How to lightweight our solara?

by **Peter** » Tue Mar 04, 2003 1:04 pm

i dont know why, but i get annoyed when people say cf hood are for looks only. i know they look great, but the intent is to take off weight, so why would you say its for looks mostly?

by **Hsakuragi** » Tue Mar 04, 2003 1:06 pm

Flipside909 wrote:
hsakuragi wrote:Titainitum parts?

Ummm you're kidding right?

Just try to make my day flip... :wink:

by **FLASH** » Tue Mar 04, 2003 1:14 pm

If the CF hoods are lighter, does that make them "cheaper"? Meaning, a weaker material? Our stock hood is pretty weak, as someone leaned on it and dented mine...would the CF do the same thing?

by **TadS** » Tue Mar 04, 2003 1:17 pm

Based on some of the comments I think I was misunderstood.

(Something that happens a lot

) Ok. I took the spare out when I put in my stereo, both to offset some of the weight gain, and because there is no way in heck I could have gotten the tyre out without a full size tool kit and 2 - 3 hours of work. I just would like to drop a few lbs, as there are soooo many engine upgrades for my car :lol:

, I figured it might be good "performance" option. (My parent’s 2000 Camry is noticeably a bit quicker than my Solara.) As I drive a lot I was also hoping that dropping the weight would save some petrol also. Seemed a good topic to drop my hood question in too. This isn’t about racing speeds for me, it’s more about overall drivability.

by **Yanks0114** » Tue Mar 04, 2003 1:20 pm

FLASH wrote:If the CF hoods are lighter, does that make them "cheaper"? Meaning, a weaker material? Our stock hood is pretty weak, as someone leaned on it and dented mine...would the CF do the same thing?

Carbon fiber is less weight for a reason. Its also more expensive for a reason, and stronger for a reason. Real carbon fiber is very expensive to make, and most carbon structure are going to be extremely strong (ie diamonds).

I think that CF hoods usually get coined as "just for looks" because thats what most people use them for. Of course its a great investment for somoene who is very concerned with weight

My freaken hood has like 10 little dents from hail. I hate it. Of course i'm the only one who notices it, but its still terrible. A CF hood would be much stronger. I've seen a 50lb weight dropped on a CF hood and it didnt even dent.

by **Flipside909** » Tue Mar 04, 2003 1:26 pm

A C/F hood for a daily driver is not a very smart investment. The acrylic layer will suffer from more knicks and dings than a durable layer of paint. So yeah...that's something to ponder.

by **Yanks0114** » Tue Mar 04, 2003 1:29 pm

Flipside909 wrote:A C/F hood for a daily driver is not a very smart investment. The acrylic layer will suffer from more knicks and dings than a durable layer of paint. So yeah...that's something to ponder.

If i did get a CF hood, is there any way to protect this layer or to repair it if its gets chipped. I hate the hail dents and if i'm going to replace the hood, i'd wanna upgrade it.

by **happy_aggies** » Tue Mar 04, 2003 1:31 pm

Perhaps you can do a CF overlay on OEM hood, finish it w/ clear coat.

by **TadS** » Tue Mar 04, 2003 1:31 pm

Flipside909 wrote:A C/F hood for a daily driver is not a very smart investment. The acrylic layer will suffer from more knicks and dings than a durable layer of paint. So yeah...that's something to ponder.

What about fiberglass, or is that problematic too?

by **cdssolara** » Tue Mar 04, 2003 1:49 pm

Peter wrote:i dont know why, but i get annoyed when people say cf hood are for looks only. i know they look great, but the intent is to take off weight, so why would you say its for looks mostly?

For racing purposes, the CF hood helps because it lowers the weight. In a daily driven car, I don't think the small weight loss is going to matter much. It is my opinion, then, that most people who buy them do so in order to get a certain look, as performance gains are moot. Basically, it's the same issue as getting a body kit. It may help for race cars, but for daily drivers, it's strictly cosmetic. There's nothing wrong with getting either one; just don't kid yourself as to why.

by **NASTY** » Tue Mar 04, 2003 3:26 pm

while were on the topic of putting the solara on a diet, i was curious about something (though i dont intend to do it):
the back bench must weigh alot, so i was wondering if someone were to take it out (anyone have this done?) would it hurt the handling/braking/whatever because of the effect on the weight distribution? (ie: even higher percentage in the front because back is lighter)

by **Yanks0114** » Tue Mar 04, 2003 3:38 pm

The back bench being the seats that back passengers sit on?

If you are talking about the fabric its really pretty light. Maybe 10 pounds at most.

If you meant something else either way it wont hurt braking. The fronts do about 80% of the braking as a result of the sheer physics of stopping.

by **NASTY** » Tue Mar 04, 2003 3:54 pm

10 pounds??
i mean the WHOLE bench
i was thinking around 200

by **Peter** » Tue Mar 04, 2003 4:59 pm

the whole backseat assembly is all cloth. only about 20 pounds. dont even waste your time, plus it looks ugly gutted out. most of the weight in the back is just the chassis and the gas tank. maybe your fat friends too...but they can be easily removed

by **CrazyCraig** » Tue Mar 04, 2003 5:00 pm

I found that I could lighten up my Solara by about 175lbs. simply by getting out of it

How to lightweight our solara?

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