Remove/replace full size spare for weight savings?

[M-Sport fan]

This is without wheels on the car (16x8 Dekagrams and 205/45 RS-Pros), half a tank and no back seat, belts, brackets, speakers, spare, wiper, washer res etc. All other interior plastics though. Should be around 2,680 with wheels. You do feel the weight loss when it comes to acceleration and autocross. The car probably makes like 220whp it needs all the help it can get lol

Do you have the base seats, or the Recaros? (If I recall correctly, the Recaros weigh ~30-35 lbs. total for both front seats, more than the base seats.)

 

[Erick_V]

Do you have the base seats, or the Recaros? (If I recall correctly, the Recaros weigh ~30-35 lbs. total for both front seats, more than the base seats.)

My car is Recaro/Sunroof. Stock Recaro’s weigh 49.xlbs each

 

[Fiestig]

Driver Seat NON Recaro: 41.8lbs ( I forgot to add this one... I am not positive what it was, but I think this was it. I will weight it again tomorrow. It was a tad heavier due to the raise/lower mech I believe)
Passenger Seat NON Recaro: 40.6lbs
Heated Recaro seat: 49.7 lbs

https://www.fiestastforum.com/threads/fiesta-st-weights-thread.24021/

 

[Mikey456]

Nah... About 300 give/take depending on seller

Is the antigravity battery a direct fit replacement battery? No mods necessary to the battery box? What size is it? Would you daily drive the car with this battery?

 

[Fiestig]

Is the antigravity battery a direct fit replacement battery? No mods necessary to the battery box? What size is it? Would you daily drive the car with this battery?

1. Is the antigravity battery a direct fit replacement battery?
No, I made a spacer sleeve to take up the space of the actual height needed to be secured in.

2. No mods necessary to the battery box?
See 1.

3. What size is it?
roughly 7 x 3.5 x 5 inches (LxWxH). Weighs in at 3.1lbs

4. Would you daily drive the car with this battery?
Nah... It's usually for when I really want to go super light for max amount of smiles while playing with other cars or weekday hwy 1 runs. However there is no reason you couldn't. I have a travel charger that I actually made a hidden mount for. Haven't put it in yet, but it plugs in under the rear valance. It will never leave you dead even if its initial charge is dead. The restart button works quite well. The best option would be getting it out from under the hood though and away from all the heat which I will do eventually

 

[Mikey456]

1. Is the antigravity battery a direct fit replacement battery?
No, I made a spacer sleeve to take up the space of the actual height needed to be secured in.

2. No mods necessary to the battery box?
See 1.

3. What size is it?
roughly 7 x 3.5 x 5 inches (LxWxH). Weighs in at 3.1lbs

4. Would you daily drive the car with this battery?
Nah... It's usually for when I really want to go super light for max amount of smiles while playing with other cars or weekday hwy 1 runs. However there is no reason you couldn't. I have a travel charger that I actually made a hidden mount for. Haven't put it in yet, but it plugs in under the rear valance. It will never leave you dead even if its initial charge is dead. The restart button works quite well. The best option would be getting it out from under the hood though and away from all the heat which I will do eventually

Thanks for the info. Gives me another option to think about between the antigravity battery, Miata battery or the MeLe design box with battery. The easier the better. I prefer these options over a carbon fiber hood which will probably add up to approximately the same weight savings.


2017 Ford Fiesta ST, Shadow Black, Recaro seats, Mountune RMM, Swift springs, 5mm rear spacers, Falken 615+ tires

 

[Fiestig]

Thanks for the info. Gives me another option to think about between the antigravity battery, Miata battery or the MeLe design box with battery. The easier the better. I prefer these options over a carbon fiber hood which will probably add up to approximately the same weight savings.

I have both cf hood and cf hatch which were technically free, but in general the battery is of course much better on the value to weight loss.

 

[M-Sport fan]

Driver Seat NON Recaro: 41.8lbs ( I forgot to add this one... I am not positive what it was, but I think this was it. I will weight it again tomorrow. It was a tad heavier due to the raise/lower mech I believe)
Passenger Seat NON Recaro: 40.6lbs
Heated Recaro seat: 49.7 lbs

https://www.fiestastforum.com/threads/fiesta-st-weights-thread.24021/

I stand CORRECTED!

 

[M-Sport fan]

Nah... It's usually for when I really want to go super light for max amount of smiles while playing with other cars or weekday hwy 1 runs. However there is no reason you couldn't. I have a travel charger that I actually made a hidden mount for. Haven't put it in yet, but it plugs in under the rear valance. It will never leave you dead even if its initial charge is dead. The restart button works quite well. The best option would be getting it out from under the hood though and away from all the heat which I will do eventually

In both your, and Mikey's climate, yes, there may be no reason why one could not daily drive with that battery (OR even the tiny/featherweight Dekas, Brailles, and Odyssey 680s for that matter).
But for those where the winter ambients get down below 25*F, it becomes a challenge at least (even with daily charging), if not an impossibility for those in the really frigid locales.

