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

The only way you are going to drip that much weight is to build yourself a tube chassis and make yourself a dedicated race car...the heaviest parts of the Supra are the actual body/frame. The parts that you can practically swap...hood, fenders, hatch, glass, doors, interior, a/c, powersteering (not to practical in a 3000+ lbs car) don't really weigh that much. The Supra was designed to be heavy. It's a Grand Touring car...designed to drive at high speeds for extended periods of time on real world roads. Just come to terms with it and embrace what was planned for the car from Toyota. If you want a super light car...buy a CRX or AE86 (if you can find one).

Yes, but you CAN cut a lot of things out, and still look quite stock. Stock interior is VERY heavy, composed of fiberboard, foam, and then vinyl over that, plus all the sound matting all over the car. It's up to you, if you want to make a race car, gut the interior (sell the parts, you'll make a ton :lol: ) and make a custom lightweight interior, or none at all and race. Supras are heavy and are stable at high speeds because of it, so it's up to you...

Only way to go faster is...
1) Lighten up
2) More power!!
3) More gearing

It's not TOO hard to get more power...and you still end up with a nice car girls will ride in B)

is it for street use and strip or just strip/track??

well, i normally drive higway racers and 10 second street cars. so i like em both, but i will be doing both of the above with the sup. even if i cut a ton of weight, im still going ot be really stable at high speed because it will still be heavy by any standard.

pull all the electric motors out. The front seats has 6 motors in it??... like 70 lbs or something crazy?? plus ya got 2 in the doors, 2 in the headlights, 2 in the mirrors, and 1 in the power antenna? did i miss any??? who can do the math lol.. 13 motors @ average 7 lbs each plus the hardware. so call it 10 lbs each, for total of 130lbs in just electric motors crap..
then get the aluminum flywheel (-40lbs) and aluminum driveline or in CF(-40lbs). get the exhaust system made from CF or ceramic even.(-30lbs++). Get magnesium ultra light wheels w/ low pro tires(-100lbs). just start swapping or fabricate every thing else from carbon fiber... upper and lower controll arms front and back..there probly (-80lbs) both swaybars.(-20) on front and rear in CF and valve covers in CF(-5lbs), use the smaller lighter under drive the pullies(-10lbs). change the intercooler plumbing to aluminum pipe(-20lbs). Cf the glove box and dash and armrest console.(-10lbs) its a wash bit looks sweet.. drill the rotors out (-10lbs) and remove the spare tire. (-15lbs)

Pull the carpet and remove the pad and door panels.. (-12lbs).. weld all the spotwelds and seams and fill the frame with viagra foam.. stiffener it up a bit..(+5Lbs) pull the ac..(-50lbs+-) it would be cool to see a whole supra body in CF.unpainted... (-150lbs++) shhhwing..

these #'s are just tossed out there so dont quote me please as i have nothing to back it up with its just my guestimation and im probaly way off.. and its late lol...

however, that may trim 600 -700 lbs of dead weight maybe bring it down to under 3000lbs or less.? just need to preload the rear end a bit with torsion bars? and or sandbags now to get some good hook up.. besides replacing floors and crap with aluminum or CF.. i think thats bout it..? replace glass with lexan?? any thing i didnt address? fill tires up with heliumm lol ok ok now thats just plain silly. hmmm...

my 2-6 cents.. :ph34r: less weight = fast and loose..

what is viagra foam???

It is a foam that starts out as a liquid and you pour it into all the gaps in the frame and body and it expands and sets up harder. It helps to add rigidity to the car.

where do i get it or some info on it? i could have used it in my 240.

if you have the money, use chromemoly tubing for a roll cage. maximum rigidity at its lightest.

Bah, spend your time and money on making more power :lol: OK, so I'm a baby and like my creature comfort...

The biggest things i can think of to remove is the spare tire and jack, back seat, don't put subs in it (duuuuh, they're HUGE HEAVY MAGNETS), and that will trim you down a bit. Aluminum one piece drive shaft will be stronger and lighter than the stock part. If you lighten the flywheel you lose a bit of the torque from the spinning mass on hookup and between shifts. I'd focus more on pulling out power from the engine, don't run your A/C when you race, get an electric fan, get the underdrive pulley for the crank (it's lighter than stock too), ect... though you're likely to get more gains from simply adding more boost, then intake and exhaust.

