# What can you do to lighten up the 2.5??!



## AcidBlaze (Jul 25, 2005)

I just saw the weight of the car and my jaw dropped... Over 4000lbs?!







WTF.. But, Volkswagen is all about safety.. Any way I was wondering if anyone has any ideas how to lighten this baby up a bunch?


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## epic fail (Aug 29, 2009)

*Re: What can you do to lighten up the 2.5??! (AcidBlaze)*

thats wierd! i put my rabbit on my big rig scale at work and got just over 3000lbs with me in it. and i'm 290. i think you are looking at the max loaded weight.


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## AcidBlaze (Jul 25, 2005)

*Re: What can you do to lighten up the 2.5??! (epic fail)*

Hmm... that could be true... but still.. any ideas?


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## LampyB (Apr 2, 2007)

remove spare tire. get aftermarket seats that are lighter. put on lighter wheels. anything else on top of this and you'll probably be compromising safety features and sound deadening materials. not worth it IMO unless you're going to strip it and put in a roll cage for a race car.


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## AcidBlaze (Jul 25, 2005)

*Re: (LampyB)*

Where's a good place to get light weight wheels?


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## edb4 (Mar 4, 2009)

You may wish to invest in cheap performance parts than new wheels. Less unsprung weight is awesome, but I think the benefits of an intake ($275) and chipping ($variable) along with front adjustable sway bars ($400) and new torque arm and tranny mounts ($100) would offer dramatic improvements over just reducing 10lbs. of wheel-weight and for probably the same cost. Or just take that spare tire out of the trunk.


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## Outie5000 (Aug 8, 2007)

curb weight I thought was like, 3100lbs.
STEP ONE: remove fancy gadgets. No electric seats for one, those things weigh a billion pounds.
Then it's on to taking out the rear seats, getting lighter front seats, and then taking off all that underbody plastic garbage.


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## BluMagic (Apr 9, 2008)

unsprung weight first... lightweight coils and wheels.


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## AcidBlaze (Jul 25, 2005)

*Re: (Outie5000)*

I got the 2005.5 Package 2 Jetta and it came with power seats







Whats the best store to go to to get light seats (OEM looking would be nice). 
Here are my modifications that I've done to the car already: TT Exhaust, Carbonio Intake, Tranny mount, Unitronic Chip, Springs, No engine cover, took out rear tire, remove excess plastic, light weight pulley, and ... It think thats... 17" BBS Rims (No idea what the weight is on those puppies all I know is that they are lighter than 18"


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## SuperleggeraVW (Jan 28, 2009)

*Re: (AcidBlaze)*

Carbon fiber? Unless its a race car I think it looks bad if you don't paint it. That would save a little weight and cost a lot, so unless you have the cash its a no go, but its an idea. There are CB hood, hatch, doors and front fenders for the mkv gti. so I'm guessing they should fit?
You don't have too many affordable options if you want to stay comfortrable and quite.


_Modified by SuperleggeraVW at 1:11 AM 10-3-2009_


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## kungfoojesus (Jan 10, 2005)

optioned out the GLI is only like 3300lbs... the jetta is not 4000lbs.


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## AcidBlaze (Jul 25, 2005)

*Re: (SuperleggeraVW)*

The hoods a good idea.. i can get the no problem.. I have a Caractere body kit... on sooo... the hood will be painted (don't want to "rice" up my car)


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## Jon1983 (Feb 21, 2009)

According to VW.ca, the Jetta is 1,465kg/3,296 lb manual 1,490 kg/3,352 lb auto.


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## IJSTROK (Oct 2, 2007)

*Re: (Jon1983)*

Take off the resonator and one muffler. That should save like 20 pounds.
Edit: reading comprehension>me 


_Modified by IJSTROK at 1:50 PM 10-3-2009_


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## BlackRabbit2point5 (Sep 6, 2007)

swiss cheese the oil pan


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## sagerabbit (Aug 14, 2007)

I like lighting up when I drive


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## Outie5000 (Aug 8, 2007)

Are you wanting a lighter car for a specific purpose, or do you just want a lighter weight car?
If you're going the race car route theres a lot of things you can do to drop some lbs. But the car won't be comfortable as a daily. No AC can get to be a bit obnoxious.


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## saw2239 (Aug 13, 2009)

*Re: What can you do to lighten up the 2.5??! (AcidBlaze)*

The Rabbit has a dry weight of 2975lbs http://www.edmunds.com/new/200....html


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## thygreyt (Jun 7, 2009)

dude, get carbon fiber to everything you can afford... remove the power steering, the ac, seats... get a hollow sway bar... light weight rims, spare tire out...
and remove everything that can be considered useless...! hell if you want to lighten it up BAD... you could even remove a couple layers of paint!


