Is there any other possibilities in reducing the immense weight of Maximas aside from taking out the spare tire? I know the carpet can be a lot of weight but that is needed to muffle the noise from the exhaust. Do they make a lighter weight carpet for these vehicles?

 

theres a Carbon Fiber hood by Fiberimages.

 

The Maxima doesnt have that "immesne" of a weight. They only weigh around 3000-3100 pounds. That's pretty light for a car this size.

If you have a large aftermarket stereo, ditch it. Try to keep less than 1/3 of a tank of gas, lose the spare, jack, and tools.

 

If you are concerned about the weight of the car and you take out the carpet etc..to save like 10 -15 lbs...might as well lose a couple pounds off your self.

 

Right, I recently reduced my Max's curb weight by losing 30 pounds off my fat azz...

 

Good idea on losing weight myself. I'd never thought of trimming my *** off. hahaha. I guess that's the first place I'll start.

 

are you serious about taking out the carpet? Does it really weigh that much? About saving weight, i think getting an aluminized Y pipe will shave off 15lbs. Stock one is 30 i think and the aluminized is 15.

 

Taking out the jack, tools, and spare tire is a great easy way to reduce weight (unless you're on a road trip) but I have a question: we already have a front-heavy car (62/38?) and the spare is way in the back...so maybe taking the spare and stuff out isn't such a good idea, because it may change the balance enough to affect handling adversely? BMW claims that their near 50/50 distribution on all their cars plays a large part in their excellent handling.

Then again, because the Max is FWD, it might be best to reduce the weight of the rear as much as possible for improved traction while accelerating.

Anyone who knows more about this than me care to comment?

 

I have tried it...removed Spare tire, jack,tools,cardboard,trunk carpet, owners manual,CD case,etc....Result:

1. slightly louder road noise from the rear

2. slightly louder noises over bumps, driveways, speed bumps...

3. felt a "little" faster

4. Braking/Handling could not tell a difference.

Soooooo...I put everything back in.

 

WOW , NOT BAD for a first post!
anyway, lightweight rims should be your concern - wish i could afford some. but since no one likes to play on the streets around here, wellll im going for fat azz oem 17s. later

 

It's better to lower reciprocating weight. I might of messed the spelling up on that, but every pound you take off in reciprocating weight is equal to 8 pounds of dead weight. If you get rims that are 4 pounds lighter than stock. Thats 4 pounds per wheel. 16X8 = 128lbs. I think lowering reciprocating weight is just as important as lowering dead weight. Ohh yeah and removing all the stuff from the trunk is just gonna make your weight distribution worse.

 

Good point. But you also have to consider that a bigger diameter rim will have higher reciprocating/unsprung (?) weight. Meaning that a 19inch rim weighing only 18lbs could add more unsprung weight to your car than stock 16inch rims weighing 25lbs or whatever. Anyone who's curious, do a search, there should be tons of info on this topic on the orgy.

 

That is true. MR^2. And most people don't buy lightweight 19"s, most people buy 16"-18". And in most cases (as in Volks and my Racing Harts), even if it is an 18" it is helpful because the stock wheels are heavy.
-Cyrus

 

Seriously I removed the spare, tools, cardboard
and the removable carpet. I know this may sound stupid
but there is a black cover on the bottom of the trunk
and I removed it to allow air in the trunk then I pulled
down the arm rest and you fell really light.
The air sucks thourgh the trunk to the car. Try it and you
will notice a difference. Just dont do it at high speeds
with stock suspension. Youll fell like you are flying.
If you dont believe me you are welcome to race me

97gxe auto (popcharger}

 

Don't forget the Ground Control coilovers, they're so tiny/lighter compared to OEM and other aftermarket springs. But you'll have to deal with its ride quality (or the lack there of) if you decide to go that route.

 

I know that the OEM suspension is quite heavy and that Ground Control coilovers may be the best for the money. I like that idea!

I have another idea: I looked under the Max and the exhaust setup is huge! There are so many un-needed pipes and restrictive peices. I know most of the stuff is needed due to the MAF sensors and such. Is there a vender that offers an ECU or Chip that can cheat the Max's computer and work around those restrtictive pipes? Word. Thanks for the immense help 'yall!

 

I got it!!! SPEED HOLES!!

 

Yeah! Each one gives +1 HP and don't forget stickers, they will reduce the weight of your car by 2% for every one you put on! Oh yeah, and one other thing.. You know that colored stuff on your car? What is it called......... PAINT! Yeah, it's heavy, you don't need that either! And you can live without windows, right? Seats aren't really necessary either. Just replace them with air furniture for that extra touch of class. Come to think of it, that air conditioner is heavy, especially with all that piping attached to it, ditch that. Airbags save lives? Meh, ditch those too. That power steering setup is kinda heavy too, why not just replace it with rope steering. Do all that and you will have one fast Max!

