I was bored the other day and decided to remove the spare tire and jack for weight saving purposes.

During a 30 mile trip on the highway I noticed how much stiffer (bouncier) the ride felt. I guess the weight loss around the rear suspension affected the suspension damper rate, causing a jittery ride.

Considering the spare only weighs ~20lbs this leads me to believe that the suspension was carefully dialed in from the factory. So adding/removing weight without subsequent changes in damper rates can slightly affect how the car handles.

Anyone here auto-X with the spare removed and felt a difference? Or am I just tripping?

 

I don't have my spare tire in........but I don't autocross.

 

Consider that when you run your fuel tank from full to near empty, you are varying the weight of the car's butt end through a range in excess of 100#. I don't notice any difference from when my car is full of gas to when it is near empty. Why would losing the weight of the tire and tools (20#) make any noticeable difference? But then, I don't auto-X either. What do I know?

 

Spare tire 22.5lbs tool kit 7.5lbs, which is a total of 30lbs removed. Did I feel a difference? Nope.

 

I removed mine, but replaced it with an amp and speaker box.

No noticible change

Dont notice anything when I remove the speaker box either. The amp is much lighter than the spare.

 

I removed the spare permanently and run with an empty trunk when autoxing. People who know better than I who have autocrossed in the car say it's well balanced, so I suspect your buttmeter needs calibrating.

cal

 

Is that Canadian pounds? j/k

A gallon of fuel is actually about 7-8 pounds, so a 10-gallon fillup adds 70-80 pounds. Running it dry would only lighten it about 100 lbs.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by twohoos
[B]

Is that Canadian pounds? j/k

A gallon of fuel is actually about 7-8 pounds, so a 10-gallon fillup adds 70-80 pounds.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by twohoos
[B]

Is that Canadian pounds? j/k

A gallon of fuel is actually about 7-8 pounds, so a 10-gallon fillup adds 70-80 pounds.

 

that's wierd...

i definitely notice a difference in cornering balance when comparing full/empty fuel loads.

my back end swings around waaaayyyy more with no gas in the tank - normal right/left turns invoke way more tail-wagging.

there's this one constant-radius off ramp that i take everday - it's about a kilometre long and slightly banked - i've conscientously noticed the car's behaviour with varying fuel loads...on empty, i cannot take the ramp as quickly as i do with a full fuel load - the back end is definitely not as firmly planted as it is with a full tank of gas.

but who knows, maybe it's just me...