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## seanmcd72 (May 14, 2008)

seems like you just shaved 1,000 lbs by posting this thread.


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## AcidBlaze (Jul 25, 2005)

*Re: (Outie5000)*

I just want a light weight car and free up the excess weight that I don't need.. (Trimming up the fat)


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## kungfoojesus (Jan 10, 2005)

a stock MK1 is lighter than a fully gutted rabbit with no ac, no air bags, no lights, etc etc etc... with a 16v swap the car also has more power.
just food for thought. completely gutted you can get the rabbit down to 2400lbs... removing EVERYTHING including cutting metal bars off the car and all the wiring, weather stripping, etc etc. everything really does mean everything.


_Modified by kungfoojesus at 6:57 PM 10-4-2009_


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## Louis J. (Feb 5, 2008)

If you want a much lighter car, sell your Golf and buy something else. As posted above, these cars are ~3,000lbs not 4,000lbs. You will not feel 100lb loss, even if you track the car and removing a 200-500lbs is either going to significantly compromise comfort or cost too much $$$ to make it worth while.


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## Crubb3d Rymz (Dec 25, 2006)

*FV-QR*

get rid of...
everything inside except for the cluster, headlight/hazard switch and one seat, scrape off the tar **** they coat the floorboards with
a/c compressor, lines, condenser, SAI
replace heavy stock battery and get yourself a tiny lightweight deka battery, relocate to the rear
carbon fiber hood, hatch (or trunk), fenders
lexan windows
should be a reasonable weight after that.


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## kungfoojesus (Jan 10, 2005)

so reasonable weight reduction so far is.
1.) light weight battery
2.) lighter wheels
3.) hollow sway bars? (no idea on the savings here)
4.) remove spare tire, jack, rear seat (may be reasonable for some)
all this combined could get you down 0.2 in the quarter... honestly not worth it. buy a rabbit with a 16v swap. bam 2000lb car w/out trying that has almost as much HP as a MK5 2.5. oh and 50/50 weight distribution fyi.


_Modified by kungfoojesus at 8:04 AM 10-6-2009_


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## BluMagic (Apr 9, 2008)

lighter suspension too. 
anything unsprung will be noticed ten times more than anything in or on the chassis. 

also getting the power to the ground will be more noticable.


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## AcidBlaze (Jul 25, 2005)

*Re: (BluMagic)*

OKay.. Got a light weight battery 15.8Lbs... Holy **** the OEM Battery was heavy. Never thought they weigh that much. New suspension on order. Wheels... Gonna wait till winter is over. Carbon fiber hood was ordered (Expensive, but its worth it... It will be painted guys). The other part to the project is that car is only going to be N/A.... Plus, needs to look as stock as possible..


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## kungfoojesus (Jan 10, 2005)

The battery takes a lot of weight off the front end. It really helps in the corners on FWD cars. I'll never understand why car manufacturers don't put batteries in trunks of front wheel drive cars. Or atleast behind the front axles...
Don't forget to remove the engine cover too!
Something else I thought of that makes a big difference in lap times is 100% nitrogen in the tires. "They" say this helps a lot with gas mileage, handling, braking, and reduces weight where you need it reduced most.


_Modified by kungfoojesus at 10:32 AM 10-7-2009_


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## AcidBlaze (Jul 25, 2005)

*Re: (kungfoojesus)*

I got a lighter battery... There is no engine cover as it only servers for cosmetic purposes if you have aftermarket intake on...


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## Louis J. (Feb 5, 2008)

I'm not sure what you're trying to achieve (are you building this for track or just for the hell of it?) but my hat's off to you. Weight reduction makes a huge difference when converting a street car for track so I appreciate the process. Subscribed.


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## AcidBlaze (Jul 25, 2005)

*Re: (Louis J.)*

I'm just doing this for the hell of it... plus i want a project to do. I want to take this car to its full potential without all the VW crap you dont need. I want a street/track car... why... well... why not. The things paid off finally and I have spare cash and think its time to see what this thing can do. From already working on it I know how much craps in it, but with the right mods it can be fast... Remember Its only going to be N/A so weight is key in this project.. Question: which company is doing the N/A project? C2 right??


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## kungfoojesus (Jan 10, 2005)

Removing the smog pump would save a TON of weight. Are you in a smog legal state? Does anyone make a block off plate for this purpose? I haven't even glanced at my 2.5 yet. The cat weighs a lot versus a straight pipe too.


_Modified by kungfoojesus at 8:24 AM 10-8-2009_


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## BluMagic (Apr 9, 2008)

*Re: (AcidBlaze)*


_Quote, originally posted by *AcidBlaze* »_Remember Its only going to be N/A so weight is key in this project.. Question: which company is doing the N/A project? C2 right??









