Weight Reduction

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Civic_rob

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Great update. How is the road noise?
With the rear quarter panels gone I can hear the wind whistle but that also might be from having everything removed from the trunk including the sound deadening material. I took out the rear seatbelt assemblies while I was at it since there's no longer any seats and very briefly started chipping away at the black (presumably) sound deadening.

The road noise obviously got worse with the removal of sound deadening and everything design for comfort and 'luxury'. I daily my car and don't think it's to the point of unbearable but I also love hearing my exhaust and the smell of gas so I don't think I can say since I'm biased. I will say it is pretty loud in the cabin and I have to talk louder than normal to my passenger when I'm driving on the highway.

Didn't really save much weight by removing the seatbelt assemblies but since I removed the bolts holding them in they would bounce around in the trunk area and that was annoying.

Hope this was informative!
 
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Here's an update for the rear weight reduction I've been working on:

I removed the rear quarter panels, rear seatbelt assemblies, the rear plastic cover? Trim? I don't know what it's called specifically, that covers the rear speakers, and the airbag covers. I'm eventually gonna get around to removed the rear airbags entirely but I've been too lazy to do that since it's more involved than just removing a couple of bolts holding the stuff together.

The passenger side quarter panel seatbelt assembly bolt (I think it's a 14mil) was an absolute nightmare to get out since the locking washer somehow got bent and refused to come out (first photo). You need to remove that locking washer to remove the bolt and only then will you have enough clearance to take the assembly out. You can see where I scratched the bodywork trying to force it out. Eventually brute strength won but I def recommend trying to gentle get that locking nut to come out with the bolt or else you'll have the same thing happen.

I took out the rest of the sound deadening that was held in by clips when I got the quarter panels off.

When doing this you will need to remove the bolt for the driver and passenger side seatbelts since they are put through the rear quarter panel with the seatbelt guide (you can see the silver bracket in the last photo). It's not particularly difficult for the driver's side but the passenger I didn't have much room at all to work with and I recommend at swivel attachment because you'll come into contact with the seat brackets. I was about to use an adjustable wrench to slowly get it loose but I def don't recommend doing that as it took close to 20 minutes just getting this bolt removed.

Also the rear speaker cover/panel thing will need to come off first before you can remove the seatbelt assemblies.

Hope this information is helpful or at least interesting! I've never seen underneath all the plastic panel covers so it's neat seeing how everything is wired and what's underneath it all.

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I wanted to give an update on further weight removal that I've done now that I got settled into my new home. It was a somewhat lengthy process (took me an afternoon) since my tools were limited and nobody has really messed with some of the CVT shifters.

Here's what I took photos of. It was fun and now I have a bunch of lights on the dash but I know it's because of the passenger seat no longer being connected and the parking brake, eco mode, and brake assist are no longer connected. I used eco mode maybe twice in the 30,000 miles I have and the other features a whooping zero times.

I haven't weighed the car now that I've stripped most of the interior. I won't be removing the AC, heater core, or speakers since I love my music so much. I expect to be near ~100 pounds lighter than a stock civic even with the additions I've made as far as styling.

Up next will likely be lighter rims and a smaller tire combination (thinking 17s on a 225 maybe even 215 tire). I'm running 18's and a 245 tire which weigh A TON (25 pounds a rim). I saw some rims in another post that were ~16 pounds a rim and with the tire decrease I should expect a near ~10 pound difference in each corner which should make it feel like a completely different car.

A lightweight battery is already being considered but is a lot of money for the weight savings. ~$800 dollars. Carbon fiber fenders have been on the list since forever and I intend on trimming the BMSpec splitter a touch since it's pretty heavy.

May consider removing the crash bars altogether but I understand that would pose a huge safety risk but they do weigh something like 15 pounds each.

The last thing I think I'll be tackling is the sound deadening in the driver and passenger foot compartment. It looks like I will need to cut the majority of it out since how it was installed so I've been putting it off.

Final thoughts: With the removal of the interior trims, passenger seat, spare tire, and a boat-load of other things removed, it feels more of a go cart than a limp 2.slow NA civic. It's by no means fast in a straight line and still struggles under most conditions but it is a hell of a fun driving experience especially around the corners. I've had plenty of trucks and jeeps tailgate me but get left behind once I rear a corner.

Thought I'd share for those who were interested in what a 2.0 CVT Coupe interior looks like after I got a hold of it :)

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I have F1R rims and they're rated at 25lbs a piece. I was looking at aftermarket rims for that exact reason. I understand unsprung weight lets the wheels get going quicker. The problem is for a set of super light rims + tires it's ungodly expensive. You pay for what ya get I suppose.
Not sure if you've seen by now but the enkei rpf1 is lightweight and should be less then $350 per wheel. I went with excessively wide 18x9.5 at ~$350 per wheel and they're listed as 17.4lb directly from enkei. Thinner/smaller wheels will be even lighter and cheaper.

http://enkei.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Enkei-Catalog-2019.pdf

17x9 goes down to 15.65lb
 


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Not sure if you've seen by now but the enkei rpf1 is lightweight and should be less then $350 per wheel. I went with excessively wide 18x9.5 at ~$350 per wheel and they're listed as 17.4lb directly from enkei. Thinner/smaller wheels will be even lighter and cheaper.

http://enkei.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Enkei-Catalog-2019.pdf
I think those were the ones I was looking at. Honestly I'm split between getting the 17's or 18's. I'm thinking 17's but I do like how the F1R's look on my car. I think I had it all in cart and it was something like $1,800 wheel mounted, balanced, and shipped. I didn't see a white option for any of the rims when last I looked. Could always powder coat.

