Celica Forums General Discussion Exterior Lightening the Load

Im creating this thread so that people that have some knowledge on weight reduction, simple or hard,common or not so common can post there information and tips here.

For example - A carbon fiber hood , yes we all know about em. but if you have something better like taking a plate from behind the glove box or some stats on the weights.

anything usefull!

I know the Jack is heavy. Spare wasn't a bad idea. Taking a poo-poo probably isn't gonna win you a race. It may be good to go poo-poo before you race so you don't do it by accident after you lose.

If you want serious racing weight reduction...
Pull the following:
system (all speakers, amp, and headunit)
Spare Tire and Jack.
Airbag and their deployment devices
Stock fog lights are really honky and heavy
Passenger seats, rear seats, replace driver seat
Disable (and maybe remove) excess motor electronics, perhaps car alarms, AC, etc.
Use:
Extremely light weight wheels, probably 15's if you're really concerned
Carbon fiber parts
Lightened flywheel and clutch
Race w/ ~~1/4 tank of gas or less
Anymore??????

I like the street, so I leave it all in there. Hope this helped for ya'll, though.

[ 04-29-2003, 07:02 AM: Message edited by: supra_celica ]

see thats what i want but then i was instalation and de- indtalation guides for all those,like how to take out the air bags and fogs and stuff like that with pictures, i talked to isaac about making it a tech info or intall part but he said make it a thread first...

UNLESS YOU'RE CAR IS 12 SECONDS OR FASTER, YOU DO NOT, I REPEAT, YOU DO NOT NEED TO REDUCE WEIGHT, IF YOU DO, IT'S USELESS, PERIOD


[ 04-29-2003, 08:03 AM: Message edited by: Steven ]

Look what I found.

2000-03 Toyota Celica GTS
Stock Weight - 2500lbs
Stock Wheel Weight - 22lbs each/without tires
The 2000-03 Toyota Celica's weigh approximately 2500lbs, dividing by the horsepower of 180, we get about 13lbs/hp.
So roughly every 13 lbs removed from the cars weight will add an effective 1 hp.
Gas weighs about 8lbs/gal so 16 gallons in the tank weighs 128lbs. If you have only 1 gallon in the tank, its almost a 7 horsepower equivalent difference. A passenger can make even a bigger difference, not to mention the drivers weight.
You can easily remove things like the spare tire and jack, the floor mats, the rear seats, interior panels and anything else.

Listed below are some easily removable items:
1. Passenger Seat (37lbs) - Removing the passenger seat is a very easy and effective way to give your Celica a small boost in power. The nice thing is that the seat is only held in place by 4 bolts.

2. Rear Seat (29lbs) - The rear seat is a little more complicated to remove than the passenger seat. When removing just remember where everything goes and it should be easy to put back in place whenever needed.

3. Rear Seat Cushion (10lbs) - The rear cushion should be removed at the same time as the rear seat.

4. Floor Mats/Front and Rear (6lbs) - This has to be the easiest weight reduction available for the Celica owner.

5. Tire Floor Cover (3lbs) - The tire floor cover is right underneath the rear hatch carpeting.

6. Spare Tire and Jack (32lbs) - Another easily removable item.

Total Easy Weight Removal = 117lbs or about a 9hp increase.
Intermediate Skill Weight Reductions

The weight reductions included below can even prove more effective than some of the reductions included above. However, once you start removing these items you are taking away from the cars overall appearance and in some cases its more predominent ammenities.

7. Air Conditioning (40lbs) - Removing the air conditioning will net you a reduction of about 40lbs. Be sure to remove everything from the engine as well as behind the dash. Should be completed by the experienced only.

8. Front Hood (50lbs) - Replacing the Front Hood with a lightweight fiberglass or carbon fiber hood is a great way to remove some weight around the front end of the car. Total weight reduction will be close to 50lbs or greater depending on the aftermarket hood you choose.. If you dont intend on replacing the entire fron hood you could also remove the sound dampener on the inside of the hood. This should help in cooling your engine a little.

9. Stock Wheels (22lbs each/replacement weight from 11lbs each) - Replacing the wheels is a must for anyone seriously interested in increasing there cars performance. The stock wheels are quite heavy and can be replaced with a variety of aftermarket models. We would suggest searching for lightweight wheels. Replacing your wheels with lightweight wheels will dramatically increase your cars acceleration. We suggest not going over 17 inches if maximum performance is what you desire to achieve.

10. Front Drivers Seat (40lbs/replacement weight from 14lbs) - The front drivers seat on the Celica can easily be replaced with a much lighter alternative A lightweight racing seat will save you considerable weight and will also be effective once you have added more horsepower to your car.

Total Intermediate Weight Removal = up to 188lbs or a 14+hp increase.
More Weight Reduction
Some of the things listed below can also be removed or replaced with lighter alternatives than stock.
Stock Flywheel - Can be replaced with lightweight aluminum flywheels or machined down in excess of just 13lbs.

Stock Steering Wheel - Can be replaced with lighter performance steering wheel with no airbag.

Passenger Airbag Removal - Can save some extra weight as well. (Not recommended for normal driving)

Interior Panels - Both the drivers side and passenger side front door panels as well as the rear panels can be removed to save in excess of over 40lbs.

Stock Speakers - With a weight of over 2 pounds a piece these can also be easily removed.

Rear Hatch Cover - This can simply be removed whenever needed. Weight is close to 6 lbs.

Replace Stock Exhaust - The stock Celica exhaust weighs considerably more than some of the aluminum aftermarket exhausts. We suggest going with the TRD Exhaust.

Wiper Motors - Although they are generally needed under almost all driving conditions they CAN be removed if need be although we do not personally recommend it.

Carpet - Removing the carpet as well as the carpet lining underneath will reduce the cars overall weight by close to 40lbs. Removing excess wiring and bolts and brackets will also net you a reduction of close to 10lbs.

Dan - That information doesn't look 100% accurate. I could be wrong; however, I need to know your source of info.

Found it on NC.org. It may not be completely accurate, but you get the jist of it. Here is the link:

http://www.newcelica.org/forums/showthread.php?s=e5a0bb555a6956bd4faeb5ebaf3b733b&threadid=77195

[ 04-29-2003, 11:42 AM: Message edited by: Grand-Touring-Dan ]

I've gutted the car before except for my seat, and I can say that I noticed an increase in hp!

It also felt like the Celi's rear was lifting off the ground on turns and when I accelerated. Kinda felt like I was flying.

I hope none of the hardcore 1/4 miles guys find this thread...

I was just replying to the guys topic. I do not know if any of this is true or not. Only one way to find out.

no one mnetioned the TOW-HOOK thats located right under the radiator upfront