Keep in mind, these cars can pull something like .87g's off the showroom floor in the mid 80's on CRAP tires and stock suspension, upgrade it and you'll likely pull far more.

That's where I'd put my focus if I was either drag racing or road racing, making things out of carbon fiber is more expensive than simply adding more power on these cars...

i did a search for "viagra foam"....not what i think its supposed tp be searched as. haha. and i plan on using chromoly or aluminum for most things or CF. where can i get custom cut lexan? does it need bracing, and how weather resistant is it?

Lexan isn't street legal and it will yellow, warp, scratch really easy. The general way to work with it is to get a sheet of it, pull out the glass, and use the glass as a template, it's pretty easy to cut. On the back hatch I don't think it would be a good idea since the glass is actually under stress and is used for support.

The foam he's probably talking about is pretty easy to find, go to a home improvement store, and get the foam that's made to insulate, it can come in cans, or be mixed. Though there really isn't any areas I can think of to use that, since it's not a body on frame car....

its a joke.. viagra is a penis stiffener for old men. as to foam is a chassis stiffener for old cars ok bad joke.. ... look for 2 part "expansion foam" it has a very quick working time .. like 60 seconds..... .

The topic is about lightening it up i thought?? not increasing power ??? but decreasing the weight.? lexan is for the track duh..and i dont know how the race regs want it installed. just tossing ideas out there

peace out :ph34r:

its a joke.. viagra is a penis stiffener for old men. as to foam is a chassis stiffener for old cars ok bad joke.. ... look for 2 part "expansion foam" it has a very quick working time .. like 60 seconds..... .

The topic is about lightening it up i thought?? not increasing power ??? but decreasing the weight.? lexan is for the track duh..and i dont know how the race regs want it installed. just tossing ideas out there

peace out :ph34r: [/b][/quote]
i know it was a joke, i was joking about the search too....i didnt actually search viagra foam. haha. yeah i found some at home depot. does it actually help stiffen the shatty?

ive seen it done, however i dont know how much it helps.. it was after all seams were welded just to tie all the inner serfaces together?

The original question is about taking weight off this super heavy car. I would say if you want to race hardcore tear it up (all the interior out and so forth) go all out,(you can just throw comfort out the window, which i suppose doesn't matter when your racin on the track lol) this will utilize the power that the supra already produces. For those of us who still want to keep our precious interior add more power to pull the weight.

either strip it down or keep adding aftermarket parts to make it faster

i took the backseats outta my supra...that stuff is heavier than i thought... and i ripped out the floor matting in teh rear...i replaced it with by bolting on a fiberglass cover...but i made holes in it so my rollcage can still run through it...it kind of looks weird...but it doesnt show the bare metal which is fine... so as of now its a true two seater...its not like you could actually fit a person back there anyways, my fiberglass cover molds to the interior lines of the car...so it looks pretty good, it also goes to the trunk...sorry no nitrous back there...i like to run witout the extra juice...i got my spare and jack underneath the fiberglass...its like a trap door kind of idea taht lifts up... its tough to shave weight and theres a lot of things you can take out...

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.

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

Weight reduction??
 

i was wondering what are some major ways to cut some weight on my 90 turbo supra, i was thinking ripping the rear seats and a carbon fiber hood and maybe lexsand rear window if they make them. any other suggestions?

get new seats, a/c, power steering, carbon fiber or fiberglass hatch, lighter rims, carpet, take out all of the sound deadening stuff under the carpet, etc...

spare tire
 

Might get one of them donut tires that looks like hell instead of the full sized spare or just have a couple of cans of fix a flat. If you go that route you can dump the jack too. A passenger seat for the driver side might be an idea too if you can swap the crank and recline handle to the other side, its gotta be much lighter than the electric drivers one.

The seats so weigh a LOT!! You could probably save a hundred lbs by getting aftermarket seats. After that the weight savings go out in much smaller increments. The Supra is just a heavy car. It was supposed to be a touring car and quiet, but it is sad that with all the weight, it isn't very rigid. If I take my targa top off, I can really feel the car flex, I mean it is very noticeable!

It seems like it would be easier to get stiffer suspension mods and more power than lightening up these cars or buy the MK 1V.