NLS


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## BluMagic (Apr 9, 2008)

*Re: (kungfoojesus)*


_Quote, originally posted by *kungfoojesus* »_Removing the smog pump would save a TON of weight. Are you in a smog legal state? Does anyone make a block off plate for this purpose? I haven't even glanced at my 2.5 yet. The cat weighs a lot versus a straight pipe too.

_Modified by kungfoojesus at 8:24 AM 10-8-2009_

1552 makes the plate i think...


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## nothing-leaves-stock (Mar 1, 2005)

*Re: (BluMagic)*

eat yogurt and excerise regularly


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## BluMagic (Apr 9, 2008)

*Re: (nothing-leaves-stock)*


_Quote, originally posted by *nothing-leaves-stock* »_eat yogurt and excerise regularly










btw how much power do u put down in your rabbit if you run 100 octane yogurt?


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## nothing-leaves-stock (Mar 1, 2005)

*Re: (BluMagic)*

with or without "Vtec this!" stickers on?


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## CaTiRo (Sep 23, 2008)

i got a buddy with a stripped down civic hatch with b16 swap. didn't even have carpet in there. he did all that work and it wasn't any faster than my mazda6 with a/c and power everything. oh well. personally if this is a purpose built track car i see your point. but if this is a daily driver and more speed is what you are after then i would go f/i or wait until the n/a buildup is finished and see whats what.

but i agree:
remove spare and jack
lite weight wheels
remove backseat
lite weight battery
etc


_Modified by CaTiRo at 9:35 AM 10-8-2009_


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## Louis J. (Feb 5, 2008)

FYI, TDI cup cars are ~500lbs lighter than a street Jetta and those things are gutted.


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## BluMagic (Apr 9, 2008)

*Re: (CaTiRo)*


_Quote, originally posted by *CaTiRo* »_i got a buddy with a stripped down civic hatch with b16 swap. didn't even have carpet in there. he did all that work and it wasn't any faster than my mazda6 with a/c and power everything. oh well. personally if this is a purpose built track car i see your point. but if this is a daily driver and more speed is what you are after then i would go f/i or wait until the n/a buildup is finished and see whats what.

but i agree:
remove spare and jack
lite weight wheels
remove backseat
lite weight battery
etc

_Modified by CaTiRo at 9:35 AM 10-8-2009_

thats cause he has no torque







... my h22 EK hatch ran high 13's with just bolt ons and hondata. 
on the freeway it was even more of a beast. 
it's power to weight ratio, +grip +driver.. not just weight alone.


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## CaTiRo (Sep 23, 2008)

yeah i hear you, my 2000 si had no torque at all. but it was a fun little engine. 
i tried to get him to do the h22 instead. he loves the b series and had his mind made up. 
i want to do a 60 something beetle with a 2300 cc engine. ahhh ... one can dream.


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## BluMagic (Apr 9, 2008)

*Re: (CaTiRo)*


_Quote, originally posted by *CaTiRo* »_yeah i hear you, my 2000 si had no torque at all. but it was a fun little engine. 
i tried to get him to do the h22 instead. he loves the b series and had his mind made up. 
i want to do a 60 something beetle with a 2300 cc engine. ahhh ... one can dream.


yeah b-series is good in the EG though (as long as your not a drag racer)... weight balance is much better. even my EK was a little too front heavy... a$$ lost grip quite a few times in corners. 
i'd like to get a EG or EK again one day w/ k swap


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## kungfoojesus (Jan 10, 2005)

the weight adds up. i can tell a difference with just one passenger in the car when throwing the car into corners. good luck with this project.


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## AcidBlaze (Jul 25, 2005)

*Re: (kungfoojesus)*

The Hood arrived yesterday... Now Im just looking for a guy to paint it. Also, wheres a good place to find light weight wheels? The car feels a lot quicker with the amount of excess weight i removed... peppy little car.


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## Remedy (Jan 31, 2004)

Sparco lighter Racing seats
OZ Ultraleggera 18lbs


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## Daral (Apr 9, 2009)

*Re: (AcidBlaze)*

Hey put up some pictures to actually see the progress of your project...
Don't you think? at least I do want to see this car...


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## BlackRabbit2point5 (Sep 6, 2007)

my 84 GTI weighs 1895lbs and puts down a whopping 86whp with 89 ft/lbs wtq on a mustang dyno. Have a lot more potential weight to loose out of the car, and aside from fixing crap and playing with ignition timing I have yet to try to make power.


