CX-5 on a diet?

[GTXT23]

Being that the weight of the CX5 has a significant impact on performance and mileage , Ive tried to find ways to
reduce weight without a major compromise on design or safety -- Curb Weight depending on trim range can be from 3679 entry level NA to 3832 Turbo. In my around town driving - I keep the rear headrests out allways - if i get a passenger - it goes in- this never happens - sorry no headrests ;-))-,plus i can finally see the entire back window - so thats a safety upgrade !

I then pulled the spare tire - which is a hefty yokohama donut- surprise - but still weighs in at 30 lbs !!! - That made a noticeable difference ! So i shaved about 32 lbs with those items- ( I checked tire rack for ALL APLICABLE tires and get this - all brands on the 19"s are either 29-29.9 pounds ----so changing tires from Toyo wont drop my curb weight at all !!!) - on road trips spare goes in - but i then pulled the jack ( scissor ) and other factory tools and got another 12 lbs - about 45 lbs total off the 850 lb max cargo payload - then as we know - gas weighs less than water - gas = 6 lbs - water 8.2 lbs - so a full 15.3 fuel tank is 92 lbs- I run around with 1/2 tank - filling it back to 1/2 after around town stuff - this sheds another 45 lbs - so ive reduced my driving weight by 90 + llbs- and that translates into a mighty big diffrence in launch speed 0-60 and even more noticeable when i get into twistys - it just effortless transitions left - rught -left like a different car - 90 lbs in a hard turn can equate to several 100 lbs of g force - if you have in weight reduction suggestons -.please feel free to chime in - its also saving gas in the stop-go - If you think it is nuts - try it and see ! I guarantee a surprise - granted i have a post 11/24 2025 build - na - im guessing a Turbo will beat its 0-60 by a full second - minus- 100 lbs - my Na reflects a full 1 second as well in my 0-60 - but i actuslly prefer a rolling speed test - which is far more real world - 30-70 mph which is 2nd gear to 3rd gear comments

 

[Mazdiod2]

Kind of a lot of stuff to read through but I was surprised at curb weight? wet I'd assume
my 16.5 sprt 2.0 MT is about 3205 if I remember right. Surely the base I have is the lowest, all the others add to that.

Probably right about the rollon test.
I noticed scanning through that you saved more with a 1/2 fuel than the rim/tire combo.
I was a little surprised but I had to look up the tank volume last month. Mine might be 15.3 but I thought it was 14.8. I was checking if it was around 16-20 range but is definitely lower.

 

[GTXT23]

Kind of a lot of stuff to read through but I was surprised at curb weight? wet I'd assume
my 16.5 sprt 2.0 MT is about 3205 if I remember right. Surely the base I have is the lowest, all the others add to that.

Probably right about the rollon test.
I noticed scanning through that you saved more with a 1/2 fuel than the rim/tire combo.
I was a little surprised but I had to look up the tank volume last month. Mine might be 15.3 but I thought it was 14.8. I was checking if it was around 16-20 range but is definitely lower.

Will try to cut back on word content / easier to get it read -

 

[N7turbo]

Here's my list in order from best bang for the buck on down...

Spare tire 30
Half tank gas 40
Lithium battery 20-30
Muffler replacement 20-30
Wheel/tire change 25-30
Carbon fiber hood 20-30
Light weight front seats, 50?
Rear seats 50-100?

So best case scenario without changing the seats, ~175 lbs.

 

[GTXT23]

Here's my list in order from best bang for the buck on down...

Spare tire 30
Half tank gas 40
Lithium battery 20-30
Muffler replacement 20-30
Wheel/tire change 25-30
Carbon fiber hood 20-30
Light weight front seats, 50?
Rear seats 50-100?

So best case scenario without changing the seats, ~175 lbs.

Thats a great breakdown- did you do all ? - even though im not winning any races - hood - yes / rear seats -yes - 175 is substantial

 

[Conrad 16.5]

It's not my car but you asked for comments so...

The CX is not a race car and will never be one. All this weight reduction is a waste of time, at least it would be for me.

0 to 60 times reduced by removing the spare tire and jack? To what end? I'd MUCH rather have the peace of mind that comes from having the ability to get myself back on the road if I should have a flat tire.

Oh, but what if I get lined up at a stop light, in my CX, with someone who wants to test out my 0 to 60 times? It's an SUV dude, I ain't playing with you.

If I want to throw a lightweight car around the twisties, I'll take a lightweight car, my 2016 MX Club.

Trying to do this with a 4-cyl SUV to me is ridiculous. To each their own though...

 

[sm1ke]

Will try to cut back on word content / easier to get it read -

Just a suggestion. Proper punctuation goes a long way in terms of readability. Of course, this is an online forum, not a research paper. Things like grammar, punctuation, spelling, etc. aren't as important, but they do help a ton in getting your point across.

 

[Mazdiod2]

Will try to cut back on word content / easier to get it read -

more paragraph and white space it all it really needs to more easily readable.

 

[N7turbo]

Thats a great breakdown- did you do all ? - even though im not winning any races - hood - yes / rear seats -yes - 175 is substantial

I have not, but I will change the muffler and the battery eventually. Since I already changed the wheels, I'll be ~75-100 lbs under full curb weight. It's nice to know I weigh less than a new BMW M2

This helps the car in driving feel and to otherwise be the best it can be.

