make the car faster, weight loss helps in other areas. So many people purchased the Fit for its fuel economy, well weight reduction will help in that department unless you have a right foot like mine that doesn't know what the words fuel economy mean. It just knows the car moves out of its own way a little better now and acts accordingly.

 

Great Thread!

I love it!

and to the guy who said to lose weight, what if the driver happens to be 6'1" and 130 lbs. should he (me lol) still lose weight?

 

oh and another thing, i have no idea if the GE will have this but one oddity i found with my galant

the door to my glove box has an 8 lb metal plate (assuming to stop airbag from going out the bottom) if y'all have that there's some more weight loss, also you could take out the passenger air bag?

removal of the sound deadening is an extreme option too

 

Thanks for all the input fellas. I'm gonna go buy a digital scale soon...gonna weigh steelies/dunlops, seats, spare, jack, etc.

Thought this article was relevant to the discussion...eco-modding an Integra:
Increasing Performance, Efficiency and Style - Import Tuner Magazine



I'm also looking for this windshield mounted digital gauge (1/4 mile time, 0-60 acceleration, even Hp and Tq numbers) that I read about in one of the tuner magazines. They tested it and the 1/4 mile time was within 0.1 second accurate. I'd like to do some baseline 0-60 and 1/4 mile times with the Fit as it is...then benchmark it after additional modifications (CAI, lightweight exhaust, lightweight battery, etc).

 

So here is the pic I took of the article in the magazine...the review was very favorable. All for $200. Might have to check it out. Anyone familiar with this?



Here is the website:
G-TECH/Pro Homepage

 

It's the opposite of what you said.

 

It seems counterintuitive that increasing rearend weight would improve handling...i.e. increase oversteer. More weight over rear tires = more grip = less rear end action...this is analogous to running a narrower rear tire to decrease grip and promote oversteer.

So, uh....care to elaborate?

What is the optimal weight distribution for a FWD car? Speaking of weight distribution, anyone thought of relocating the Odyssey battery into the spare tire compartment?

 

Alright...time to get serious. No more "I think," "I heard," or "so-and-so told me." We need to start an "Official OEM parts weight list." All "official weights" will be verified by a pic showing said part on a scale. (Preferably two separate scales and take an average of the two). The picture will be posted underneath the listed part. (555sexydrive...I will add your weights when you post a pic showing the parts on the scale.)

We can add more parts as we go...may be surprised by how much some of this junk weighs. It might also be useful to separate USDM and JDM.


Verified weights:
01. Base Steelies (+ stock tires)
02. Sport alloy wheels (+ stock tires)
03. Rear seat
04. Seatbelts (rear)
05. Front seat
06. Jack
07. Spare tire
08. Hood
09. Battery
10. Steering wheel with SRS

For the hardcore...
11. Front discs
12. Rear drum
13. Rear hatch [Still waiting on JDP to fab a CF hatch....ZZZZZZ]
14. etc.

This is off the top of my head.

 

I applaud the concept of making a car lighter - Colin Chapman made Lotus a real force to reckon with on the track using the principle -but remember that the Fit is already 60/40 biased over the front wheels. Most of your weight-loss is happening in the back, and down low in the car. This also is changing the center of gravity for the worse. You'll make a fine budget stoplight-to-stoplight sleeper out of the Fit, but some serious suspension tuning & weight redistribution will be needed to make it handle curves as well as before. I can't find the link, but just within the last week or so on TopGear's site they gutted a Peugeout 206 or 207, or something similar... They really went at it, removing a lot of weight. Only problem was, The Stig kept getting the same lap times as before the weight reduction. It was faster off the line, but the handling was awful. It surprised all of them!

 

Point well taken. I am taking her to autocross this weekend...I want to get a sense of how the car handles at this stage.

 

Would staggered wheels help the unevenly distributed weight loss? X7 front X8 rear or X6 front X7 rear? That would give you more weight towards the back and better grip.