[PeruzziScion]

After some long hard thinking on the topic I decided I was extremely tired of the specifically "show" oriented styling and status of my xB. After a ton of money and work over the entire show season I only placed in two events and both times I took second. I realized recently that I purchased the xB not only for its unique exterior styling but also for its "fun to drive" factor. Having made the decision to not care about shows anymore I'm now gutting every bit of weight I can get out of the xB and moving towards every performance mod available. So this is the beginning of a long journey to come over the winter months. I started the project last night and removed a laundry list of overweight items from the interior...

front passenger seat
rear bench seat
rear bench seat support bar
both interior carpets
all plastic covers from base of both seats
center floor console
spare tire
spare tire floor support
rear foam cubbies
rear floor cargo covers
rear seatbelts
huge trunk setup with 2 12" alpine subs -- (soon to be for sale in the PPC...)

That list is just the beginning and basically what I could take out of the car at the floor level. Some things to come out soon are airbags, upper dash piece, door panels, windshield washer bottle, and vairous other things that are no longer needed on the car. I plan to rebuild the interior fully customized with brushed aluminum and carbon fiber. Basically I just killed all my free time this winter. It's cool, I never like to be bored...

I will post pics of the work I did last night when I go home for lunch. I didn't have time to upload them last night. I will also be weighing every piece I take out just to see how much can really be removed...

 

[yellow_sub]

NICE!!! i can't wait to see it and here the numbers you'll get out of it too. i know someone will ask it so'll go a head and ask it. are you gonna turbo it???

 

[ayS]

yes, very nice. i can't wait to see!

 

[PeruzziScion]

NICE!!! i can't wait to see it and here the numbers you'll get out of it too. i know someone will ask it so'll go a head and ask it. are you gonna turbo it???

Well, the answer to that question could be yes but also no. I'm not really sure yet to be totally honest. I would like to make it F/I whether it be turbo or supercharger. I'll have to see what the budget allows over the winter months. For right now I wanna see how fast I can make it through N/A...

 

[yellow_sub]

Well, the answer to that question could be yes but also no. I'm not really sure yet to be totally honest. I would like to make it F/I whether it be turbo or supercharger. I'll have to see what the budget allows over the winter months. For right now I wanna see how fast I can make it through N/A...

thats a good idea. it's very hard to have a problem free F/I setup with these cars.

 

[PeruzziScion]

Airbags are commin out tonight...

 

[yellow_sub]

i need pics!!!!!

 

[squirrel]

Dang, I wish I lived closer!

 

[nnnickkk]

this should be awesome. keep us updated with pics along the way!

 

[Gumby29]

and a project car was born...

keep us posted on all changes and whats for sale...

 

[xjeepguy]

Now thats what I'm talkin about. Weight is your enemy! Are you building an autox'er or a strip machine? A CF hood and hatch will drop ALOT of weight as well. You gonna cage it?

This is what it's all about guys, the biggest bang for the buck is dropped weight. I cant wait to see more on this project.

 

[ShortBus]

I am gonna watch this one. This sounds like alot of fun that my wife wont let me have with her car.

 

[jones75254]

Here are a couple more ways you can take off weight, ei. removing the front crash bar (is freakin heavy and if you hit something ur screwed anyways with or without it), tow hooks in rear, aftermarket steering wheel (stock is actually pretty heavy) and buying lightweight wheels (10-13 pounds), every lil bit adds up on this ride. I too have gutted the back seat/belts/spare tire/jack, ect. along with the above. Also removed the slack in the throttle, big difference in quickness/reaction time. The most noticeable change was prob getting the 15" lightweight Rota's and goin back to the stock tires, so much quicker. I dont believe you need to remove the console, carpet, and other light interior things as i believe you can have a very light box with it also looking dam good, but its ur box and ur project, good luck!

 

[PeruzziScion]

BEFORE...

STUFF THAT I TOOK OUT... there was some more stuff not pictured like small things

AFTER...

 

[surfcitylocal]

I'll be watching to see how this progresses, sounds like it's gonna be hot!

I'm glad to see that you are not going to continue to work for trophies. It's all about what makes you happy. My hat's off to you.

 

[PeruzziScion]

Thanks again for all the encouragement on this project everybody! My new steering wheel should hopefully be in by the end of the week. Its weird driving around with a stock steering wheel that has no airbag in it...

 

[yellow_sub]

sweet!! did you weight all the stuff to see how much weight you've lost?

 

[PeruzziScion]

no I havent had time to weigh anything yet. Ive just been too busy...

 

[PeruzziScion]

airbags are officially out. New NRG short hub adapter, NRG steeing wheel quick release, and either MOMO or NRG suede wrapped steering wheel on the way soon...

 

[DTRAIN619]

Cool, another progress blog to watch. Very interesting thus far, looking forward to the finished product.