 

[Conrad 16.5]

" then as we know - gas weighs less than water - gas = 6 lbs - water 8.2 lbs - so a full 15.3 fuel tank is 92 lbs- I run around with 1/2 tank - filling it back to 1/2 after around town stuff - this sheds another 45 lbs - so ive reduced my driving weight by 90 + llbs- and that translates into a mighty big diffrence in launch speed 0-60 and even more noticeable when i get into twistys "


Just wondering if you've thought this through.

Granted, less gas to haul around equals less weight equals more MPG and better power to weight ratio.

What else less gas equals, roughly twice as many trips to the gas station. So now you're wasting time as well as gasoline and money. But you can haul ass from a stoplight, eh?

All this for what exactly?

 

[sm1ke]

All this for what exactly?

From his first post:

Being that the weight of the CX5 has a significant impact on performance and mileage , Ive tried to find ways to reduce weight without a major compromise on design or safety

 

[Conrad 16.5]

Those tires are pretty weighty. Can they be filled with helium?

Jeeze, it's an econobox with a 4-cylinder engine, by NO means a performance vehicle and it will never be no matter how much weight you trim away.

To each their own though. Carry on.

 

[sm1ke]

Those tires are pretty weighty. Can they be filled with helium?

Jeeze, it's an econobox with a 4-cylinder engine, by NO means a performance vehicle and it will never be no matter how much weight you trim away.

To each their own though. Carry on.

They're not modifying your car, or using your money. Let people enjoy things the way they want to.

 

[MrViking]

Where would we be if there was no one saying (and doing) "I wonder if..."

 

[Conrad 16.5]

They're not modifying your car, or using your money. Let people enjoy things the way they want to.

I'm not stopping anyone from enjoying anything. The OP asked for comments, so I'm supplying some.

 

[sm1ke]

I'm not stopping anyone from enjoying anything. The OP asked for comments, so I'm supplying some.

I'm just suggesting that you keep your comments relevant to the topic, that's all. To clarify, OP asked:

if you have in weight reduction suggestons -.please feel free to chime in - its also saving gas in the stop-go - If you think it is nuts - try it and see ! I guarantee a surprise

Your suggestion (post #6) was not to bother with weight reduction, which IMO is perfectly valid as a suggestion. I only interjected when you made the tongue-in-cheek comment in post #12, and then made a comment about OP's car never being a performance vehicle when that wasn't the point or goal at all. He's just trying to make modifications to improve his driving experience. It's not like he's trying to compare it or turn it into something that can compete with an SQ5 or Macan S.

 

[N7turbo]

Mazda goes out of their way to reduce unnecessary weight in their cars. It's nice knowing my car is no heavier than a new BMW M2. Any further weight reduction can only help driving feel, fuel economy, and yes, performance.

 

[youri]

I love the side project and the passion behind it, although i doubt it makes as much difference as claimed. To put it in context, you saved a little less weight than the average passenger weight.

That being said and to keep it on topic of weight reduction recommendations for acceleration and fuel economy, the most critical areas would be the unsprung weight ( wheels, tires and brake discs). Especially where the weight is located on the wheel diameter. The further the weight is from center the harder the engine must work to spin the wheel. Get the lightest wheel you can get with the smallest diameter you can fit. Even if the wheels/tires combo are the same weight, the smallest diameter wheel should have less moment needed to turn it because the weight of the rim will be closer to the center of the wheel. Also the Mazda OEM wheels are rock solid, but super heavy! You can save both weight and rotational moment by replacing them. When i swap the 20” to the 18 inch winter tire on steel rims on my CX-9 there is a difference, it would be even better on 17” performance wheels. You lose a bit on handling but you can find tires with stiffer sidewalls to mitigate it a bit.

You can also look at two pieces brake rotors, they are lighter and will require less power to turn. Although i don’t know if there are any available for the CX-5.

If you are going as far as removing headrest, you could also remove the engine cover, that would save you a few pounds of unnecessary weight. Cargo carpet cover would also be next in the list and since you already removed the spare tire you get the bonus of more trunk space.

 

[N7turbo]

That being said and to keep it on topic of weight reduction recommendations for acceleration and fuel economy, the most critical areas would be the unsprung weight ( wheels, tires and brake discs). Especially where the weight is located on the wheel diameter. The further the weight is from center the harder the engine must work to spin the wheel. Get the lightest wheel you can get with the smallest diameter you can fit. Even if the wheels/tires combo are the same weight, the smallest diameter wheel should have less moment needed to turn it because the weight of the rim will be closer to the center of the wheel.

As long as we're maintaining the same diameter and we're replacing wheel with more tire, I doubt there is a significant difference in inertia when changing wheel sizes.

 

[youri]

I was alerted to this with my old Ford Edge, when Motortrend reported that the 2011 Ford Edge sport with 308 hp and 22inch wheels was slower by 0.5 sec than the lower model Ford Edge SEL with 285 hp and 18 inch wheels.

https://www.motortrend.com/reviews/2011-ford-edge-test/

I never actually tried to run the physics with the numbers and there were other differences between the models (the sport was also heavier and AWD), but if i have time i might try to calculate the torque difference a different wheel rim diameter set-up may cause.