Official lightening the mk3 thread!!!!

[Isphius]

Getting the hood and front fenders made of fiberglass would lighten the car up a bit. And also does anyone know how much the stock bumpers weigh? i took them off of my monte carlo had to be 50 lbs each. I actually replaced them with Foam and fiberglass to hold the plastic in place. I dunno how it would hold up in a crash but it isnt a street legal car anyway. Stripping the car down to a piece of metal would work. And just get 2 passenger seats or get racing seats. Im sure that power seat weighs a lot and isnt all that neccesary. I can move my seat with man power lol.

[dcrusupra]

Actually, the fenders are really light in themselves. It surprised me at how light they are. Maybe 15-20 lbs.

[JunkerMK3gte]

about your lightening the car. you are right the mk 3 has traction problems. some affiliated with weight in the back....BUT the main cause is the assemly of traction planting components. first the bushings. there is so much flex in those subframe and control arm rubber it takes more weight to get better traction. and two the chassis. easiest fix is to weld conectors to the front and rear subframes.second fix is to replace your bushings with urithanes..some are available.. but youll have to reserch. i had put a post up of some upgrades not available any where.....ie chromoly subframe replacements w/ chomo control arms and spherical bearing ends....solid. a stock 200 hp car can utilise it just as well as a 700 hp car. although the more horsepower and torque you supply the more noticable.around 3k you can pick up some suprising times and loose almost 300 lbs. being as rigid as it is it isnt quite fessable for a country driven car. it substantialy stiffens EVERYTHING up... including the ride

Originally Posted by acousticrawk

Isphius -
Lightening the mk3 supra....

Ok, I always see posts on this, so im making an official lightening the mk3 thread, built of all the other lightening threads. If you have anything at all to say about taking a few pounds of your supra, post it here. Ill start by stating my position on lightening the mk3

Everyone seems to want to take weight out of the back. Subs, spare tire, seats, rear interior, etc. This is where you want the weight. A powerful mk3 would probably cut some time off its 60 foot and quarter mile if you threw a bag of cement in the hatch. If you have a high powered mk3, someone pleaseeee try this for me. I would empasize taking weight out of the front, or at least the middle. Definatley get your battery relocated to the back, its not hard. take out whatever from under the hood you dont really need. I took ut my charcoal canister, cruise control, and a few other parts. Get rid of the a/c if you want, it totals about 20 lbs. Im also planning on cutting as much metal off the front end as possible using a rotozip. Im also going to make fiberglass mk3 fenders and hoods, and maybe other parts, with the intention of saving weight. What i strongly recomend, If you have money to spend, get an aluminum 1 piece driveshaft, lightweight fly wheel, and lighter small diameter wheels (15s), with small tires(low profile). This alone will give you a 10x bigger gain than most of the weight taken off the car. The smaller tires will shrink rotating weight, and increase your effective final drive. Another thing i would suggest doing is changing the seats to light weight racing seats, the mk3 seats are heavyyy. Also, pull the carpet up, and remove all the padding and sound deadening material. It is pretty dense and heavy. But all in all, the weight in the mk3 is actually well used. The car is very stiff, and it helps it handle and ride well in the real world. And as a disclaimer, I dont not guarantee that anything mentioned is safe, so do so at your own risk. /rant off!!!

Edit - post #911. Thats almost as bad-luck-ish as # 666!

acousticrawk -

"what can you do, besides cut the interior and get a carbon fiber hood? id like to cut 600 or more lbs....i know thats quiet the diet but anyone have ideas, i just wanna make sure i didnt over look something obvious or unobvious. thanks!"

- sorry for using your post, but i needed to have the first post as an explanation

[illusive38]

Don't forget the near even balance front/back of the supra either. The ratios are great because of the weight on the steer tires and the traction tires.
A wider stance and endless power options for this wonder car make weight a minor issue. But the seating could be lightened and allow for minor weight lessoning while maintaining balance...