Quest to lose weight - HVAC

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planet6racing

New member
OK, so now that it is the off season in the Great White North, I'm in the process of searching for the last bits of weight to remove to make minimum weight (and, yes, not all of it is coming from the car. 20# is coming from me!).

Anyway, I pulled the entire HVAC system out of the car yesterday in order to selectively restore parts. I know this is a potentially touchy issue, and I'm sure that some people will turn this into an un-needed debate, but...

What, besides the heater core, needs to go back in? I've read of people with everything but the heater core out, others who just have a defrost fan, etc. but I'm not certain which way to go (I know I want the defroster, though). Any opinions/suggestions are welcome.


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Bill
Planet 6 Racing
bill (at) planet6racing (dot) com
 
I liked having my heater in my car...the first two races of the season it snowed on me...cranked up the heater full blast.
 
Bill, what is your total weight as you come off track & with what ammount of fuel ?

What is your car year & model ?

David
 
total weight, before starting the quest, was 2520 pounds with 1/2 tank (I'll be more precise next time I weight it).

My current weight is ~195. Spec weight for the combo is 2360. Gas is about 6#/gallon, so half a tank is approximately 30#. Car is a '92 Saturn SL2.

{edit}Part of the known overweight is due to heavy stock aluminum wheels and Kumho tires. When I start to get better in my times, I'll go to the hoosiers, but new wheels will be on the way this winter... {/edit}
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Bill
Planet 6 Racing
bill (at) planet6racing (dot) com

[This message has been edited by planet6racing (edited October 29, 2003).]
 
Dumb question....and I can't remember since it's been since the open house since I looked closely at your car.

Have you removed all the stuff that you are legally allowed to remove?

This includes carpets, head liners, seats, sound deadening, etc?

FYI, lighter wheels & tires are beneficial for two reasons.

1) Reducing the weight of the car and

2) (more importantly) reducing the unsprung rotational mass. This makes a big difference in acceleration and braking. Doesn't help cornering or top end though.
 
Yes, all that stuff is out of there. Now that the dash is out, I'm getting the last bit of the insulation out. Plus, if I feel ambitious this winter, I'm going to attack the undercoating on the bottom of the car...

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Bill
Planet 6 Racing
bill (at) planet6racing (dot) com
 
Not that this has anything to do with the original topic...

The classification for the SL2 was corrected in the April FasTrack to read 91-95, not 1995 like someone incorrectly put into the GCR. And, no, not all saturns are 4-doors. The SC2 and SC are 2 doors.

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Bill
Planet 6 Racing
bill (at) planet6racing (dot) com
 
Bill, don't want to start a pissing match but to say "Not that this has anything to do with the original topic..."

The topic was geting a car down to minimum weight or below correct.

Me not knowing the different models of Saturn I would bet I could get a 2 door model SC or SC2 down to 2330 pounds a bunch quicker than I could get a SL2 4 door down to 2360 pounds.

Have Fun
wink.gif

David

ps: I know I can get my 1st gen RX-7 down to 2380 pounds with driver & fuel at empty.
 
I wasn't trying to be specific to my car, I was asking what components of the HVAC system needs to go back in. I am trying to get a feel for what others have done so that I can decide what to do...

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Bill
Planet 6 Racing
bill (at) planet6racing (dot) com
 
<font face=\"Verdana, Arial\" size=\"2\">...trying to get a feel for what others have done so that I can decide what to do...</font>
Click to expand...

Exactly as John stated: you must install '...all the components that a factory non A/C car would have.'
 
I took everything out except for the heater core itself. I took the heater core out of the plastic container it was in with all of the ducting and baffles. I completely gutted everything that had to do with the ac. If it worked with the heater as well as the ac I removed it. I read the rules to say, all ac components could be removed in whole or in part. Someones gonna flame me for this I can tell.
 
Dieselsdad, I read the rules the same way...heater core and heater lines are in, but everything else is out. Blower, ducts, etc. GCR states all AC equipment may be removed, but specifically states heater core must remain, so that's the only thing left.

Living in S. Florida, I don't have to worry about snow, so the heater is just one more thing than can malfunction.
 
<font face=\"Verdana, Arial\" size=\"2\">...all ac components could be removed in whole or in part.</font>
Click to expand...

That's completely correct, but where does it allow removal of heater components in whole or in part?

To further that thought, take two cars side-by-side, identical except one has factory A/C and one does not. Using your example the A/C-equipped car can remove ducting, blower, heater case, etc, yet the non-A/C-equipped car has to leave it all in. Not logical.

If, however, you are assuming that "air conditioning" means anything used to change the temperature of the air inside the car then I'd call that a tortured interpretation of the rules. The term "air conditioning" has, and always will be, a vernacular and commonly-accepted term to mean a device that changes the temperature and humidy of the air using a compressor, condensor, evaporator, refrigerant, etc. If you are removing common "heater" components under the guise that it 'conditions the air', I'd argue that you're illegal to the rules.

If you disagree, I suggest you go to a dealer and order a car without "air conditioning" and see what you get...
 
The words are: Air conditioning SYSTEM may be removed in part or whole.

IMHJ, John Herman & grega have hit the nail on the head.

Have Fun
wink.gif

David
 
Ah, now we're getting to the root of the matter as to why I asked the question! I can see it both ways, each with their own interpretation of the rules...

I know this discussion was had before and I think someone mentioned that it was protested, but I can't remember the result.

I am trying to avoid this turning into a flame fest. Greg has made some good points, but I can reasonably see the other interpretation as well.

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Bill
Planet 6 Racing
bill (at) planet6racing (dot) com
 
Flame fest or not, legal or not....it SURE is nice to have a functioning system to blow warm air at the windshield when it's raining and the windows start to fog up....

Jarrod
 
Jarrod:

I completely agree. No matter what, I'm keeping my defroster!

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Bill
Planet 6 Racing
bill (at) planet6racing (dot) com
 
I LOVE CONTROVERSY! My rule book soesn't say anything about 2 cars, one with ac and one without. It says, ac can be removed in whole or in part, that's what I did. The fact that the ac air actually blows through most of the same heater ducts is the gray area that I thought allowed me to do this. To me, these gray areas are what make building a car fun. They are what make finding an edge over someone else possible. I didn't have to do it to get the weight down, I did it because it looked like a birds nest under there and I wanted to clean it up.

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mikey
 
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