ACCURATEin

With a full tank reaching into $60 a pop, i think more of you guys should consider extracting some components out of your TLs.



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Bearcat94

Says the man with no kids (yet) and no back seats. :lol:

REY

Agreed, but only $60??? Hell I've reached almost $70 at 4.50/gal with ease. Oh well at least I don't drive a hummer.

KzooTL

Man this thread is crazy hahahah

But i'll have to admit 500+ lbs is alot of wieght, personally i was thinking passenger seat and spare tire.

I think if you park your car overnight in the right neighborhood, someone could help you with stripping down your car lol.

Inaccurate

Exactly. I pretty much given-up on trying to communicate to the reader what my car feels like. No one will ever believe it. I would not had believed it either.

Here are the many aspects that are vastly improved.

I have a "big brake" kit.
I have stainless steel braided brake lines.
I have stiffer roll bars, front AND back.
I have stiffer springs (but not stiffer rate).
I have great suspension travel ( I "motocross" (aka, no slowing down) over bumps with the travel absorbing the irregularity and the car smoothly rolling past it).
I have performance shocks with great rebound control.
I have a huge increase (22%) in my engine torque from idle to redline.
I have a 22% increase in HP thru the entire RPM range from idle to redline.
I got much better gas mileage around town (stop and go). In Houston trafic, I still get 27 MPG even with several daily episodes of WOT.

I got all of these things without buying any of them. All of these things come naturally with the weight loss.

Cheers

corpsdawg

I'd imagine everyday is as exciting as the last. I dont understand why people wanna add their . Good job with the car man. Have you considered a lighter radiator or brakes?

Inaccurate

corpsdawg,

I got my eye on these

RacingBrake Two-piece rotor (click here)




But at $600 to save approx 12 Lbs, they are on the "back burner".

Regarding the radiator, I think the oem is aluminum with plastic end-caps. It might be difficult to save much in this area. Just my idle thoughts without really checking into it. However, please let me know if you have any insight about the oem radiator.

REY

Those are cool but damn expensive.

Eoanou

Does anyone happen to know the weight of the stock front a rear rotors, I might consider these two piece rotors as I could use better brakes.

Also if I'm not mistaken less weight at the brakes has an effect similar to light weight wheels a slight increase in performance as there is less weight at the wheels.

Inaccurate

According to the RacingBrake website, their rotors weigh 5.7 lbs less (per rotor) than oem.

As for the added advantage of this being rotational mass, I am afraid that not much is gain in this respect. The problem is that those 5.7 lbs are all located in the center rotor hub (not the outer disc). This means that the reduced weight is located very near the axis of rotation. Thus, there is little "flywheel effect" reduction.

On the other hand, 11 lbs of weight loss is still a good improvement. Plus, 11 lbs of unsprung weight loss is very nice indeed.

bent09

iTrader: (1)

when am I going to see this thing in person at a meet?



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Inaccurate

UPDATE

I GOT ANOTHER 10 POUNDS OFF OF THE CAR !!!!!

:gheywave::gheywave:


Here is another update. My car is 2-1/2 years old and I thought I would celebrate by removing more stuff.


I have more deletions planned when the weather gets cooler and I get several days off from work (perhaps Thanksgiving or Christmas break). Talk to you soon.


Weight Reduction Since Last Update
-----------------------------------------------
5.5 Center console armrest
3.7 Rear radio speakers
1.4 Kick panels under front dash
--------------------------------------------
10.6 Lbs Total


As I had suspected from viewing the schematic, there is a heavy gauge steel plate used to support the armrest. This is very similar to the heavy plate used for the glove box. Below is a pic showing this steel plate.



Pic below shows the console after the armrest deletion.



Pic below shows the kick panel removed from driver side.



Pic below shows the kick panel removed from passenger side.