Russ

Taking the rear seats out wont do much. They weigh a total of like 15 lbs. All the back seats are is pads. The front seats tho, do weigh a lot. Even the passenger seat is still pretty heavey, but the drivers is terrible. You should also get a lighter 1 piece driveshaft, and all the lighter rotating things. Rotatiing weight is worse for your car than static weight. Getting a CF/FB hood and hatch and fenders would save a lot too. And find a way to eliminate the front and rear bumpers, unless you live in NJ. haha. I would also suggest stripping the whole inside and welding up all the seams. They used cheap spot welds all over, which allow the car to flex a lot. Also did anyone ever make a set of subframe connectors? they make a BIG difference in the F bodies and Mustangs. An btw, all targa/T-top cars are flexy like that. The roof is a big piece of structure.

the reason i would never own a convertable

Ive been thinking about the subframe connectors, Someone should market some :) noone seems to care how their supra handles. Aside from ridiculously overpriced coilovers, and strut bars, Which btw wouldnt do anything cause the mk3 does not have struts and there is no lateral force on the shocks, There isnt really any suspension parts available. Im sure the SF connectors would tighten the car up a lot. Its the same unibody construction as most rwd sports cars, And they do wonders on other cars for traction. Im sure the car has potential to handle great. As it already does, Stock.

huh? arent struts and shocks the same? if not someone enlighten me

shocks just resist the movement of the suspension, and give the spring a place to act, in the mk3 anyway. A strut is actually a structural piece of the suspension. It takes the place of the upper a arm and shock/spring. Which is why strut bars and camber plates are useless on supras. Camber plates are for whne you lower a front wheel drive car, it moves the struts out, so the camber isnt so far in. And stut tower braces stop the struts from moving closer and away from each other, which also doesnt happen on a supra, because it has shocks. Mk3 btw, not too sure if mk4 is struts or shocks

BTW, Someone should make a "Lightening your Supra" sticky, because it seems to be something a lot of people want to do.

A lot of people try and lighten the car up, but it will always be a heavy car... imo.. :)

I upgraded the turbo and added supporting mods which added weight, but now makes more power, so it just seems the car is lighter.. ;)

To add to this thread now, My favorite answer is to take out the spare tire and replace it with a AAA card..

AAA is really good actually. My friend got a flat tire at school and they were there and had it changed in under an hour. Im gona fab up some subframe connectors before i do anything else to the car just to see if they work good. And next is welding the entire inside of the car up. Its a targa...so it needs the stiffness.

Isphius: Look at MDCMotorsporsts site, Jon has some sweet cages that will stiffen flex.

If I was going to drag race at all, I would leave the MK3 supra in the driveway and pick up a MK2 chassis and install a 7mgte for an instant 800lbs in weight reduction from a MK3 platform.

hey for you Targa guys looking for a way to reduce flex, Im now working on a targa brace that will be available soon. I should have my prototype by the end of this week.

I'll keep ya all informed when I have more info

There is a pretty nice looking mk2 for sale by me...im gona see what he wants for it.

I was going to differ with you, but then I went and looked again and sure enough we do have upper control arms! I had just kinda assumed that since the shock/spring combo on the mk3 LOOKED like a strut it WAS a strut, but now I see your point.

however I will beg to differ on the strut bar not helping. It all depends on the type of strut bar you use. If you have a simple crossover bar, its doing very little if anything. But if you have a triangulated bar tying in the firewall you have created a triangle at 90 degrees from your frame/fender/firewall triangle. This will infact reduce chassis flex and most definately improve a "loose frame". These triangle bars are especially useful on Targa's, where chassis flex is a real problem.

Truth! but i havent seen people use any of those yet. But then again they dont need to connect to the shock towers, It would help more if they were attached to the subframe by the suspension mounts. Im gona try to make something like that. What would also work on the shock mounts, which is kinda impossible, is a triangle going through the engine block. Like the triangulated ones, with the back point facing straigh down. That would stop them from up and down moving.

Official lightening the mk3 thread!!!!
 

AHH!!!!!!!!

How much would one of those Targa braces go for? I do not currently own a Supra, but I want to buy a MK III Turbo Targa in the next few months. The thing is, Ive heard the frame flex's quite a bit and it would be better to get a hard top...? I guess a brace would fix that though.

Weezl sells those. The car is fine with the roof on, its just like any other car, but with the top off its pretty annoying, but its not bad/detrimental, just get used to the rattles and youll be fine.