Anyone gut the car to see what kind of MPG's they could get?
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A terrific idea to see what the 2.0L can do....zoom zoom
No plans to strip mine down to the bare bones to see how that might boost mpg, but I do want to drop some unsprung weight by replacing the oem 16 steel wheels (on the iSport) for something lighter. I'm anticipating a noticeable bump in both mpg and power (acceleration), but would love to hear if anyone has actually dropped significant rim/tire weight on the 2014 skyactiv 2.0.
No plans to strip mine down to the bare bones to see how that might boost mpg, but I do want to drop some unsprung weight by replacing the oem 16 steel wheels (on the iSport) for something lighter. I'm anticipating a noticeable bump in both mpg and power (acceleration), but would love to hear if anyone has actually dropped significant rim/tire weight on the 2014 skyactiv 2.0.
I've weighed(lab scales) a lot of tires in my day, and tirerack is generally within +/- 0.25 lbs.
The tires on this car are avg weight but leaning toward light(the comparable Michelins are 21 lbs). That's basically how you achieve LRR aside from compound/construction.
Bridgestone Ecopia EP422: 20 lbs.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...del=Mazda3 5-Door&autoModClar=i Grand Touring
I'm interested in knowing the weight of the wheels and agree with you that this will likely yield the biggest bang for the buck.
I don't intend to drive around without an interior I am just curious how much this car can squeeze out of a stripped interior. Maybe just remove the seats and spare tire
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Thx for sharing your take on tire rack.com--very helpful.I've weighed(lab scales) a lot of tires in my day, and tirerack is generally within +/- 0.25 lbs.
The tires on this car are avg weight but leaning toward light(the comparable Michelins are 21 lbs). That's basically how you achieve LRR aside from compound/construction.
Bridgestone Ecopia EP422: 20 lbs.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...del=Mazda3 5-Door&autoModClar=i Grand Touring
I'm interested in knowing the weight of the wheels and agree with you that this will likely yield the biggest bang for the buck.
I don't intend to drive around without an interior I am just curious how much this car can squeeze out of a stripped interior. Maybe just remove the seats and spare tire
Found a great thread "wheel weight" (posted on 9/22/2014) in the wheels and tires sub-forum for the 2014 m3. If you haven't done so already, check it out. Loads of great info.
Bet the car would feel super nimble w/out seats and spare. Zippity zoom!
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exhaust won't actually save you any worthwhile weight, battery is a bit minimal too.
I've taken out 350lbs of plastic from my car and put back in another 130ish lbs over time.
The car will act faster (because of course it weighs less), but MPG gains ... minimal at best.
Even if you stripped out the whole interior in an average car, you typically won't see more than 1-1.5mpg in a city drive; and would see 0 difference except more noise rattles and ... more noise than is worth it (especially when on the highway there is 0 gain).
Unless you plan on racing the car; there's no reason to strip it. The weight has more affect on acceleration performance than actual gas savings.
Especially with how loud the car will be.
I've taken out 350lbs of plastic from my car and put back in another 130ish lbs over time.
The car will act faster (because of course it weighs less), but MPG gains ... minimal at best.
Even if you stripped out the whole interior in an average car, you typically won't see more than 1-1.5mpg in a city drive; and would see 0 difference except more noise rattles and ... more noise than is worth it (especially when on the highway there is 0 gain).
Unless you plan on racing the car; there's no reason to strip it. The weight has more affect on acceleration performance than actual gas savings.
Especially with how loud the car will be.
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Yea I don't see you saving much weight by removing some interior parts. It's not like they weigh a lot anyway, so how much do you think you'll remove? 100 pounds maybe? That's a pebble in a pond vs the 2,900 pound car. It won't notice a difference and neither will you. Waste of time and broken clips, if you ask me.
um yeah I'm not talking about replacing them with lighter alternatives.
I'm discussing free weight reduction.
If you're driving at highway speed at the same speed(say 65mph) you are accelerating. F = Ma. I'd have to work out the calcs to see how much of a theoretical improvement it would be but you have to consider rolling resistance goes down, acceleration goes down(using less HP to move at the same speed), thus improving efficiency.
100 lbs out of 2900 is 4%. It all adds up!
In the name of science, someone with more time than me should perform this test
1. When we're talking about a small difference of 100lbs, the percentage of weight loss is pretty much the the percentage of MPG gain. So we're talking about 1mpg.
2. It's much easier to add 100lbs than to remove 100lbs. Add 100lbs and do your "experiment".
3. When we're talking about only 1mpg, it'll be buried among so many other variables; winter fuel, different trips, weather, traffic, and the possibility that you'll drive differently just because you're hoping for a big mpg difference.
2. It's much easier to add 100lbs than to remove 100lbs. Add 100lbs and do your "experiment".
3. When we're talking about only 1mpg, it'll be buried among so many other variables; winter fuel, different trips, weather, traffic, and the possibility that you'll drive differently just because you're hoping for a big mpg difference.