 

[Fiestig]

In both your, and Mikey's climate, yes, there may be no reason why one could not daily drive with that battery (OR even the tiny/featherweight Dekas, Brailles, and Odyssey 680s for that matter).
But for those where the winter ambients get down below 25*F, it becomes a challenge at least (even with daily charging), if not an impossibility for those in the really frigid locales.

I am a product of ND where -25 is beautiful tank top ice fishing weather...lol. I would never try to daily drive with the lithium battery in the spring..... winter.... or fall in any cold climate area. Even here I only throw it in for fun runarounds.

Take out the cold weather issue and I am curious about some of the new Group size batteries that they are starting to release for more daily drivers: https://antigravitybatteries.com/productline/starter-batteries/automotive/

 

[M-Sport fan]

Take out the cold weather issue and I am curious about some of the new Group size batteries that they are starting to release for more daily drivers: https://antigravitybatteries.com/productline/starter-batteries/automotive/

Even in a cold climate, I would consider an Antigravity lithium in a Group 96 FULL POWER SPEC type battery, but yeah, look at those $$$$$ for the OEM type replacements! (And that's NOT including the dedicated, bespoke charger required!)

Worth it though, I guess, if one can save HALF or more of the weight of the FLA Motorcraft, or my even heavier full size/spec Odyssey 96R-600.

 

[Fiestig]

Even in a cold climate, I would consider an Antigravity lithium in a Group 96 FULL POWER SPEC type battery, but yeah, look at those $$$$$ for the OEM type replacements! (And that's NOT including the dedicated, bespoke charger required!)

Worth it though, I guess, if one can save HALF or more of the weight of the FLA Motorcraft, or my even heavier full size/spec Odyssey 96R-600.

I mean it has built in BMS which is pretty dang cool... That is where the bigger $ come in to play. I use an Optimate LiFePO4 charger and it is pretty amazing for $60

 

[maestromaestro]

This is all fine and dandy - but I say that if you learn how to drive a slow car fast, you will have met the objective. Shaving weight is on the same spectrum as moar power. Why bother taking the spare/replacing seats? Just bolt on a bigger turbo - and- voila!

There’s always going to be someone with a lighter/more powerful machine. I am with @HardBoiledEgg on this - you will regret not having a spare much more than you would enjoy those phantom milliseconds or “better handling”. Not being hamFiStEd (hehe) is where you would find the best improvement in that handling.

So, when you are at 10/10s with the current setup, well - then, by all means, start removing bits. Maybe strip the paint off, too - I believe some of the PCA variants saved 9 pounds!

Something tells me that most of us are nowhere near the limit - either too far below, or too far over. I know I am.

So, I’m keeping my spare. I am traumatized by the experience of slicing the sidewall on my Shelby which rendered the fix-a-flat can useless, and it took 3 different wreckers to get me out of dodge; I was in a sketchy neighborhood and the first two took a look at the front spoiler and refused to winch it on their flatbeds.

 

[Fiestig]

I use the 8 spoke mini spare (which was one of the initial possibilities questioned in regards) since it also allows the floor panel to move all the way down. I am never doing the wonder can-o-fix-a-flat BS. That is disastrous.

 

[Mikey456]

Yes that alloy mini spare that Ford put into the Fiesta SE to probably give it better MPGs ironically works well for the sports model too...for more than MPGs. Ford probably did not add it due to cost.


2017 Ford Fiesta ST, Shadow Black, Recaro seats, Mountune RMM, Swift springs, 5mm rear spacers, Falken 615+ tires

 

[flbchbm]

No worries, physics is voodoo and the world is flat. Not worth arguing.

Not totally flat....it's more convex, like this.....lol
.

 

[M-Sport fan]

Yes that alloy mini spare that Ford put into the Fiesta SE to probably give it better MPGs ironically works well for the sports model too...for more than MPGs. Ford probably did not add it due to cost.

I am seriously considering one of these for daily, on paved road use.

But, I would still have to put the factory steelie back in when I go to work on the ARA rallies, as I do not trust the space saver to even get me out of a rough, gravel stage road, even at 'creeping' speeds.

 

[DoomsdayMelody]

What about a battery relocate and a roadside assistance add-on to your insurance policy?
I throw the spare in for longer trips, but don't see the sense in carting the extra weight around, as I haven't had a flat since like '01 or so (knock on wood). Plus it gives me more concealed storage space!

Only problem with relying on triple A in that scenario is your stuck on the side of a road, sometimes for hours waiting on a truck to arrive to tow you to a shop so you can wait while they repair/replace your tire. Minimum amount of time you’re looking at there is about 3 and a half hours to get back on the road again. Compared with the 20-30 minute timeline to get your full size steelie installed... I’d say my time is worth more than the performance I lose from lugging around those 40 lbs.

Realistically our cars run closer to the 7 second mark in 0-60, fully stock, and with all the variables at play in that run I don’t know if you’d even see a significant difference being that our gearing is also pretty atypical. It depends what you value though, I’d rather not mess up a TPMS sensor with a can of sealant, because there isn’t a single TPMS sensor that is designed to have any type of fluid interaction, and I’d rather save time when I do have an issue, but you do you.


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