 

Ok. I was thinking about the light weight center line wheels. They are 19" and weight in at 14.89 lbs. ea. I understand the stock 02 SE rims weight in at ~25lbs. What exactly are you guys saying? Unsprung weight?

Thanks

 

Do the math. (Mass)*(Radius)*(Radius). Turns out that even though the CenterLine wheels are only 14.89 lbs., the fact that they are 19" means that they have so much rotational mass that their weight loss is ineffective.
-Cyrus

 

Actually, they probably will result in lower unsprung weight.

25.00lb x 17in x 17in = 7225 lb-in^2
14.89lb x 19in x 19in = 5375 lb-in^2

I don't know if the units are right, but the "index" number for the light 19 inches is significantly lower...(assuming the 2KSE wheels are 17 inches). Is this right??? It's probably much more complicated because of WHERE the weight on the rims is. Most of it is on the outside, I would think. So that might make the 19 inches effectively heavier.

Another thing, which is supposedly even more of a factor than wheel weight is tire weight. The tires are at the outside (and they're filled with compressed air, which weighs something too) so they have a big impact on unsprung weight.

I need to go searching for more info on this...

 

Good question Linkage. I have always thought that weight reduction is grossly over-looked around here. To me, removing weight is as important as adding power. Since I don't want to type it all again, here is a copy and paste from thread a little while ago:


Weight loss is a VERY important thing that most people overlook. Whenever I get the chance, I weigh parts while they are off the car. Here's a few I can help you with:

Horizontal Rear seat: 10lb
Vertical rear seat: 20lb
Spare tire: 27lb
RASB: 9lb (not that you'd want to take it on and off...)
'96 headlights: 4lb ea, '97 headlights: 3lb ea.
Rear bumper: 23lb (Easy to remove but I can't recommend it)
Jack: 4lb
Battery: 33lb (you can switch to a small battery for the night)
Stock Y pipe: 23lb, Aftermarket Y: 11lb
Stock cat.: 8lb, Aftermarket cat.: 6lb
Stock hood: ~40lb (I think), CF hood: ~15lb (I think).
Passenger seat: I forget Anyone?
Weight of gasoline in your tank: 5.8-6.5 lb/gal.
Weight of water in your windshield washer reservoir: 8.3lb/gal.
Floor Mats: Keep meaning to weigh those, anyone?
Metal behind rear seat: ~4 lb


That's what I have so far. Hope that helps.

 

Yes they are 17's and I think the exact weight is 23lbs 15oz.

 

Ahhh...The toughest mod of them all to obtain. I'm unsuccessfully working on that one myself.

 

Remember that we are driving sedans with fairly torquey V6s. These aren't Hondas. Small displacement and low torque motors are affected by weight much more so than a higher torque motor. Removing 50lbs from a Honda will drop ET by about .15 whereas removing 50lbs on a Maxima probably can't even be accurately measured. SCC did a great comparison of a Eclipse GT vs a Ford Focus and adding ballast in 50lb increments. Not until they added 100lbs did the GT show some effects, little over .1 and 1mph. The Focus on the otherhand was .4 and 3mph slower.

Remove what you want, but I think taking seats out of a Maxima is a little rediculous and won't net you much in return. Pull the spare, yank out loose objects, and run with a low fuel tank. As for lightweight wheels, get them. Not only will lighter wheels make you slightly quicker, the ride and handling are all improved. There's no side effects except for price.


Dave

 

High protein, moderate carbs, increased weight training, increased cardio.

You're welcome

 

- After having experienced a lighter wheel/tire combo recently, I completely agree. My car accelerated considerably faster with my race wheels/tires. The only problem was that the smaller diameter tires only served to punctuate the already large stock fender gap. Eeek.

 

The outer diamter should never change. Light rims, heavy rims, 16", 18", etc...

 

Ultimate weight reduction... Give away your car and now you'll really have to stop worrying about weight reduction, it'll take you down to an amazing 0lbs.... (Anyone here willing to do this can contact me, i'll help you with the reduction)

 

LOFL

 

Remove what you want, but I think taking seats out of a Maxima is a little rediculous and won't net you much in return. Pull the spare, yank out loose objects, and run with a low fuel tank. As for lightweight wheels, get them. Not only will lighter wheels make you slightly quicker, the ride and handling are all improved. There's no side effects except for price.


Dave

I agree