extremetls

take it to a weigh station


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Inaccurate

I hereby officially RETRACT my statement above.

I have already mentioned how the little battery has big balls to spin the starter slightly faster than the oem battery.

My only reservation was regarding the reserved capacity of the little battery. As shown in the quote above, I had fears about it going dead with the car sitting in the garage for a extended time.

This weekend, I conducted a test.

I parked the car on Friday at 6pm. I did not touch the car during the entire weekend. I did not touch it today (Monday) either until tonight at 7pm. So, that is 72 hours (3 whole days) of sitting. Tonight when I started it, the car started fine. The starter spinned ever so slightly slower, but still healthy sounding. And, the engine fired-up right away. So, that proves that my initial fears were UNFOUNDED.

But, be warned. This is still not an ordiniary battery. It probably would go dead if you let it sit much long than a few days.

Inaccurate

I have no info on the TSX battery. However, if the little Braillie had not worked out, the TSX was my backup plan.


http://store.summitracing.com/partde...+400109+305025

The Odyssey PC680 is $90 at SummitRacing. The Braillie B14115 is $179. The Odyssey is 14 pounds. The Braillie is 11.5 pounds.

After researching the various little batteries, I noticed that most people preferred the Braillie. The Braillie was mentioned to be lighter, more powerful, and higher quality than the other brands. These comments were from people that had, at some point in time, owned both a Braillie and an Odyssey.

HQTL6SPD

Inaccurate, so as it turns out, the tsx battery is already price tagged at $107. So with my car I've had always had a saying that 'when something is ready to be changed, then that's my chance to upgrade to something better.'

I decided that I'm going to get the braille battery soon, but I might get the other one that weighs 21lbs. Only reason why I'd consider the heavier one is because of the higher amps; in the future I want to upgrade my sound system and also convert to navi. It also claims that it is reliable in extreme cold weather, which I do need here in NY.

PeteThaPitbull

awesome and interesting thread, I too removed a few of the iteams mentioned in this thread to reduce weight. jus a quick question..today i tried to remove the "boat anchor" aka front damper..and had a little trouble gettin those bolts off since the bumper was in the way..do i need to take off the bumper to get the front damper removed or is their an easier solution? if so..how can i get the bumper off?

Inaccurate

No need to remove the bumper. I didn't to get my anchor off. This was before I decided to remove the whole bumper. I took the anchor off as described below.

Remove the nuts highlighted with the GREEN arrow. Do NOT remove the bolts highlighted by the RED arrows.




[In the pic below] The nuts (GREEN arrows from above pic) are located in the location highlighted by the RED arrows in the pic below. To reach the nuts, lay on your back and crawl under the front of the car (close to the front license plate area). You should be able to reach your arm up into this area shown with the GREEN arrows. You will be reaching up along the front of the AC condenser (aka, "radiator"). Be careful to NOT touch the "radiator" fins. They bend super easily.

The green arrows in the pic below are somewhat misleading. The arrows in the pic travel in front of the bumper. You arm will be BEHIND the bumper. That is, your arm will be reaching upward between the bumper and the "radiator".

Also, use a box-in wrench. There is probably not much room to "swing" a ratchet. I think you need a 12mm wrench for the nuts.

outersquare

i don't agree with some of the things that came out, but the information in here is incredible.

PeteThaPitbull

thanks inaccurate, i got it out this morning..came right off but i still needed to take the bumper off..their seemed to be some type of thread adhesive on the nuts that was prevented me taking them off and i was to nervous of slipping and hitting into the fins on the radiator so i did it the careful way..still got it off tho..now when i drive i feel the front end is so much lighter and quick manuvering is a lot easier then before..

05tlvietboi

is there any point of having a spare tire, when you have aftermarket rims (19'' or 20'') and that your car is lowered....?

Inaccurate

Yes, you would still be able to use your oem spare tire.

The car being lowered would not prevent the use of the spare.

Now, the aftermarket wheels might complicate matters but it still would not prevent the use of the spare. If the aftermarket wheels have too much of a difference in overall diameter than the spare, you would need to "hit the switch" to deactivate the VSA while driving on the spare. Also, your aftermarket wheels might be using different wheel lugs than the oem wheel. Be sure to keep 5 lug nuts from your oem wheels next to the spare tire. You should use the oem lug nuts with the spare (in case your aftermarket wheel is using a different type of lug nut).

Inaccurate

PeteThaPitbull,

I am glad to hear that you finally got "unanchored".

Thanks for providing your impression of the mod.

Hey, just between you and me --- did you leave the front bumber off ???

Underoathx90

everything you can take out helps

PeteThaPitbull

jus the anchor came off..put the actual bumper bak on

Inaccurate

I found (stole) a picture from another thread that illustrates what I refer to as

In my opening post -
"18) Plastic cosmetic covers located under car (under the rear floor mat area)."