ITEMIZED LIST OF WEIGHT REDUCTION
-----------------------------------------------------
84.0 Racing Seats and racing restraint system (see Warning #3 below)
40.0 Reduced fuel (buy just 4.5 gallons at a time)
40.0 Rims
36.0 Rear seat delete
34.0 Spare tire (use lightweight 12V air pump)
27.5 Braille battery
23.0 Trunk panels
17.5 Parking brake and lever (see Warning #1 below)
17.0 Front bumper
16.0 Rear bumper
13.0 Personal weight loss (attributed to this project)
10.0 Front seat kick panels
9.0 Side curtain airbags (see Warning #2 below)
8.5 Mid muffler delete
8.5 Seatbelts for rear seat
8.0 CAI
7.5 Front damper
7.0 UR Crank pulley
6.0 Engine bay panels
6.0 Rear seat arm rest
5.5 Subwoofer speaker
5.5 Ground effect panels
5.5 Rear deck
5.5 Center console armrest
5.0 Floor mats
4.0 Reduced wiper fluid (use 1 pint at a time)
3.7 Rear seat insulation
3.7 Rear speakers
3.5 Engine cradle damper
3.5 Small airbags in front seats (see Warning #2 below)
3.0 Megan pipe replacing oem 3rd cat
2.5 Glovebox plate
2.4 Owner manual
1.8 Hood insulation
1.5 Trunk damper
1.5 Splash guards for front brake rotors
1.4 Kick panels under front dash
1.2 Xm radio reciever
1.0 Exhaust heat shield
0.5 Coin holder & sunglass holders
------------------------------------------------------------
480.6 Lbs TOTAL



DYNAMIC WEIGHT REDUCTION
----------------------------------------------
433 Static weight loss
105 Dynamic weight loss from UR Pulley
120 Dynamic weight loss from rims
---------------------------------------------
658 Lbs DYNAMIC TOTAL



ESTIMATED WEIGHT
------------------------------------
3580 - 480 = 3100 Static
3580 - 658 = 2922 Dynamic



EQUIVALENT HP INCREASE
------------------------------------
(3580 lbs / 2922 lbs) x 258 hp = 316 HP (equivalent output)
316 hp - 258 hp = 58 HP (equivalent increase)

Note: This is not just peak hp increase. This is
a 22.5% increase across entire rpm range
for both the HP and TORQUE power curves.



Warning #1: Parking brake is mandatory to pass state inspection in many states.
Warning #2: Tampering with oem airbags is illegal in many states.
Warning #3: Use of aftermarket seats and/or seatbelts can cause injury or death.






-------- The TL Diet: Woo Hoo, What a Ride !!! --------

I hate cars

Did you just remove the top portion? I'm assuming the center console is still intact. Can you tell the kick panels were removed when you're sitting in the car?

It just occurred to me, do you think you're ever going to part with some of the stock parts you pulled out like the seats??? Think about it, if you sell me your low mileage seats, you could say you made money making your car faster.

I'm starting a similar project on the GN. There's an 800hp Vette I need to beat, going to push a few more psi boost but due to the limitations of the stock bottom end I need to take a solid 400lbs or more off the car to have a chance. I can't wait to start, the goal is to take 400lbs off and still look stock with the exception of lightweight seats. I was going to upgrade the brakes but I think I'll wait and see how it stops with the weight removed.

corpsdawg

Your TL may need to go to Rehab because it's way too thin.

Good job on the extra weight loss. Ever thought about replacing the glass in your sunroof? I think it weights around 18lbs so you could potentially lose 10 if you can replace it with a lighter material. Just a thought

anx1300c

iTrader: (2)

If you had a 6MT you'd be <3000 lbs now!

Inaccurate

Did you just remove the top portion? I'm assuming the center console is still intact.

Removed the "lid" (armrest) and the rear facial containing the rear air vents and rear ashtray. The console, as a whole, is still intact. This is how it looks now (finished product).



Can you tell the kick panels were removed when you're sitting in the car?

Visually, no. One must kneel down to peer upward to see the nakedness. If you put your A/C blower fan on a high setting, you might notice the blower fan sounding louder than usual. A person unfamiliar with your car would not notice however.... it is not that much louder.

do you think you're ever going to part with some of the stock parts?

If I could foresee the future, I would eagerly sell the parts. If for no other reason than to free up space. However, not knowing what the future will bring forth, I need to keep the parts for my psychological comfort. I rationalize most of my diet modifications by thinking that the "hack" is reversible. I say that I "rationalize" because we both know that some of my mods are damn near impossible to be reversed (such as replacing airbags).

The seats are however easily reversible. Thus, I need to hold on to the oem seats in case life throws a curve at me requiring the car to become an asset again. As is, my plans are to keep my car until it dies a natural death.

