Six pound floormats!!??

[Ms.V.X.]

Okay, I have been reading the forums and learning a lot about how to increase FE in my new '92 VX...of course, one of them is to reduce weight as much as possible. Didn't realize how much this had sunk in, until I was reading a description on eBay where they were bragging on their "plush quality car floor mats" and mentioned that they weighed six pounds (!) Immediately the thought came to me "No WAY would I add 6 pounds to my VX just for dumb floor mats, what would that do to my mpg?"

[benfrogg]

I'm starting to think about weight reduction in the VX as the weather gets colder and the mpg's go down. So far I've pulled the rear seats/carpet (had to anyway to carry my drums), a/c components (all the obvious ones, maybe pull the relay too or even cut the other side of the bracket off for the a/c pump?), front floor mats, heat shield around the cat, brackets for things the car doesn't have, the steel knee bolster pan, the internal plastic around the steering column, and some other things I can't think of. I'm temped to start pulling interior pieces and cut off long bolt ends under the hood.
I'm out of ideas at this point, other than replacing the front seats with Del Sol seats. (which I hearsay are much lighter and more comfy than stock)

It's funny how you start to change your thinking about things as trivial as floor mats. It's a good thing, don't get me wrong. My girlfriend, however, sees my thoughts about FE as an obsession. She's probably right. Nearly every decision I make about the car (and decisions not about the car) are heavily influenced by my desire for better FE.
Said desire isn't often even motivated by saving the planet or my wallet. Some people collect dvd's, some people have 15 cats, some people collect facebook friends, (major pet peeve by the way) and others, like many of us, have a strong desire to increase our FE. Not to mention the fact that we start to spout our FE talk at family and friend events. I'm sure my family is like many of your families when it comes to hearing far more than they ever cared about FE.

I'll say this, however. It's a lot better than taking heroin or being an alcoholic.
B

[jmf]

luckily I could only afford the cheap really thin mats.

[theholycow]

benfrogg, it sounds like you've compromised the safety of your car. That is a bad idea. Replace the catalytic converter heat shield, which I'm pretty sure protects against fire. Replace the parts removed from the steering column and maybe the knee bolster thing, which may be involved in crashworthiness.

I'm not sure if weight reduction, especially a scant few pounds of stuff like that, can be meaningful in a relatively torquey low-revving VX. Maybe if you could put in taller gears to match your new lower weight, but that's pretty expensive and difficult. You should really concentrate on driving techniques that make weight less of a concern, where you avoid braking and re-accelerating that weight.

If you really want an easy chunk of weight reduction, drive around on a quarter tank of gas and only ever put in a few gallons at a time (except filling up once in a while to check your FE). Gasoline is heavy and a full tank carries a lot of it.

I'm curious, have you weighed everything you've removed? If so, could you provide a list of weights, both for discussion and as a reference for other VX owners?

[benfrogg]

Theholycow-
I'm hoping I haven't compromised safety too much. The shield I'm talking about was actually the exhaust manifold shield. It is usually ommited when you buy a replacement header, so I assumed it was a non-issue. There is nothing around it within 8 or 10" other than the block. Besides, Maine's weather sort of took it off for me anyway!
The steering column parts consist of a plastic shield and two clips. What is the safety concern there? Wires interfering with it? The column is well above all of factory wiring. It has several inches of clearance all the way around and it sits up way to high to be contacted by my feet. Of course, i don't want to put my life at risk for the .3 ounces I saved in weight!

The knee bolster thing has me puzzled. How does it protect the driver in the event of an accident?
Thanks for the heads up.

I'd love to run on low gas all the time but i don't have a scan gauge yet. (they are making it for me as we speak) My only way of tracking FE is fill ups.

No, I haven't weighed everything I've removed. Some items I still have, others have been sold off or thrown out. Some items have a net loss of weight like the aftermarket headlights. They are lighter than stock, but still have weight to them.
The fender skirts, rear cammback, extra ground wire, front internal and external grill blocks, and some other things have increased my net weight. I'm sure I've just about broken even at the end of the day. Either way, no complaints.
B

[jmf]

You could have the whole car weighed now and see what the difference is.

[Jay2TheRescue]

Originally Posted by benfrogg

Theholycow-


The knee bolster thing has me puzzled. How does it protect the driver in the event of an accident?

From my 10 years experience as an EMT I've seen people's knees hit places in a car you'd never suspect. I've even seen someone's knees totally collapse a metal dashboard in a 70's model pickup truck. That musta hurt.

[benfrogg]

Okay-
Two things, I'm going to get the car weighed at the metal place next week.

So what's the verdict on this thin sheet metal plate in the knee area? Put it back on? I just didn't understand if you were in favor or against.
Thanks
B

[Jay2TheRescue]

Put it back. They put it there for a reason, maybe safety.

[slogfilet]

Even partial fillups will give an accurate mpg figure over a few tanks... just treat the half way (or 3/4) mark as the Empty mark, and it'll even be fairly consistent from tank to tank/