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## BluMagic (Apr 9, 2008)

*Re: (AcidBlaze)*

if i had the money...








http://www.tirerack.com/wheels...Brand


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## _V-Dubber_ (Jan 30, 2007)

*Re: (AcidBlaze)*

So basically, you want your car to end up a little something like this???


























_Modified by _V-Dubber_ at 3:12 PM 10-12-2009_


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## AcidBlaze (Jul 25, 2005)

*Re: (_V-Dubber_)*

lol... Not that extreme. I want it to have a clean interior and I'm working on ways of lightening it up. I'll put pics soon. The projects been motivated by ur guys ideas... The OZ rimms are hot.. I'm gonna get those.


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## blackhawk 76 (Jan 19, 2007)

*FV-QR*


_Quote, originally posted by *BluMagic* »_if i had the money...








http://www.tirerack.com/wheels...Brand 


RE30's FTW. 18x8 and 16.4 lbs each.


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## 2ohgti (Nov 8, 2004)

*Re: (BlackRabbit2point5)*


_Quote, originally posted by *BlackRabbit2point5* »_my 84 GTI weighs 1895lbs and puts down a whopping 86whp with 89 ft/lbs wtq on a mustang dyno. Have a lot more potential weight to loose out of the car, and aside from fixing crap and playing with ignition timing I have yet to try to make power.

86 whp is really good for a non-modified 90 bhp 8v http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif 
I took off my mud flaps and engine cover.....that is like removing 100 lbs








Every golf gen keeps getting heavier and heavier. One day they will be a 5000 lb. hatch back.


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## _V-Dubber_ (Jan 30, 2007)

*Re: (BluMagic)*


_Quote, originally posted by *BluMagic* »_
1552 makes the plate i think...

Actually, you're thinking of Seamless Motorsport. There used to be a thread for them in this forum a few months ago, it's probably still there if you do a search.
1552 can make anything you need, including SAI/EGR blockoff plates. Actually, my vehicle is with them now and we're going to try and eliminate that whole SAI/EGR system altogether. Shawn's gonna make me some EGR blockoff plates because the ones from Seamless are expensive, something like $75/pair








No one really knows how complicated the removal process will be on this engine because, well, no one has really bothered to do anything that extreme. I mean anybody can remove the EGR tube and put on those blockoff plates but I'm talking full EGR/SAI system removal and ECU retuned to run without it.
Not sure if Audi4u has done this because I dont read his thread. There was a Sage Green Rabbit in VW Tuner (I think it was) this month that had a shaved engine bay. Did anyone see this car? The best part was it was owned by a girl. Props for chics who mod their 2.5s, dont see many of those. Did not get a good enough look to see if the EGR system was removed but the battery and fuse box were relocated to the trunk, alot of the wiring was simplified, and the A/C was removed. Pretty sweet car.
Anyways, Jeff @ C2 is gonna try and eliminate the programming in the ECU that operates the EGR system. Not sure how deep we'll have to dig into the ECU's lines of code to prevent a CEL. I might just have to live with one but the engine should still operate normally anyway. I'll let you know how that turns out when my build is complete in the next month or two.


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## stangg172006 (Jul 21, 2006)

hit the gym...... start with wheels, biggest benefit for HP numbers.


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## chois (May 12, 2000)

*Re: (_V-Dubber_)*


_Quote, originally posted by *_V-Dubber_* »_So basically, you want your car to end up a little something like this???

























_Modified by _V-Dubber_ at 3:12 PM 10-12-2009_

OK so assuming you do the above and:
retain stock battery
replace stock manifold/exhaust
remove all that sound dampening tar sheet stuff
remove windows/regulators
remove cooling fans
remove all AC components
replace wheels with light weight 15s (lets say 35# wheel/tire per corner)
starting from a non-sunroof car
remove all the under hood sound deadening
add in 120# of cage
Does anyone think the Rabbit (or Jetta for that matter) can realistically get down to 2500# aka 2680 with a 180 driver?


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## kungfoojesus (Jan 10, 2005)

Definitely. I've seen 24v GTI get down to 2400, some cutting required! The 24v and 02m are VERY heavy, hell the 02m alone weighs ~150lbs!!! Our cars are actually pretty light by modern VW standards, especially the 2.5!


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## chois (May 12, 2000)

No cutting other than to allow for cage bars to protrude into the doors.


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## kungfoojesus (Jan 10, 2005)

Doubt it w/out cutting out rear impact beams, air bags, weather stripping, window regulators,stereo system, alternator, power steering, radiator fans, AC unit,, climate control, etc etc. Only time will tell.



_Modified by kungfoojesus at 6:01 AM 11-7-2009_


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## chois (May 12, 2000)

All that is cool, except cutting (other than to fit cages door bars), alternator and power steering removal.


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