I was going to upgrade the brakes but I think I'll wait and see how it stops with the weight removed.

I highly recommend this approach (waiting to see). If your GN is like my TL, the brakes on the GN will take a quantum leap in performance with the 400 lbs removed.

the goal is to take 400lbs off and still look stock

My new hobby is RC (radio controlled) model airplanes. In that hobby, modelers learn to do fiberglass work to create their custom pieces (even whole fuselages and wings). I am not sure how feasible this is, but it might be helpful to learn to do fiberglass work to create substitutes for many pieces (maybe even the bumpers). You use your oem part to make a mold, and "cast" the part in fiberglass. Bingo... an oem appearing part at a fraction of the weight.

Wishing you luck in your GN endeavors.

Inaccurate

It is definitely on the "TL Diet" radar screen. To me, it appears that there are bigger fish to be had than just the glass itself. Check out this big hunk of metal called a Sunroof Frame Assembly.

Thanks and I appreciate the suggestions.

corpsdawg

would removing this cause the sunroof to be non-functional? how much does this weigh?

csmeance

have you though about getting the 2007 intake manifold? It's supposed to be lighter than the previous ones and is made of magnesium alloy. Also just wondering, have you though about removing the stock front strut bar and replacing it with a G-reddy honda one, I think it would be lighter... Also those rear side sills would help out... maybe also getting a CF hood, or maybe a custom CF trunk...

corpsdawg

He doesnt want to get anything CF really because its not as durable as the OEM ones. Idk what his opinion is about fiberglass though.

Inaccurate

corpsdawg and csmeance,

Thanks for the suggestions. corpsdawg was correct is saying that I had said that I was not in favor of CF and fiberglass. However......

This damn TL Diet is a true addiction. The more I get (eeer, the more I lose), the more I want (eeer, the less I want). After my racing seats, I thought I was finished with looking for deletions. Wrong ! A few months go by, I start getting the "urge to purge" again. I have reversed my stance on the CF hood, and would like to get one IF it fits fairly decent. I figure "why not", and I will have the oem hood to fall-back on if the CF breaks.

I hate cars

Do it! There's some serious weight to be saved. Between my hood, trunk, and bumpers (after much debate and keeping the load bearing supports), I'm taking 280lbs off the GN where it counts the most, up high, and at the ends.

This may have been suggested before and you might have already done this, but have you thought about getting rid of the HIDs and associated ballasts and hardware and using regular halogen bulbs?

csmeance

I don't think that is possible since the TL uses D2S/R bulbs and not the regular style bulbs that halogens use. Though you could get rid of the fog light wires/bulbs.

Inaccurate

The idea would be to keep the oem glass for the sunroof. I am aware that many people use a carbon fiber panel to eliminate the glass panel. I will be happy to just eliminate the infrastructure needed to allow the glass panel to open (motor, linkages, and mostly the inner frame). The plan would be to fabricate small aluminum mounts (tabs) to hold the glass, and then seal the oem glass in place (fixed and non-moveable) with sealant. Minimal goal (based on speculation) would be a reduction of 20 lbs, and upward toward 30 if I got lucky.

P.S. I have never opened my sunroof in the entire time that I have owned the car. I leave in muggy Houston, and the last thing that I want is to feel the outside air.

Inaccurate

I hate cars,

Looks like you have a great start on your "GN Diet".

Thanks for the suggestion regarding the HIDs. I will keep this in mind.

TylerT

iTrader: (1)

Inaccurate, have you dyno'd, auto-x'd, or taken your car to the strip yet?

corpsdawg

yeah, i'm curious to know your 1/4 mile and trap speed as well. I bet it'll be up there with a S/C TL

Cocoa

iTrader: (2)

I'd love to see this car in an all Texas meet. Are you going to be attending that event this September? Please pm as I rarely come by this end of the boards.




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Inaccurate

Me too !!! But, I am too lazy to wait in line at the dragstrip hoping to get a couple of runs.

It might out-do a S/C. My gains are 22.5% increase over stock - all the way thru the ENTIRE rpm range, and unlike the S/C offering majority of it's gains at rpm ranges that I won't reach anyway. And unlike the S/C, mine requires no iffy tuning. Guaranteed 22.5% on the table. And that is not considering my other mods of cai, ur pulley, thermoblocks, 3rd cat delete - which all get the 22.5% bump too.

