Free HP = Weight Reduction!!!!

Well all of us are constantly looking for more power and torque. Most of us can only afford I/H/E and thats about as far as we get. We get maybe 12-25hp at the most out of those three upgrades. Ive been searching a little and have found out that weight reduction is really effective in adding a moderate amount of horsepower(depending on how much weight you remove). But first how do you find out how much weight to remove to gain HP? Here are the factory weights of 4cyl. 6th gen Accords..

quote:

ORIGINAL: 00AccordLX5sp

4cyl LX Auto Sedan = 3075  Coupe = 3014
4cyl LX Manual Sedan = 3020 Coupe = 2948
4cyl EX Auto Sedan = 3120 Coupe = 3048
4cyl EX Manual Sedan = 3064 Coupe = 2981
It only makes sense to me that the coupe weighs less than the sedan.
Here's a link: http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/spec_Exterior.aspx?year=2000&make=Honda&model=Accord&trimid=-1

Just take the weight of your car and divide by the amount of HP you have(overall weight/HP).. I will be using the auto EX coupe as the example. Weight_ 3048/ HP(roughly, depending on mods)_155==19.7lbs./hp. So for every 19.7lbs removed, 1hp will be gained!!!! Take into account that 1 gallon of gas weighs about 8lbs. So 16 gallons of gas weighs 128lbs. If you only have 1 gallon in the tank opposed to 16, you gain 6-7hp.

Here are some things you can remove to reduce weight. The poundages are all rough estimates but somewhat close. Take into account that removing most of this stuff isnt recommended for everyday driving and will make your car look really ghetto. But if you want HP for free then you gotta sacrifice something.These #'s are what weight is reduced by removing or replacing(if noted) items..

Rear seats_25lbs
Rear seat belts(no seats, dont need seatbelts)_5lbs
Front passenger seat_30-40lbs
Replace drivers seat w/ lighter one_up to 20lbs
Floor mats_5lbs
Carpet(and capet lining underneath)_25lbs
Sound deadening(Have to scrape off floorboard)_up to 12lbs
Center console_4lbs
Glove box_3lbs
Door and rear speakers_6lbs
Headliner, sunvisors_5lbs
Spare tire, jack, tools_30lbs
Trunk carpet_8lbs
Replace hood w/ CF or FG_up to 50lbs
Replace trunk w/ CF or FG_up to 40lbs
Replace fenders w/ CF or FG_up to 20lbs
Replace heavy stock exhaust_15lbs
Lightweight Flywheel_8lbs
Interior panels_up to 30lbs
Air conditioning(haha)_40lbs
Replace stock wheels w/ lightweight_up to 35lbs
Door panels_15lbs.
Replace battery w/ lightweight one_up to 15lbs
Excess bolts, brackets, etc_8lbs
 
Total= 464lbs removed
 
464/19.7= 23.56HP gained
 
This process will also improve your gas mileage as well. There ya go... If you plan on building a N/A Accord for the track, street, or whatever else, this extra HP can be helpful. And hey, if your planning to race somebody soon, just take some stuff out and keep your gas tank at 1/4 or less, and you'll have even better chances of winning...
 

That's interesting, but it's overdoing it in my opinion. Good write-up!

i have removed a good portion of my interior already
 
and for the record you dont actually "gain" hp, its not like the engine makes more power, you just get a better hp/weight ratio. 
 
and your estimates are a little high
 
unless your hood weighs 70lbs 

dont forget the stock intake if youve done IHE. That thing isnt exactly light.

quote:

ORIGINAL: live2rice

i have removed a good portion of my interior already

and for the record you dont actually "gain" hp, its not like the engine makes more power, you just get a better hp/weight ratio. 

and your estimates are a little high

unless your hood weighs 70lbs 

 
I said rough estimates because I dont know exact weights of all this stuff, do you? It will "feel" like you gained HP because lighter=faster was what I was getting at...

