i stripped my car of every seat ( beside driver ) also every plastic panel except driver door sill panel for safty of wires, the carpet center console etc. Only had dash and driver seat. Car handled much better! accelerated faster also. I would recommend doing this with having some kind of drop as your car might rise up and give u some body roll. however when i was fully gutted it handled a lot better, faster response and faster acceleration. I ended up cleaning every inch of the interior inside and out and putting the entire interior back in as the gains were not worth it. I dont regret it because i detailed every part of the interior and re did my amp wiring kit. However i would of regret it if i just did it to see how much faster it was. Id say dont bother. I am in the same situation as you basically but it still was a pain in the ass when u had to have someone in your car and they either sat on the floor or u had to put a seat back in if you really had to. Drove around like this for 2 weeks, not worth the gain unless its a dedicated track car and you have another car. Otherwise i recommend it if you have another daily driver and use your car for track. Much better all around handling and acceration.
To Strip or Not to Strip??
- Thread starter Moonman8
- Start date
Do it, then let us know how you like it.
It's your ride, I don;t care what you do. Of course I will still laugh at the crappy looking insides of it though.
I saw a new WRX with a stripped interior except for the driver seat at an autocross. He thought it was cool or would help him or something. He learned very quickly that it came down to the driver as he got beat by nearly everyone. Guess he wanted some extra credit for having a "race car".
Learn to drive better, then get a better handling, more powerful car and you'll get the jollies you're looking for.
It's your ride, I don;t care what you do. Of course I will still laugh at the crappy looking insides of it though.
I saw a new WRX with a stripped interior except for the driver seat at an autocross. He thought it was cool or would help him or something. He learned very quickly that it came down to the driver as he got beat by nearly everyone. Guess he wanted some extra credit for having a "race car".
Learn to drive better, then get a better handling, more powerful car and you'll get the jollies you're looking for.
rednecks_r_us
Member
- :
- 2003 Laser Blue Protege5
http://www.importmodifications.com/protege5weightred.html
2001+ Mazda Protege 5
Stock Weight - 2716lbs
Stock Wheel Weight - 22lbs each/without tires
The 2001+ Mazda Protege 5's weigh approximately 2716lbs, dividing by the horsepower of 130, we get about 20.89lbs/hp.
So roughly every 20.89 lbs removed from the cars weight will add an effective 1 hp.
Gas weighs about 8lbs/gal so 16 gallons in the tank weighs 128lbs. If you have only 1 gallon in the tank, its almost a 7 horsepower equivalent difference. A passenger can make even a bigger difference, not to mention the drivers weight.
You can easily remove things like the spare tire and jack, the floor mats, the rear seats, interior panels and anything else.
Listed below are some easily removable items:
1. Passenger Seat (37lbs) - Removing the passenger seat is a very easy and effective way to give your Protege a small boost in power. The nice thing is that the seat is only held in place by 4 bolts.
2. Rear Seat (29lbs) - The rear seat is a little more complicated to remove than the passenger seat. When removing just remember where everything goes and it should be easy to put back in place whenever needed.
3. Rear Seat Cushion (10lbs) - The rear cushion should be removed at the same time as the rear seat.
4. Floor Mats/Front and Rear (6lbs) - This has to be the easiest weight reduction available for the Protege owner.
5. Tire Floor Cover (3lbs) - The tire floor cover is right underneath the rear hatch carpeting.
6. Spare Tire and Jack (32lbs) - Another easily removable item.
Total Easy Weight Removal = 117lbs or about a 5.6hp increase.
Intermediate Skill Weight Reductions
The weight reductions included below can even prove more effective than some of the reductions included above. However, once you start removing these items you are taking away from the cars overall appearance and in some cases its more predominent ammenities.
7. Air Conditioning (40lbs) - Removing the air conditioning will net you a reduction of about 40lbs. Be sure to remove everything from the engine as well as behind the dash. Should be completed by the experienced only.
8. Front Hood (50lbs) - Replacing the Front Hood with a lightweight fiberglass or carbon fiber hood is a great way to remove some weight around the front end of the car. Total weight reduction will be close to 50lbs or greater depending on the aftermarket hood you choose.. If you dont intend on replacing the entire front hood you could also remove the sound dampener on the inside of the hood. This should help in cooling your engine a little.
