My Car is on a Diet.

[MasterC17]

So, I am fairly certain I adamantly stated that I was NOT going to do this...and well, here we are. So if you are like me, and feel that all of those fancy parts that came with the car that you paid for must be removed and weighed, please - join the aid group.

Without ado, I present you with weights!

Front Seats: 55lbs (each)
Rear 40 Seat: 13lbs
Rear 60 Seat: 24lbs
Rear Bottom Seat: 15lbs
Rear Bolsters: 2.5lbs (each)
Rear Load Floor Supports: 11oz (each)
Trunk Carpet (Full): 12.5lbs (Note: 2019+ are a two-piece design)
Trunk Load Floor: 3.5lbs
Rear Door Panels: 7lbs (each)
Subwoofer/Amplifier Assembly: 8.5lbs (Primarily in the Subwoofer)
Rear Seatbelt Retractors: 2.6lbs (each)
Front Trunk Storage Compartment: 15lbs (w/ hardware)

And weights graciously provided by others:

Windshield: 38lbs
Roof/Top Glass: 27.4lbs
Front Door Glass (Single Pane): 9.5lbs (Each)
Rear Door Glass: 7.6lbs (Each)
Trunk (Steel): 26.9lbs
12V Battery: 30lbs

By my calculations, by removing the 2nd row and trunk interior trim, the frunk, replacing the 12V battery with a lithium unit, replacing the top glass with lexan/polycarbonate, and replacing the front seats with some lightweight fixed-back seats, you can easily drop more than 200lbs.

Not to mention, there are gains to be had from lightweight rotors and suspension components, though a lot/all of that I have gained back with cooling components. More to come!



If you have weights please add them!

 

[SabrToothSqrl]

Me before wrist surgery: 180lbs
Me now: 198 lbs (8 weeks of couch). ugh.

think of the savings with FSD I won't even need to be in the car.
Of course, I'll need another car to go places, but my tesla will be super light.

Does FSD have a 1/4 mile mode? watch lights. mash throttle. drive 1/4 mile. stop.

 

[Mash]

KW/MPP 31.6 lbs rear, 29.4 lbs front.
Didn't measure stock yet, but it's heavier.

UPP all carbon doors 17.1 lbs savings
Lexan side windows save 18.7 lbs.
Lexan windshield and roof save 36.1 lbs.

I personally won't go with a lexan on a street car ever - it's noisy and quickly scratches by everything, because it's plastic, duh. Also, lexan roof can only be installed with a welded cage, otherwise safety and rigidity goes down, since lexan is flexible.

UPP rear carbon bumper saves 8.4 lbs
Rear carbon trunk saves 19.9 lbs

Carbon front brake kit weights exactly the same as stock, but it's certainly much more heat resistant. It's lower rotational mass, because rotor is lighter, but calipers and pads are heavier.

Stock 20 inch wheel and tire 53.6 lbs each
19x9.5 signature 275x35x19 4S 48.9 lbs each
18x10.5 UPP 295x35x18 a052 47.4 lbs each
You can go 60mm wider and still save almost 25 lbs on all 4 corners.

UPP roll bar is +65 lbs. That eats wheels, trunk, bumper, suspension and doors savings almost completely...

 

[Feathermerchan]

The battery pack weighs about 1,000 lb so removing half the cells would save a lot of weight.
I see you have Performance models. They are AWD. Removing the front drive unit would save >100 lb.

 

[Mash]

Can you make a Google sheet with a public access for comments? This way anyone can contribute or easily calculate weight savings and costs.

 

[Black306]

Model 3s have pretty good regen braking. Just remove the whole brake system.

 

[Mash]

I wonder if we can ask moderator to clean up the thread from funny guys?

 

[Black306]

I wonder if we can ask moderator to clean up the thread from funny guys?

 

[Sam1]

I wonder if we can ask moderator to clean up the thread from funny guys?

So you care about people not posting trash in threads all of a sudden?

 

[MasterC17]

KW/MPP 31.6 lbs rear, 29.4 lbs front.
Didn't measure stock yet, but it's heavier.

Sorry, is this total suspension weight per axle - or something else?

I think the Lexan top glass is fine, it's the back glass that adds the structural rigidity (to my understanding). I completely agree on the door glass, it would be a nightmare.

The trunk is really the only panel on the car worth the $$ replacing with carbon fiber. The bumpers are plastic, the fenders are steel but already light, the doors and hood are already aluminum. But, 20lbs on the trunk for $1,500 isn't terrible (or great lol).

The A052 seems to be very light for its size compared to other tires, which is why I will be buying a set soon - and they are fast (but horrible wear).

The AP Racing BBK I have is only barely heavier than the stock Performance setup - I think like 1lb per side.

I'll get a Google Spreadsheet up later today!

I absolutely will not put a roll bar or cage into the Model 3, I regret the last time I did that to a car, made it so impractical to use.

I was able to drop over 800lbs out of an E46 M3 (2,500lbs without driver). Carbon fiber doors, hood, roof, and trunk, sound deadening removed, etc.