What about the coupe curb weights? Also, are these weights including a full tank of gas and driver or just the car?

quote:

ORIGINAL: BlkCurrantKord

What about the coupe curb weights? Also, are these weights including a full tank of gas and driver or just the car?

 
The coupes are listed right after the sedans in the list. You must of not seen em. I'm not sure if the weight includes full tank and driver or not.... I would guess no

May be a good reason to lose weight. Ha. No really, that's pretty good. Have you ever seen the post(may have been on another forum) about a team taking all the doors, panels, trunk, hood, and everything else that doesn't help the car go? It looked terrible but was pretty quick compared to how it used to be.

great post! very interesting! i asked yesterday in one thread (which i forgot which one was it) about that...
 
Thanxs!

I'll pass

quote:

ORIGINAL: j_man_honda

quote:

ORIGINAL: BlkCurrantKord

What about the coupe curb weights? Also, are these weights including a full tank of gas and driver or just the car?

The coupes are listed right after the sedans in the list. You must of not seen em. I'm not sure if the weight includes full tank and driver or not.... I would guess no

Those are dry weights. Doesn't include gas, driver, oil, or fluids.

A general rule of thumb in drag racing is that for every 100lbs of weight removed, your ET will be reduced by approximately 1/10th of a second.

just as the say in Mythbusters : "if its worth doing, its worth overdoing" haha, woohoo

quote:

ORIGINAL: superballz00

quote:

ORIGINAL: j_man_honda

quote:

ORIGINAL: BlkCurrantKord

What about the coupe curb weights? Also, are these weights including a full tank of gas and driver or just the car?

The coupes are listed right after the sedans in the list. You must of not seen em. I'm not sure if the weight includes full tank and driver or not.... I would guess no

Those are dry weights. Doesn't include gas, driver, oil, or fluids.

Curb weight is supposed to include all fluids being full, but no driver, passengers, or cargo.
 
Usually specifications say curb weight & not dry weight.
 

x2
curb weight is all fluids. dry weight is without fluids.

I got those numbers from MSN.com.  I don't really know how accurate they are or if it is inclusive of gas and fluids
When I lose the 60lbs I need to this year, my car will be faster Haha!

Hmm...I got cf trunk, hood, nothing in the trunk, lost the drum brakes, light weight rims. Soon a light weight seat(s) and 5spd swap and no more sunroof.

tell your signifigant others that they can't ride with you since it will slow your car down and hurt your fuel economy.  150 lbs/19.7 = 7.6 hp, more than most SRI's generate.  So there you have it, no more passengers! *L*

official weight reduction thread

http://www.cb7tuner.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=10770&highlight=weight+reduction

quote:

ORIGINAL: thunder_x

official weight reduction thread

http://www.cb7tuner.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=10770&highlight=weight+reduction

 
Pretty much everything I listed... And I doubt the A/C system weighs 80+lbs....

i can see the entire system weighing that much. All those metal tubes and such...

the ac stuff is pretty heavy
i recently had my ac compressor replaced

quote:

Pretty much everything I listed... And I doubt the A/C system weighs 80+lbs....

Lol, it can... a lot of muscle cars turned drag cars don't have their A/C Systems in. Evaporater alone in some of those cars is like 25lbs.

Some of those stripped out Hatchback Civics are just a drivers seat, steering wheel, and shifter. Uncomfortable, yes.. quick.. some...

uhm I will start with 3515lbs and about 280HP under the new ratings so without taking anything out of my car I am already at 12.55 lbs per HP. I'll stick with:
 
bank vault quet cabin
heathed leather seats
6cd changer
moon roof
kicking engine
excellent fuel economy
148.6mph top speed (verified with teh ol' GPS :P )
 
lol what would you rather take on a road trip, a gutted car that is slower and WAY NOISIER or a loaded car that is faster?........ I would never gut a daily driver and would only gut a track car.........oh and PS, chicks usually do not dig gutted cars.......

PS - If using our car to get chicks is all that really mattered to us, we couldn't be driving hond accords.
 
Some of us have more to offer than riding around in a "luxury oriented" import.