9. Stock Wheels (22lbs each/replacement weight from 11lbs each) - Replacing the wheels is a must for anyone seriously interested in increasing their cars performance. The stock wheels are quite heavy and can be replaced with a variety of aftermarket models. We would suggest searching for lightweight wheels. Replacing your wheels with lightweight wheels will dramatically increase your cars acceleration. We suggest not going over 17 inches if maximum performance is what you desire to achieve.
10. Front Drivers Seat (40lbs/replacement weight from 14lbs) - The front drivers seat on the Protege can easily be replaced with a much lighter alternative A lightweight racing seat will save you considerable weight and will also be effective once you have added more horsepower to your car.
Total Intermediate Weight Removal = up to 188lbs or a 9+hp increase.
2001+ Mazda Protege 5
Stock Weight - 2716lbs
Stock Wheel Weight - 22lbs each/without tires
The 2001+ Mazda Protege 5's weigh approximately 2716lbs, dividing by the horsepower of 130, we get about 20.89lbs/hp.
So roughly every 20.89 lbs removed from the cars weight will add an effective 1 hp.
Gas weighs about 8lbs/gal so 16 gallons in the tank weighs 128lbs. If you have only 1 gallon in the tank, its almost a 7 horsepower equivalent difference. A passenger can make even a bigger difference, not to mention the drivers weight.
You can easily remove things like the spare tire and jack, the floor mats, the rear seats, interior panels and anything else.
Listed below are some easily removable items:
1. Passenger Seat (37lbs) - Removing the passenger seat is a very easy and effective way to give your Protege a small boost in power. The nice thing is that the seat is only held in place by 4 bolts.
2. Rear Seat (29lbs) - The rear seat is a little more complicated to remove than the passenger seat. When removing just remember where everything goes and it should be easy to put back in place whenever needed.
3. Rear Seat Cushion (10lbs) - The rear cushion should be removed at the same time as the rear seat.
4. Floor Mats/Front and Rear (6lbs) - This has to be the easiest weight reduction available for the Protege owner.
5. Tire Floor Cover (3lbs) - The tire floor cover is right underneath the rear hatch carpeting.
6. Spare Tire and Jack (32lbs) - Another easily removable item.
Total Easy Weight Removal = 117lbs or about a 5.6hp increase.
Intermediate Skill Weight Reductions
The weight reductions included below can even prove more effective than some of the reductions included above. However, once you start removing these items you are taking away from the cars overall appearance and in some cases its more predominent ammenities.
7. Air Conditioning (40lbs) - Removing the air conditioning will net you a reduction of about 40lbs. Be sure to remove everything from the engine as well as behind the dash. Should be completed by the experienced only.
8. Front Hood (50lbs) - Replacing the Front Hood with a lightweight fiberglass or carbon fiber hood is a great way to remove some weight around the front end of the car. Total weight reduction will be close to 50lbs or greater depending on the aftermarket hood you choose.. If you dont intend on replacing the entire front hood you could also remove the sound dampener on the inside of the hood. This should help in cooling your engine a little.
9. Stock Wheels (22lbs each/replacement weight from 11lbs each) - Replacing the wheels is a must for anyone seriously interested in increasing their cars performance. The stock wheels are quite heavy and can be replaced with a variety of aftermarket models. We would suggest searching for lightweight wheels. Replacing your wheels with lightweight wheels will dramatically increase your cars acceleration. We suggest not going over 17 inches if maximum performance is what you desire to achieve.
10. Front Drivers Seat (40lbs/replacement weight from 14lbs) - The front drivers seat on the Protege can easily be replaced with a much lighter alternative A lightweight racing seat will save you considerable weight and will also be effective once you have added more horsepower to your car.
Total Intermediate Weight Removal = up to 188lbs or a 9+hp increase.
Boston5761
Member
- :
- 03' Familia
Great write-up!
dont fringing do it!!! its totaly not worth it. unless there is a guy you are racing weakend to weakend it just friging brearly beating you at every race. oh and i think im like the only one to state this... FIRE. that was a huge reason why i took mine out! have you ever wached anyone burn alive stuck in their car?? i have. every time i see a P5 chilling i allways walk up and admire the interior! its friging sharp looking man leave it alone. its a station wagon man!!! save up and by a targa if you want a striped down car. and keep this one stockish its a great pepy littil versital car. if your broke like the rest of us and want somthing for nothing, whell..... go drive a geo for a week then youll think you car is a fricking 911 when you come back to it!!!!!
