Miata on a diet , worth it?
 

Well im considering trying to make my car lose a bit of weight but just wondering if its really worth it at all. If its not going to make any noticable difference id rather just stay full interior.

Anyone got any idea of the weight that can be stripped out without it looking just like a track slag. Id like to keep door cards lol.

I've heard it gets hot. A full interior is the difference between streetable and not streetable, IMO. My sub-2200lb car (with no gas) still has a full interior.

Sawzall to the dash, 5lbs right there. Looks like crap though.

lol.

N/A mine weighed about 2140 with half a tank of fuel. Full interior. I say its worth it.

i am completly gutted, but i also still have door cards. I didn't notice any difference on the butt dyno, and the trans tunnel gets VERY VERY VERY hot in the summer with shorts on.

Trick for that is 'reflectix' on the exhaust tunnel. Otherwise yah.... burning leg syndrome.

just make your interior like mine, its still daily driver friendly and appearance is close to stock

Attachment 208341

I may do that with mine slutz, I love the appearance, bout would keep the radio/bezel shroud because I must retain AC. It would also be incentive to change out that cracked outer shift rubber shift boot.

This has got me thinking. I already want to repower my rack, and the A/C hardly does jack anyhow, so I am considering putting the car on a diet (I'm already on one).

Anyone rip out their A/C and then later seriously regret it?

I lived in Houston for almost 5 years, most of which were spent without functional A/C in my 4runner. It is an evaporator leak, which I still haven't fixed LOL. I curse my own procrastination every time I drive it in the summer, which fortunately isn't too often these days since we have other cars. Rolling down the windows and driving faster helped a little, as long as it didn't get hotter than mid-90s. On those days in the upper 90s or hotter, it just turned the vehicle into a convection oven in which to cook oneself to death. I can more or less tolerate it up here in VA, but life in Houston without A/C is inconceivable. Saving a few pounds is not worth the misery you will inflict upon yourself.

In the U.K. you could probably live without it. Down here you absolutely have to have it or you'll get swamp rot on your ballsack.


It also might hurt your resale value.

I'll run 1/5th of a pound more boost and keep my A/C and P/S thank you.

To the OP, we don't have emmisions testing or anything like that here, so I removed all things related to that that don't affect HP. I've got a box with 100lbs of shit in it probably. Granted I added most/all of that back turboing my car.

LOL Indeed crap it does.

Slutz, do you have any better pictures of the dash?

I've driven Wagz car around town and although is awesome for the track, I like the carpet. I'd rather not tear up my shoes, burn my legs, and listen to the road noise on my sunday drives and road trips to the track.

There is a good list of weights on this page. Go to the "adding lightness" section to get an idea of what things may weigh.

Red Beast - Lightweight Miata

I am currently dieting mine. The AC was for example necessary in NC, but here in Sweden you do not, IMO need an AC if you drive a convertable. PS is also removed and the lines looped. +1 for keeping the carpet, but the stereo and the door liners have reson to be worried in my car. Thinking about it...

But of course, swapping the stock seats for lighter versions is step one.

Edit: fixed for spelling (why can't we do this on my language just for once?!)

:bowrofl: Thats sig worthy. Very true. I cant understand people removing a/c to save 20lbs. Maybe up north where it never gets over upper 70's, but in the southeast where it gets upper 90's or 100's and humid, no no no. No way in hell I would run without a/c. Even with a freshly charged a/c, I have a hard time keeping my interior cool to my liking if Im sitting with the car idling with sun on the roof. Within 5 minutes I start to get a bit sweaty. Im already VERY warm natured, so 70 degrees to me might as well be 90. I can be outside working in the yard in the spring or fall at 70 and be dripping wet and uncomfortable.

Aside from a/c, I still dont see the point of a stripped Miata unless its a race car only, or if you dont care that the interior looks like crap. Not that much weight saving unless you go FULL out like the guy at lightweightmiata did. I tried to do some minor weight reduction, but after adding a roll bar and some other little parts it was over the stock weight anyway, so I gave up the fight. Not worth it for me.

I rode in a stripped out turbo Miata for the first time a week ago. It buzzed. It rattled. It hummed. It vibrated. It was LOUD and not in a pleasant way at all.

It was quick and spry, but it would get old in 3.5 minutes. If I was always wearing a helmet to block out some of the noise and was only running on the track, sure, absolutely I would live with it.

But the guy I rode with spent 3 hours on the road to get to the meet, and had his girlfriend with him. Not the right car for that.

I swear it reminded me of an old, beat-up Jeep CJ-5 that my buddy's dad used to have, But the Miata had much more resonant vibration due possibly to the lack of body on frame construction or maybe just the thinner sheet metal. That was a bare interior woods/hunting Jeep that nobody would really want to go to town in. The Miata was worse.

Again, for a race car, yes, street car, no. And I like to drive stripped out race cars!