Thanks for the info!
 

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I think those were the ones I was looking at. Honestly I'm split between getting the 17's or 18's. I'm thinking 17's but I do like how the F1R's look on my car. I think I had it all in cart and it was something like $1,800 wheel mounted, balanced, and shipped. I didn't see a white option for any of the rims when last I looked. Could always powder coat.

Thanks for the info!
Tire rack also has all the weights for all the different tire specs for each tire so that's also something you can check out if not already

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/Spec...ewall=Blackwall&partnum=535YR8ECSXL&tab=Specs

Btw I immediately noticed the lighter weight of the wheels driving normally from a stop so I would 100% recommend it for a light car build. My car is otherwise untouched in terms of weight.
 
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Tire rack also has all the weights for all the different tire specs for each tire so that's also something you can check out if not already

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/Spec...ewall=Blackwall&partnum=535YR8ECSXL&tab=Specs

Btw I immediately noticed the lighter weight of the wheels driving normally from a stop so I would 100% recommend it for a light car build. My car is otherwise untouched in terms of weight.
So far the price is about $1,500 which is what I thought it might be with some decent tires. This is with 17's and about a 215 tire width. All things considered, do you believe this will be sufficient tire for the current setup? I worry if I go too skinny of a tire it won't corner as well. What are you thoughts?
 

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So far the price is about $1,500 which is what I thought it might be with some decent tires. This is with 17's and about a 215 tire width. All things considered, do you believe this will be sufficient tire for the current setup? I worry if I go too skinny of a tire it won't corner as well. What are you thoughts?
I'm not sure but it's worth considering that 215 should keep the steering feel light, my steering feels noticeably heavier with the wider track/tire of my setup. I think you should look at tire size feedback from people who actually track/autox their cars since I just drive my daily spiritedly lol.

My initial thought is that the tire choice would matter before the width though.
 
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I'm not sure but it's worth considering that 215 should keep the steering feel light, my steering feels noticeably heavier with the wider track/tire of my setup. I think you should look at tire size feedback from people who actually track/autox their cars since I just drive my daily spiritedly lol.

My initial thought is that the tire choice would matter before the width though.
Those are my thoughts as well. I don't have enough power to require a lot wider tire I think. I'll look over some feedback from those autocross folks have. Thanks for your input!
 


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Another update:
I took out the stock seat in favor of a bucket-style seat from NRG. I purchased the seat bracket from redline and the specific brand is planted. The bracket itself weighed 8 pounds exactly and the seats were somewhere near 20 pounds with the side brackets so a total of 28 pounds give or take. I went the fixed route as to minimize expense and weight. These bucket seats do not have the airbags present that the OEM seats did so that further cut down on weight but I do have a SRS light on that I'll have to ignore or sodder a 2.2 ohm resistor into. Planted sells driver and passenger side separately so I'm waiting on the passenger side. Until then I'm rocking 1 seat.

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Another update:
I took out the stock seat in favor of a bucket-style seat from NRG. I purchased the seat bracket from redline and the specific brand is planted. The bracket itself weighed 8 pounds exactly and the seats were somewhere near 20 pounds with the side brackets so a total of 28 pounds give or take. I went the fixed route as to minimize expense and weight. These bucket seats do not have the airbags present that the OEM seats did so that further cut down on weight but I do have a SRS light on that I'll have to ignore or sodder a 2.2 ohm resistor into. Planted sells driver and passenger side separately so I'm waiting on the passenger side. Until then I'm rocking 1 seat.

225063332_657745848957328_2766587780492530222_n.jpg
Hey I was wondering if you can help me with the srs light issue. Can I just unplug the airbag sensor and plug in a 2.2 ohm resistor without disconnecting the battery? Or would I have to disconnect and reconnect the battery everytime I check the connection?
 

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Another update:
I took out the stock seat in favor of a bucket-style seat from NRG. I purchased the seat bracket from redline and the specific brand is planted. The bracket itself weighed 8 pounds exactly and the seats were somewhere near 20 pounds with the side brackets so a total of 28 pounds give or take. I went the fixed route as to minimize expense and weight. These bucket seats do not have the airbags present that the OEM seats did so that further cut down on weight but I do have a SRS light on that I'll have to ignore or sodder a 2.2 ohm resistor into. Planted sells driver and passenger side separately so I'm waiting on the passenger side. Until then I'm rocking 1 seat.
How much of a weight savings is the aftermarket seat over the stock one?
 
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Hey I was wondering if you can help me with the srs light issue. Can I just unplug the airbag sensor and plug in a 2.2 ohm resistor without disconnecting the battery? Or would I have to disconnect and reconnect the battery everytime I check the connection?
Disconnect the battery when dealing with anything electrical. Trust me, would not be fun to have the airbag suddenly go off when you're messing with stuff. After you get the ohm resistor on you shouldn't have to do anything else and it should work like normal.
 
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How much of a weight savings is the aftermarket seat over the stock one?
I couldn't get a great measure since the seat is shaped so weird relative to my scale but it was in the 45-55 pound range so with my guess ~50lbs for the OEM seat including the brackets. 50-28 is 22lbs per seat saved so a solid 44 pounds in reduction isn't bad. When I was rocking the single seat that weight reduction totaled up to (50lbs + 22lbs = 72lbs!) not too bad for a simple bucket seat swap and great for track days with just one seat.

I'll be weighing it at some point so that I have numbers I can provide rather than just hearsay. I did put the seatbelt assembly and passenger seat back in along with a 10lb nitrous bottle and a 5ft skeleton because it's fun to see peoples' reaction so I'll have to take those out prior.
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