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Theorize and calculate all you want; the real problem is those aren't realistic numbers. Don't get me wrong, hypermilers that are dead serious about everything will probably see "exciting" results, but for the average Joe, it definitely is not worth it.
Removing the interior is far more than 100lbs, like I said, my interior strip was over 300lbs entirely (that however included both front seats so it isn't exactly fair), but just a reference number on the gen1s.
It's safe to assume the interior weight of the gen3 weighs as much as it has in previous generations, or close at least. Foam and plastics don't really lose any weight, especially when I'm throwing the rear seat bench on the scale and it weighs 3.5lbs .... can't really get much lighter for the parts that can be light lol
Benchmark is on it though.
Calculations will tell you what it could theoretically be, but in the real world, you'd rather drive a drill into the side of your head vs deal with a stripped interior for the sake of 0.8 mpg on the highway.
Trust me it isn't fun lol
Listen for all the squeaks and rattles in the background noise, that's typical rear suspension noise you hear 24/7 when you pull out the rear seat.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAcJa3xU3CE
Removing the interior is far more than 100lbs, like I said, my interior strip was over 300lbs entirely (that however included both front seats so it isn't exactly fair), but just a reference number on the gen1s.
It's safe to assume the interior weight of the gen3 weighs as much as it has in previous generations, or close at least. Foam and plastics don't really lose any weight, especially when I'm throwing the rear seat bench on the scale and it weighs 3.5lbs .... can't really get much lighter for the parts that can be light lol
Benchmark is on it though.
Calculations will tell you what it could theoretically be, but in the real world, you'd rather drive a drill into the side of your head vs deal with a stripped interior for the sake of 0.8 mpg on the highway.
Trust me it isn't fun lol
Listen for all the squeaks and rattles in the background noise, that's typical rear suspension noise you hear 24/7 when you pull out the rear seat.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAcJa3xU3CE
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How about you lose 100 pounds of your own weight and keep the interior...haha
:wink2:
:wink2:
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You can rip out thousands of dollars of interior equipment to save tens of dollars of gas each year.
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LOL!
I think that's the best way of putting it into lamens terms I've ever heard, I may steal this from you!
It's not only about saving $$, it's also about having to fill up less.
I guess no one wants to strip their interior to test out the results. I might have to do it next week since work will be light.
I'm not considering keeping it long term, I want to see what the effect of weight is on this car combined with its highway aerodynamics
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Like I said; if you do highway trips, you won't notice a thing.
If you're city, you may notice 1mpg on average gain.
But the noise is not worth it.
Even at 1mpg; you aren't really saving anything at all; with a gain of 1mpg, think about it; that's 10-11 more miles per tank.
When you're averaging well over 200-300+ miles per tank?
That accounts for a very very low percentage.
< 5% no matter the account.
I mean you're literally talking about saving $30 by the end of the year. (Well, really this depends how much you drive).
I personally if I gained 1MPG solid throughout the year and got the same mileage, I would save $32 per year with where gas prices are right now. That isn't much.
So be annoyed by having a stripped interior; which, honestly I think it's safe to assume you won't even be stripping the full interior but just the seats which is only going to be ~80lbs for the entire rear seat and junk in the trunk.
Or, don't eat out once, and you end up with the same cost savings.
If you're city, you may notice 1mpg on average gain.
But the noise is not worth it.
Even at 1mpg; you aren't really saving anything at all; with a gain of 1mpg, think about it; that's 10-11 more miles per tank.
When you're averaging well over 200-300+ miles per tank?
That accounts for a very very low percentage.
< 5% no matter the account.
I mean you're literally talking about saving $30 by the end of the year. (Well, really this depends how much you drive).
I personally if I gained 1MPG solid throughout the year and got the same mileage, I would save $32 per year with where gas prices are right now. That isn't much.
So be annoyed by having a stripped interior; which, honestly I think it's safe to assume you won't even be stripping the full interior but just the seats which is only going to be ~80lbs for the entire rear seat and junk in the trunk.
Or, don't eat out once, and you end up with the same cost savings.
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As a science experiment, you're probably better off booking some time at the track (ideally oval) and convincing a buddy or lady friend to ride with you. Set the cruise control and ride a couple hours on your own, fill up, and then ride with the 2nd person for the same amount of laps and speed. Your looking at 100-200lb differential, depending on the weight of your passenger and I think it's a pretty safe assumption that any MPG you lose with this additional weight will be almost the same as the MPG you gain the striping the equivalent amount of weight.
Cheaper, easier, faster, and much more controlled than actually ripping out the interior.
You may have better luck convincing three bags of concrete mix from your local HD/Lowe's to ride a couple of hours. Place one bag on each floormat. You have a choice of 50#, 60# and 80# each.
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