Rear
Decreasing turbulence at the rear of a vehicle is widely regarded as black science in automotive circles; what you might think would make a vehicle more aerodynamic often makes it less so. Honda's CRX, with its stubby length and vertical, sheared-off rear end doesn't look particularly aerodynamic, but with a 0.30 Cd, it's more so than the Integra. The general rule here is that air exiting all sides of the vehicle should merge at a significant distance behind the vehicle, and large points of drag, like the rear bumper, should be eliminated.
• Other weight reducers are carbon fiber hatches and trunks, like this our Seibon unit, which offered a weight savings of nearly 25 pounds over stock. Lighter yet would be to replace the USDM heated glass with JDM glass from the ITR, but for the ultimate in weight savings, replace the glass with a polycarbonate alternative from Flex-a-lite, which weighs only a few pounds, is scratch-resistant enough to survive years of use, and offers the advantage of being able to be sanded/buffed back to a brand-new finish.
While replacing our hatch and glass, we elected to remove the rear windshield wiper and motor-another source of drag and dead-weight. If you're not washing your car frequently to not need it, you're a bad car owner. Following suit was our decision to replace the rear antenna and motor with a windshield-mounted alternative.
• As mentioned before, a one-piece bellypan spanning the entire underneath of a vehicle is one of the best ways to improve aerodynamics, and if it ends in a valence at the rear, will streamline airflow and decrease the huge drag point that is the rear bumper. Like with the headlights, Honda revised this area of the Integra in '98, adding a slight cut-out to help pent-up air escape easier. Short of a belypan and valnce, diffusers like these lighterFaster carbon fiber units are one of the best ways to alleviate drag. They're also lighter and more attractive than billet plates of years past.
Interior
Arguably more weight can be removed from the interior of a vehicle than its exterior, depending on how many luxuries you're willing to live without. As aluminum and carbon fiber become more widely used among OEs, electronics simplify and ergonomics evolve, look for interiors to weigh less straight from the factory.
• Aside from heat and airbags that our Integra never came with, OE seats can't compare to quality aftermarket seats that deliver better comfort, security, support, and usually weigh significantly less than stock. Replacing our Integra's with these Buddyclub P-1s cut weight by roughly 36 pounds. And aside from the occasional romantic excursion, we really didn't miss having a seat that reclines, once our buckets were set up properly on sliders.
• From stereo headunits and duct venting, to the cabin air filter housing, heater core and passenger-side airbag, there's a lot of weight to be lost from the dash, if you're crazy enough to do it. But for street driving, you might opt for switching to a lighter headunit and calling it a day.
• If you're really crazy/motivated, you can do what we did and gut the entire interior, remove all the sound-deadening material from the floor, trunk, doors, firewall and roof, and then re-assemble. This was what our interior looked like before we put everything back together for the final weight. Over 40 pounds of sound deadening material was removed, and total interior weight savings ran close to 100 pounds, not including the seats. Even more could be lost, breaking out the drill and angle grinder.
• Honestly, what does a sunroof do besides allow magnified heat to beat down upon your dome? We fabbed up a dry carbon "plug" to replace ours, and lost 35 pounds of top-heavy weight in the process.
By Luke Munnell
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