And, later, I refer to as "Ground Effect Panels". The pic below is Not the entire "Ground Effect Panels". There are more panels Not shown here that collectively weigh 7.0 pounds.

In the pic below, please note the red items indicating what to remove. Remove this one aluminum heat shield ONLY IF you had your mid-muffler removed. Do Not remove any other aluminum heat shields along the exhaust as they are needed. We remove this one shown in red because it is no longer needed since we removed the mid-muffler.

Deep Sea Diver

Nice post

HQTL6SPD

Hey Inaccurate, are there any other plastic covers by the firewall that can be removed? Any sound deadening stuff, it would be great to hear that engine more without having to roll down a window! I've already taken all the top covers off except for the engine cover itself..

Inaccurate

HQTL6SPD,



From these panel from under the front of the car. Item #8 is located under the transmission. Item #7 runs along the bottom of the front facial and wraps around to the passenger side of car. In the pic below, the area where it wraps around is shown. With it removed, this area now becomes open. This open area should help you to get what you are looking for.





Remove the thick fiber felt stuff from the backside of hood. Do Not remove panel covering the top of the radiator. The factory does not paint under there and looks UGLY without that panel.




Do you have a CAI and done the "mid-muffler delete" ? With the CAI and mid-muff delete, the engine should be very easy to hear !

Inaccurate

HQTL6SPD,

BTW, yes, there is some cloth-fiber-like insulation under the hood which insulates the firewall. I do NOT recommend removing this insuation. I feel that it is very much needed to prevent engine heat from intruding/pentrating the interior of the car. This would translate into the air conditioner seeming to not cool enough.

HQTL6SPD

Thanks! I will soon remove those two panels from underneath, if I recall the panel covering the radiator for my car was painted to match by the previous owner. I'm guessing he had panels off, so it doesn't look bad..

HQTL6SPD

Also, isn't it bad to have the pulley exposed to the wheel well junk/ rain & snow?

Inaccurate

From a purely theoretical perspective, sand/grit will find it’s way into the pulley/belt interface and cause accelerated wear. I assume that this theory is what leads you to your question.

“Back in my days”, cars -- from the factory -- had their pulley exposed even more than the TL (with the TL’s covers removed). And, those older cars went 100,000 miles with NO ISSUES to the pulley being exposed.

Sure, the older cars would sometimes squeal when the belt/pulley got damp. But, this was usually an issue with the belt being brittle from age and/or the belt needing to be tighten. Neither of these “older” issues really apply to our modern TL.

Yea, I get a small amount of “road film” on the pulley after driving thru a heavy rain. But, never had an issue. And yes, my belt is quiet (dry or damp).

By the way, I was thinking more about your goal for more engine sound. Removing the panels will Not make the engine easier to hear. It will make it much easier to hear the Beep from the FOB when locking the doors however.

Engines really do not produce noise from the spinning motor itself. There are two sources of engine sound that come to my mind. One source is obviously the exhaust. And, the second source is the intake tract. With any healthily motor (even a racing small-block Chevy engine) will not make any significant engine noise if the intake and exhaust noises are eliminated. Sure, you can hear the valve train operating if the intake and exhaust sounds were eliminated, but I do not consider this to be of significant volume for the sake of our discussion.

So for your goal, you will want to get a CAI and do the mid-muffler delete. This makes those two sources of engine sound (intake and exhaust) louder.

The reason that I removed my panels was for increasing air flow from the engine compartment (lowering ambient temp under the hood) and for less weight.

Costco

I'm certain your car is louder than before, but how louder would you say it is than before you started all of this?

Inaccurate

If your mean my car, None. Since I removed all of that stuff, my car has no difference in sound what so ever that I have percieved. Not from outside of the car, and not from inside of the car.

The only thing that affected the sound of my car was the AEM CAI and the mid-muffler delete.

However, the beep when using the FOB to lock the doors is easier to hear. And the horn is louder. Other than these two things, there are no differences in sound that I have percieved since I removed stuff.

outersquare

did you ever mention how your car idles without the subframe damper?

Inaccurate

Nope, I never mentioned it. But, I can.

I have removed 3 dampers (front bumper "anchor", rear trunk, and subframe). I have Not noticed any increased vibration from removing any of the 3 dampers. Furthermore, I notice No increase in vibration from having all 3 dampers removed collectively.

The only time that I noticed a change in vibration was when getting the UR pulley. The UR pulley made the car idle SMOOTHER !!!!

PeteThaPitbull

hey inaccurate, how did you readjust/aim your headlights? it doesnt say anything other then just bringing it back to the dealer to re-aim the lights in the owners manual. i noticed my driver left side headlight aims about 3-4 inches lower then my right, i guess they do this so it doesnt blind oncoming traffic but with removed weight i think it got worse and it jus annoy's the sh8t out of me

Inaccurate

Here is a thread that show you how to adjust the lights

https://acurazine.com/forums/ramblings-12/ever-get-shocked-camera-d-146132/

Please note the post by me (Post #3, #11, #12).

evantec

Now that your car is lighter, have you noticed any improvement in fuel economy? While you mainly did the diet to improve speeds and handling, the lighter car might save you some gas (if you're not driving everywhere with a lead foot!) Any improvement in the MPG?

krravi

"start loosing weight urselft to help the addiction"

LOL !

