Minivan Interior weight #2

[Wicked91rttt]

Well, after seeing the othe thread about the minivan weight reduction I decided make my van go on a diet. I removed about 450lbs of weight out of my van (although about 50lbs will be going back in which I will touch base on later.

Anyways, here is a list of parts and the weight for each of them broken down as best I could

*39.4lbs - AC components ( condensor, compressor, lines, ect)
*42.2lbs- Entire exhaust ( pipes, cat, muffler..replacing with a SS exhaust)
*69lbs - rear bench seat (two person seat, as mine didnt have a 3rd row)
*40.2lbs Interstate battery ( replacing with a 12lbs dynabat battery)
*49lbs - Passenger seat
*44lbs - Drivers Seat
*29.5lbs- Carpet
*52lbs!!!! - Sound deadening under carpet and on 1/4s under over the wheel well in the interior)
*39.2lbs - Misc parts from engine/interior ect( stock air box ect)
*8.6lbs Ceiling carpet/liner
* ??lbs Spare tire and jack ( forgot to weigh this, if anyone knows the weight that would be great! I would say a good 30lbs-40lbs

As you can see the loss of weight adds up rather fast. About 410lbs w/o including the spare tire and jack, and I still have a bit left to do. My goal is to lose about 500lbs total and I think it can be done. Granted That I will have to have a drivers seat, battery, and exhaust. But neither of those three will weigh as much as the stock stuff!

Hopefully this thread helps some people out, if anyone wants to contribute to it feel free to do so. I will be adding to it Tuesday night after I make another round and it and see how much more I can shave off.

Brett

[carpalTunnel]

I weighed the spare tire from my mini. It came in at 30 lbs. I don't know what the jack weighs; it was missing when I bought the van.

This is great info. Thanks for doing all that work for us.

[TurboMinivan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wicked91rttt *29.5lbs- Carpet *52lbs!!!! - Sound deadening under carpet and on 1/4s under over the wheel well in the interior)

Did you put the carpet (or the interior panels) back in the van?

When it came time for my van to lose weight, I wanted it to be a "stealth" diet. I made sure that none of the weight loss would be visible to a casual onlooker (except for the bench seats, which everyone would figure were a given anyway). I took the carpeting out to remove the sound deadener underneath it, then I peeled all the insulation off the underside of the carpet, then I put the now-lighter carpet back in the van. I also temporarily removed the plastic side panels so I could get at (and remove) the sound deadener over the wheelwells and also all the sealed plastic bags stuffed behind there, then I reinstalled the panels. Not only did I remove the spare tire; I also removed the hoist plus all the crossbars which help hold the spare in place under the van.

Long story short: with 1/4 tank of gas and both stock front seats in place, my van weighs 2930 pounds. When people walk past in the pits and ask what I did to go so fast, I often get asked if I gutted it. At that point I open the sliding door and say, "well, I did take the bench seats out." Since people still see carpet and panels, they assume nothing else has been removed.

[Wicked91rttt]

haha. Great minds think alike

I am leaving oll the plasic side paneling in, and the carpet will be going back in as well. I told my friend who is helping me with this project the same thing you just said ( he wanted the carpet out)

I told him that the 15lbs the carpet adds is worth it to make people think that its a full weight/full interior van that they just lost to

Brett

[marcoze]

do you have a link or something to this light Dynabat Battery?

[Wicked91rttt]

I am leaving now..I will post it when I get back..I actually have a few of them, I could sell one or two if anyone wants...but ill post more when I get home, gonna jam to the movies right now.

Brett

[gasketmaster]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TurboMinivan Long story short: with 1/4 tank of gas and both stock front seats in place, my van weighs 2930 pounds.

Is that without driver?

Just curious!

[TurboMinivan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gasketmaster Is that without driver?

Yes, that is with me outside the van. With both front seats installed + me on board wearing a helmet, actual race weight is exactly 3100 pounds.

Next year I'd like to squeeze my actual race weight down to 3000 pounds even. Just taking the front passenger seat out will get me halfway there. I'm sure I can find another 50 "invisible" pounds to pull out.

[gasketmaster]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TurboMinivan Yes, that is with me outside the van. With both front seats installed + me on board wearing a helmet, actual race weight is exactly 3100 pounds. Next year I'd like to squeeze my actual race weight down to 3000 pounds even. Just taking the front passenger seat out will get me halfway there. I'm sure I can find another 50 "invisible" pounds to pull out.

Maybe you could get a lite weight racing seat for the drivers side that you bolt in just while racing

[Subliminal]

Take the tailgate off.

[blackbird]

Quote:

Originally Posted by marcoze do you have a link or something to this light Dynabat Battery?

You probably don’t want to buy a DynaBatt, since it’s nothing more than a re-packaged Hawker Odyssey that's way more expensive. You can do a search on google or somewhere and you’ll come up with a bunch of re-sellers for the Hawker, and more info on it here. I believe the PC 680 = DynaBatt.
___________________________
Eric H.
'04 eBlue SRT-4 (S2- 272/341- 12's) · '92 Daytona IROC R/T (PVP Pilot) · '89 Caravan SE Turbo
'91 Spirit R/T x2 (Red/White) · '81 & '85 Chevy Citation X-11 · '94 Olds Cutty Convertible
'90 Pontiac Turbo Grand Prix (ASC/McLaren)

[marcoze]

hmmm, how do you think that battery would fair in a Daily Driven application? I dont have a stereo, so the only things it would be running would be the ECU, Headlights and Tail lights. And the gaugelights.

Or would this be for a race only type deal?

[AJMcCurdy]

Pick up an issue of a Mustang magazine, they're EVERYWHERE. I am not sure how well they work, just that they are significantly lighter than a standard battery.

Blackbird, I know what you are saying, a relative of mine worked for years at a battery plant as a QA/QC inspector on 12V batteries, and they went from his spot on the assembly line and got split 4 or 5 ways to get different brand stickers put on the same products...

<-----My 500th post

[blackbird]

They should work fine if you don't have any heavy electrical loads or live in extremely cold climates. They don't have a lot of reserve cranking amps, but they will start a car without problems. One of the bigger alternators might be a good idea to go along with it if you sit in stop and go traffic a lot. Also make sure your grounds are good and the electrical system is in good health and you shouldn't have any problems. From what I hear life isn't as long as regular batteries but still isn't too bad.

___________________________
Eric H.
'04 eBlue SRT-4 (S2- 272/341- 12's) · '92 Daytona IROC R/T (PVP Pilot) · '89 Caravan SE Turbo
'91 Spirit R/T x2 (Red/White) · '81 & '85 Chevy Citation X-11 · '94 Olds Cutty Convertible
'90 Pontiac Turbo Grand Prix (ASC/McLaren)

[TurboMinivan]

Another lightweight battery option: stop by AutoZone and pick up a lawn tractor 12v battery. Physically, it is much smaller than our OEM ones but I never weighed it so I can't quote you a spec. I bought one at AZ since they have one rated 375 CCA; most places selling lawn tractor batteries only have about 250 CCA.

Is 375 CCA enough to operate a 2.5L turbo minivan? Well, let's put it this way: I bought this battery for Clifford and ran it through a Utah winter. Later, I left it in there when I sold the van 3.5 years ago. That battery is still there, working flawlessly.