shedding weight from behind dash?

The sound deadening behind the dash is ridiculously heavy, saves a hell of a lot of weight - but you can't talk in the car without shouting :laugh:. There's also sound proofing under the carpet and on the floor in the front and back, and also under the rear seats. That can come out to save a bit more. Do you have aircon? I can't remember fwn. Other than that, not sure what else you can remove from behind the dash
 
depends what your willing to sacrifice lol you could lose the blowers ect but then window de-misting is a b**** lol when i did mine i took everything out including the dash. imo its not really worth doing unless you shed most things and replace stuff like windows ect with lighter stuff. im not that bothered about noise and practicality so i have just chucked everything out of the k10
 
I managed to shed a lot of weight when I removed my aircon - I took out the rad, pump, all the pipes, everything contained in the blower matrix, all the wires I didn't need (aircon wiring/button, 3rd brake light, rear wiper motor, tweeter cables, a few more that weren't actually connected to anything :laugh:), all the sound deadening behind the dashboard, the soundproofing under the carpet and the sound deadening on the floor itself. But you have to shout to get anyone in the car to hear you
 
i think all it does it support the steering collum!

i lowered my steering and removed the sound deadening! enough for now and removed remains of old aierial and the non working alarm system ready for new one! and tidied it all up too
 
Daniel said:
I think removing that pole under the steering column is a bad idea :eek:
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the pole isn't really anything structural its imo its just there to hold the steering column ect and replacing it with lighter stuff isn't really gonna make any difference except add to the weight reduction. if it was legal id drive round with no glass in the car and chuck the old airplane goggles on lol
 
I always used to think they were structural. If I'd known they weren't, I would have made a lightweight one and fitted that instead. It certainly looked pretty damn weighty :glare:
 
Daniel said:
I think removing that pole under the steering column is a bad idea :eek:
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i,ve "replaced it" dan, with an alloy tube that runs across the full width of the car, which has removed that blade shaped bracket right by your left leg :eek:

 

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frank said:
i,ve "replaced it" dan, with an alloy tube that runs across the full width of the car, which has removed that blade shaped bracket right by your left leg :eek:

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i remember when i took the bar out of a sunny pickup that i converted from a n14 van that blade bracket thing took a nasty gouge out of my shin. so i wouldn't like to imagine it in a crash
 
frank said:
i,ve "replaced it" dan, with an alloy tube that runs across the full width of the car, which has removed that blade shaped bracket right by your left leg :eek:

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yeah when i first thought bout leaving the dash out during my first restoration, i thought O crap my left knee will get mullered by all that exposed bracket:eek:
the original thick pole was abit over engineered yet half supporting for just a steering support aint it?
 
Just a thought - if you have a look at the NCAP rating for the K11 Micras (a measly 2 stars), the protection rating for your knees is really low. I imagine that bracket could have something to do with it fwn
 
Daniel said:
Just a thought - if you have a look at the NCAP rating for the K11 Micras (a measly 2 stars), the protection rating for your knees is really low. I imagine that bracket could have something to do with it fwn
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could be. mean tis just a bit of plastic between ur knee and the sharp brackets?
 
Daniel said:
Just a thought - if you have a look at the NCAP rating for the K11 Micras (a measly 2 stars), the protection rating for your knees is really low. I imagine that bracket could have something to do with it fwn
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i would of thought they address that issue tho as it would cut ya leg off :eek:
 
Pretty much. And I can't see that plastic offering much protection in a serious shunt - the chassis and bodywork will probably flex everything just enough to crack the plastic and expose the bracket behind it. Especially if the engine is pushed back into the cabin
 
sr20bud said:
i would of thought they address that issue tho as it would cut ya leg off :eek:
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Aparently not, I reckon that bracket does have something to do with the low rating for your knee on that side. Couldn't be anything else that I can think of off the top of my head. But there is also so much more in a car that could damage you anyway - other metal brackets behind the dashboard, the steering wheel/column, the engine pushing the entire dashboard back, etc
 
Daniel said:
Aparently not, I reckon that bracket does have something to do with the low rating for your knee on that side. Couldn't be anything else that I can think of off the top of my head. But there is also so much more in a car that could damage you anyway - other metal brackets behind the dashboard, the steering wheel/column, the engine pushing the entire dashboard back, etc
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yeah true and i suppose the taller the person the more worse the damage. im just glad the sunny gti seats in the k10 brought the seating position back. still i might go further when i get some fixed backs and a pedal box lol
 
Why would you want a 3.8 v8? That's rover v8 territory
LS engine from a GM car that's what you want! Or just stop being benders and drop in a 13b no one can say that's a heavy engine!
 
by the way just to make a point about that scaffold poll under the dash. My cabriolet has two of them, the real reason is because there must be something strong for air bags to push off from. i believe the super s could have an optional extra steering wheel airbag, and its easier just to fit it in all cars, you can see its nothing complex, its not even painted. my cabriolet has the same on the other side to support the passenger airbag and you will find the same bar in LHD micras.

so basically its for airbag support, if you have no airbag you don't need one. it doesn't stop side impacts, it doesn't stop front impacts, and it adds no structural enhancements
the only possible thing it could help with is in a severe crash where the steering collum gets pushed towards the driver, it would help to stop it dropping down and mashing into your nuts, but a good bit of ally would be just as effective because its mounted on a flimsy bit of metal anyway
 
Having watched the car in action on the track I assure there is nothing to worry about, having driven franks old car bluey I have no problems putting my life in his hands on an engineering level
 
Also try and find anywhere on any tuning site or any car mod site or performance parts suppliers drums that look or are manufactured like that, good luck on that search and why are they not available to buy if they are a good idea?
 

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