Cocoa

iTrader: (2)

I did that. But I would like to say you dont need dry ice to do it. I started using dryice, and then when I ran out, I attempted to do it without it the next day. And it chipped right off no problem. I just used a nice big flathead and a good hammer. By the way, the total weight loss for that was only 24lbs. And it took me at least 8 hours to complete. But, worth it, neverthelss.

Inaccurate

For sure 1.5 mpg and might even be 2 mpg. This is for "mixed" driving of half freeway and half side streets. I have not check the pure freeway mileage yet since the TL Diet.

Here is some recent MID readings for my mixed driving.


MID READOUT
---------------------
Avg MPG = 25
Avg Speed = 31

Avg MPG = 25
Avg Speed = 30


By the way, these reading are for one week. I reset my MID once per week.

Inaccurate

For me, I have done this. In the past, I never had the motivation to lose much weight. So, I had the TL Diet to credit for giving me the motivation (strength) to lose weight. I weight the lightest that I have been in the past 7 years !!!


And, I am still pushing myself to lose more weight. Each time I want to over eat, I ask myself which I would rather have - the temporary pleasure of eating or the joy of "driving light".



ITEMIZED LIST OF WEIGHT REDUCTION
---------------------------------
40.0 Reduced Fuel (buy just 4.5 gallons at a time)
40.0 Rims
34.0 Spare Tire (use lightweight 12V air pump)
27.5 Braille Battery
23.0 Trunk Panels
17.0 Front Bumper
16.0 Rear Bumper
9.0 Side Airbag
8.5 Mid Muffler
8.0 CAI
7.5 Front Damper
7.0 UR Crank pulley
7.0 Ground Effect Panels
6.0 Engine Bay Panels
6.0 Rear seat Arm Rest
5.5 Subwoofer Speaker
5.0 Floor Mats
4.0 Reduced wiper fluid (use 1 pint at a time)
3.7 Rear seat Insulation
3.5 Engine Cradle Damper
2.5 Glovebox Plate
2.4 Owner Manual
1.8 Hood Insulation
1.5 Trunk Damper
0.5 Coin holder & sunglass holders
---------------------------------------------
287.5 Lbs TOTAL
10.0 Personal weight loss (attributed to this project)
---------------------------------------------
297.5 Lbs TOTAL NET

HQTL6SPD

Inaccurate, in the front doors, those pockets that pivot open by the speakers, they each have some sort of plastic holder of some sort. It comes out pretty easy, should together be another 1LB-1.5LB..


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krravi

I respect that. I am going to try that myself. !

Inaccurate

Done it already. However, I do appreciate the ideas.


ITEMIZED LIST OF WEIGHT REDUCTION
---------------------------------
40.0 Reduced Fuel (buy just 4.5 gallons at a time)
40.0 Rims
34.0 Spare Tire (use lightweight 12V air pump)
27.5 Braille Battery
23.0 Trunk Panels
17.0 Front Bumper
16.0 Rear Bumper
9.0 Side Airbag
8.5 Mid Muffler
8.0 CAI
7.5 Front Damper
7.0 UR Crank pulley
7.0 Ground Effect Panels
6.0 Engine Bay Panels
6.0 Rear seat Arm Rest
5.5 Subwoofer Speaker
5.0 Floor Mats
4.0 Reduced wiper fluid (use 1 pint at a time)
3.7 Rear seat Insulation
3.5 Engine Cradle Damper
2.5 Glovebox Plate
2.4 Owner Manual
1.8 Hood Insulation
1.5 Trunk Damper
0.5 Coin holder & sunglass holders
---------------------------------------------
287.5 Lbs TOTAL
10.0 Personal weight loss (attributed to this project)
---------------------------------------------
297.5 Lbs TOTAL NET

nickdick

i think weight reduction is good but with all the weight taken off the front end is much likley a lot heaver than the rear. This could cause trouble when you want to take the turns fast......what do you think?

Cocoa

iTrader: (2)

I think you have it backwards.

Anyways, you can always get a car counter weight balanced, but that's something you'd do if you were going to build a track car. I dont think that's he's intension. And to fix any understeer, tuning of the suspension would help a great load with that.

Nothing like softening the front and stiffening the rear to get a neutral effect when conering. Althought this is not always the case, but a begining point when dealing with a FWD platform.

Cocoa

iTrader: (2)

Inaccurate

Cocoa,

Thanks for the info ! It's appreciated. Those pics are awesome. Wow !!

Hey, you're even a fellow Texan !

Cocoa

iTrader: (2)

I was born in Houston

And the job took me a little less than 8 hours, not 20+ like that one kid in the honda tech boards.

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