Let's try to keep it civil in this thread everyone

 

[Sam1]

Sorry, is this total suspension weight per axle - or something else?

I think the Lexan top glass is fine, it's the back glass that adds the structural rigidity (to my understanding). I completely agree on the door glass, it would be a nightmare.

The trunk is really the only panel on the car worth the $$ replacing with carbon fiber. The bumpers are plastic, the fenders are steel but already light, the doors and hood are already aluminum. But, 20lbs on the trunk for $1,500 isn't terrible (or great lol).

The A052 seems to be very light for its size compared to other tires, which is why I will be buying a set soon - and they are fast (but horrible wear).

The AP Racing BBK I have is only barely heavier than the stock Performance setup - I think like 1lb per side.

I'll get a Google Spreadsheet up later today!

I absolutely will not put a roll bar or cage into the Model 3, I regret the last time I did that to a car, made it so impractical to use.

I was able to drop over 800lbs out of an E46 M3 (2,500lbs without driver). Carbon fiber doors, hood, roof, and trunk, sound deadening removed, etc.

View attachment 630243

Let's try to keep it civil in this thread everyone

A spreadsheet is the only way to do something like this... Way too many variables to read with no structure via posts.

 

[MXLRplus]

When I was building production drag cars:
There is often a bar behind the dash.
There are often door bars.
Use the right resistor and remove all airbags.
Lighteweight alum bucket seat for driver (must be tied to cage usually).
This will defray the weight gain from the rollcage.

 

[Feathermerchan]

The first thing that needs to happen is you need to define the car's purpose(s). If only a drag car, then removing many batteries is a great way to reduce weight because you don't need range. If a road race car, you can reduce polar moment of inertia by removing battery cells around the outside of the pack. You will also undoubtedly want to change/lighten the suspension.
So first define your use case. That will point you in the right direction.

 

[MasterC17]

If I were building a race car I would consider a cage, but I'm not. This will still need to be driven on the street and will never compete beyond Time Trials (no wheel to wheel). Unfortunately, the energy is consumed so quickly that a smaller battery pack would render the car nearly useless on a road course. Ultimately, I'm only trying to drop ~200lbs here. That's about 5% of the vehicle weight which is consequential.

Here is the Spreadsheet: Tesla Model 3 Part/Component Weights

I added some weights:

Rear Upper Package Tray 9 w/ speakers & 3rd brake light
2018-2020 20" Wheel + Tire Package 53.6 each
2021+ 20" Wheel + Tire Package 54.5 each
Performance Front Rotors 19.4 each
Performance Front Calipers 11.25 each w/ pads
Performance Rear Rotors 14.2 each
Performance Rear Calipers 9.8 each w/ pads
Front Strut 17 w/ top hat
Glove Box 4.8
Fog Light (Front) 2.5 each
Front Fore Link 4.5 each
Front Aft Link 4.25 each
Base Front Rotor 21 each

 

[Sam1]

non-PUP rotors are 21.2 lb in the front. RB front rotors in the same size as those rotors are 14.8 lb

I've got the rears somewhere, will grab that info later.

Recommendation for anyone replacing rotors on a non-PUP, is to just go with the big brake kit. Saving that extra pound or two does pretty much nothing, so it would be best to get the benefits of a bigger rotor instead.

 

[MasterC17]

non-PUP rotors are 21.2 lb in the front. RB front rotors in the same size as those rotors are 14.8 lb

I've got the rears somewhere, will grab that info later.

Recommendation for anyone replacing rotors on a non-PUP, is to just go with the big brake kit. Saving that extra pound or two does pretty much nothing, so it would be best to get the benefits of a bigger rotor instead.

Or install Performance rear rotors. Still saves weight, but much cheaper solution!

 

[Sam1]

Or install Performance rear rotors. Still saves weight, but much cheaper solution!

... wait you're saying to put the rears on the front? Think there's a misunderstanding lol.. But I thought the rear non PUP and PUP were the same size.

 

[Dangerous Fish]

I'm with Feathermerchan. What are you hoping to gain?
If you were building a race car you'd strip as much out as you could because why not.
Otherwise, I'd say you'll be looking at a lot of effort/money for not much gain.

 

[MasterC17]

I'm with Feathermerchan. What are you hoping to gain?
If you were building a race car you'd strip as much out as you could because why not.
Otherwise, I'd say you'll be looking at a lot of effort/money for not much gain.

200lbs is about 5% of the weight of the car. The old rule of thumb was every 10lbs = 1 horsepower. Removing weight will make the car quicker, it will wear through tires and brakes at a slower rate, and it should corner better. Yeah, it's not a ton of weight - but the only functionality I am really losing is the rear seat which I never use anyway. Not making any permanent changes, it took me less than an hour to remove the rear interior. And honestly, I passed the point of sane modifications a long time ago

Ultimate goal is trying to place well in One Lap of America and the Ultimate Track Car Challenge this year.

 

[SigNC]

I used to see people spend 15 grand to lighten a race bike and then they would be 50lbs overweight.......no idea if that applies here just an observation.