It seems like a lot of you on here have messed with a/c removal or belt bypassing.. and while i like to keep my car as stock as possible so it can be resold for a decent price, but i can't help but be curious if removing the a/c ( all of it's parts ) means either:
1. taking enough weight off my front end ( 25lbs or more ) to matter on a performance level.
2. less resistance on my belt meaning more horses to the wheels.
Anyone here seen a performance gain from removing their a/c?
I never use it after all..
Sadly, no more..
When the AC clutch is not engadged, the pulley is free spinning, so the only benift would be less weight and less things to go wrong.
No resistance when its off so its just like the idler pulley you'd have to replace it with. And if that little bit of weight did anything at all it MAY knock off about .001 in your 1/4 mile times.
BUT it will kill any resale value you may have at all and make it miserable in the summer
In short unless your running a full on race car its just not worth removeing unless something breaks. Till then just leave it alone.
Semper Fi SAINT. May you rest in peace.
what they said. when i was doing my underdrive pulley install. i wanted to see if there was any resistance. i spun the the wheels. there was none. if your geting into weight saving then do it. 25lbs here 25lbs there all adds up. dump your spare and jack, a/c gut your trunk out. when dragging take your passenger seat out. if you dont car gut the rear of your car or take out the bench. run on a low tank. youll notice a huge difference
Working on obtainting an M-Class license... ?? Hint: 2 wheels.
On a car that weighs 2800 pounds... removing 33 pounds worth of stuff is pretty pointless.
Yes, the entire A/C system weighs 33 pounds.
how about removing the powersteering.... i kno its a bad idea for everyday driving but is there much or a power gain???
thanks dudes.
if the ac only weighs 33 pounds it's not worth it.. i won't bother then.. i would hate to put it back on to sell it if there wasn't a significant weight loss. That's settled.
i've removed all the weight one can ( without stripping interior ) from the back of the car and i'm still trying to get some pounds off the front because my weight is really disbalanced that way..
Thank you for the advice. My next targets are going to be:
1. getting a lighter battery when the time comes to replace.
2. removing 75% of the metal plate off the passenger side airbag because the top part of the dash is really heavy for what it is..
3. fiberglass hood.
4. dropping a couple pounds off my fat ass ( better performance for me AND my car.. lol )
Sadly, no more..
Well to cut weight from the front try CF fenders and hood and a FG front bumper. Relocate the battery to the trunk. That will knock off a bunch of weight!
Semper Fi SAINT. May you rest in peace.
The front bumpers don't weigh very much (they're plastic after all), and aftermarket bumpers are physically larger, so there's not much benefit (if any) in changing bumpers.
My weight reduction so far is:
removed ALL HVAC components
ALL air bag components
ALL ABS components
ALL stereo components
ALL interior lighting components
door sensors
pieces for options my car didn't come with (i.e. cruise control, rear defrosters)
all wiring (down to the terminal connectors, relays, and fuses) related to the above
moved battery to trunk
removed front and rear 5mph bumpers
removed hood reinforcement
100% gutted interior (steering wheel, front seat, and electronics left)
power steering pump and lines (looking for non-PS rack too)
I'm currently working on moving the ECU and underhood fuse box into the cab to help weight distribution a tad
There's some other stuff I can't think of off the top of my head, but this gives a good picture. Needless to say, this car is not a daily driver, and isn't being built with re-sale in mind lol
fortune cookie say:
better a delay than a disaster.
Good lord notec.. that's crazy. now your next step is to replace the body with a handmade aluminum chassis and you're set.
.. If this cavalier wasn't my main vehicle I would totally do that. One question from you though.. how much weight is removed when you get rid of the ABS? i hate the abs anyways.. but it seems like a lot of work.
Jackalope, i never thought of getting carbon fiber fenders. hm!
Sadly, no more..
If you do just DON"T WRECK!!
Semper Fi SAINT. May you rest in peace.
carbon fiber is 10x stronger than steel.
David Silva wrote:One question from you though.. how much weight is removed when you get rid of the ABS? i hate the abs anyways.. but it seems like a lot of work.!
There isn't much to the ABS system...maybe a pound or two of electrical, the control box (maybe 3 or 4 pounds), and the sensors (negligable). The big difference comes from the valve body thing under the hood. That's probably a good 10 lbs. So, maybe 15 lbs total.
Definately NOT worth it on a daily driver. The ABS has saved my butt a couple times, it'll hurt resale, you will have to buy a non-ABS master cylinder, and getting the wiring out can't be done unless EVERYTHING is stripped out of the car and you have a LOT of downtime and patience. I would HIGHLY recommend against it.
CrAzY Z24 wrote:carbon fiber is 10x stronger than steel.
That may or may not be true depending on the materials thickness. And regardless, CF can be stronger than steel, but it's not nearly as tough (which is what you want in an accident).
fortune cookie say:
better a delay than a disaster.
removing a/c for weight reduction IS pointless unless you are out on a total weight reduction plan for the car, ie: removing seats, carpeting, panels, dash, etc... if you're not doing the "full race" thing and just doing basic bolt ons and wanting to maintain comfort and resale (not like j's really have any resale value anyway these days), then its not worth the effort.
Arrival Blue 04 LS Sport
Eco
Turbo
Megasquirt
'Nuff said