Damn, I really need to get off of my lazy rump and get it to the track.

I hate cars

Being that you're running an automatic, I think the weight loss is really going to help your 60' times. It would be very nice to see you post better times than the supercharged guys.

I've officially started my weight reduction on the Buick with a very strong empahsis on looking stock. Started at 3,390lbs, looking for 2,900. This is fun..... and mostly free. It's hard to keep from taking more weight off the TL.

Inaccurate

I think the weight loss is really going to help your 60' times.

Here is something else too (and hopefully not just rationalizing on my part). The weight distribution has a lot of weight removed from the rear end. That is, the front tires are now carrying a larger percentage of the weight. Yum... more weight (percentage) over the driving wheels for traction.

Because my exploits cause such a shit storm, I refrain from sharing my experiences. But, I will risk stirring-up "the others" to share this pertinent story. About a month ago, I was lined-up at a redlight against a BMW Z4. I wanted to tease him into a race, so my plan was to eased off of the line when the light went green to just barely stay ahead of him to entice the race (my modus operandi). Hell, I didn't know that he was gunning for me too. When the light went green, he launched hard - no playing on his part. So, now I had to react to his plan (behind the eight ball). I just floor it, and let the VSA do it's thing that it does so well (my secret racing weapon despite what others here feel about VSA). From the split second that I went WOT, he lost he small lead on me. He had got one car length on me before I had time to react to his hard launch. But, I sucked up that one length in a heartbeat, and passed him quickly. By the way, I was about two length in front by the time I hit 60. I laid into it until I was at 80 just for good measure and for his humiliation since he started the race.

I share the above story to show that I have damn good traction against a rear-wheel drive opponent.


with a very strong emphasis on looking stock

Careful. That is how I started too. If a person checks back thru this thread, they will see that is what I said too. LOL.... now, my mantra is "no holds barred".

It's hard to keep from taking more weight off the TL.

We might need to create a support group. "Dieter's Anonymous" :troutslap

Eoanou

I'm starting my diet soon, I just need the cash for my mods.

I hate cars

I think you're right. You start off with a game plan. But once you're there it's that "just a little more" mentality that gets you..... Sort of like alcoholics....

Maybe I should just get it over with all at once and strip it to the shell lol.

Are you into the sub 3,000lb category yet?

anx1300c

iTrader: (2)

You're 5AT right? I'm figuring you're around 220 or a little better at the wheels, and at 3100 lbs, I think high 13's are possible. You should do a j pipe and catback for sure.

Eoanou

How much lighter are we talking about, can someone vouche for this, if this is correct it may be worth it, and it might perhaps yield a small gain in power, 2whp or so.

I hate cars

I'm pretty sure all of the 3rd gen TL manifolds are a magnesium alloy. Not 100% sure but pretty sure.

Inaccurate

Are you into the sub 3,000lb category yet?

If we use the equivalent weight loss (which includes the add benefits from reducing the flywheel effect), I am at an estimated 2922 lbs.

Eoanou

No, I looked at the Royce Han thread about the polished IMs, the 04-06 IMs are all aluminum, and the 07+ are magnesium alloy, that much I know. I would estimate that the weight savings won't be much, maybe 5~6lbs. However, the problem lies with the throttle body opening potentially being larger on the Type-S IM, if that is in fact the case I would need a Type-S TB and IM.

csmeance

Not exactly sure on the weight difference, but I know the part number changed from the 2007+.



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I hate cars

Interesting. I have lots of questions but I'll PM you so we don't get this thread off topic. 5-6lbs isn't bad at all. If you could find a wrecked TL and sell your original manifold, it shouldn't hurt the wallet too much.

Just wondering about swaybars, are the TL's hollow? I know a lot of aftermarket ones are. A popular upgrade for my GN is the IROC hollow swaybar. I forget the weight savings but it's surprising.

Inaccurate, I wonder, if you lose some more weight, you could probably pull the swaybars off altogether and have the same roll stiffness as stock. The suspension would be more "independant" too as a bonus. You say you've removed the most weight from the rear, at a minimum you could remove the rear bar to retain handling balance.