Rear Seat Delete: Do I need to seal the MDF?

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Did you happen to weight the MDF before you put it in? I bet it weighed over 20 lbs. That stuff is not light.

All that work for a 14 lb savings on the back half of the car, and you kill the looks of the interior of your car.:shrug: I don't understand.

i had a sub box in my trunk before...i wouldnt have been able to access my spare tire if i happened to get a flat

i didnt do it for weight savings

but i dont think it looks that bad either especially since i will be painting my interior this summer to black

the boards were not over 20 pounds...however with the subs it is
 
I used the clear primer on it to seal it.

As for the mdf. I didnt use that I used some expensive ass stuff my dad uses for wood working. He had a few scrap pices he said I could use. Its super light, it weighed under 5 lbs for the whole rear seat delete. Ill ask him what it was.
 
The MDF boards I have are 1/4". On my bathroom scale, they register 5 lbs. I understand the back seat and associated hardware will net a 55-60 lbs weight reduction. That's half a hot chick right there! I'm in it for the weight savings. This is my daily driver and I almost never have a need for a backseat.

There is nothing wrong with doing weight reduction to go faster, but do not get your hopes up that you will actually net a 55-60 lb savings. When I weighed my back seat and backrest at 34 lbs, that was with the hardware. The seatbelts will be another 5 lbs..... maybe. So you are looking at maybe a 35 lb net savings for getting rid of half of your interior.

Make sure you take accurate weight measurements at the two back wheels before and after. And also make sure you have the exact same amount of gas in the tank before and after.

I think you guys need to decide whether or not you want to make your cars dedicated track cars, or keep them practical street cars.
 
There is nothing wrong with doing weight reduction to go faster, but do not get your hopes up that you will actually net a 55-60 lb savings....
I know what you mean, man. Don't worry. I'm not banking my pink slip on this. I haven't had anyone in the backseat in a long long time. I have one kid and he drives himself around. It's me only or me + 1 99.99% of the time. If I can easily remove say 40 lbs from my car, then that should help daily driving. That's about the weight of an extra car battery. At the track it doesn't mean much but combined with removing the spare tire and jack, it becomes significant. Besides, it will take under 30 mins to reinstall the back seat anyway. I'll need to do that when my mom comes to visit.
 
I think you guys need to decide whether or not you want to make your cars dedicated track cars, or keep them practical street cars.

How is taking out the back seat making are cars not practical street cars? :shrug: Its not like were taking off the door panels and passanger seat. I dont know about you but Ive had only 1 person sit in the back seat after owning the car over a year. The only thing my back seat got used for was throwing my shool books on so I might as well shed a few pounds off the car. And my RSD works just as good for my school books!:nice:
 
How is taking out the back seat making are cars not practical street cars? :shrug: Its not like were taking off the door panels and passanger seat. I dont know about you but Ive had only 1 person sit in the back seat after owning the car over a year. The only thing my back seat got used for was throwing my shool books on so I might as well shed a few pounds off the car. And my RSD works just as good for my school books!:nice:

In my opinion, ripping out half the interior for a minimal weight gain on a street car is just silly. Now if you are building a car that will see some serious track time or will be a dedicated track car, then by all means gut away.

Some people just like to go fast, I like to go fast and look good doing it. And it shuts up the critics who blame your low ET on the fact that your interior is not stock.
 
The MDF boards I have are 1/4". On my bathroom scale, they register 5 lbs. I understand the back seat and associated hardware will net a 55-60 lbs weight reduction. That's half a hot chick right there! I'm in it for the weight savings. This is my daily driver and I almost never have a need for a backseat.


Its hard to beleive that all the mdf needed and the hardware ony weighs 5lbs.
 
Its all personal opinion but I'll take some pics of my RSD when I get the car back and running. It looks nice and Ive never got a complaint about it. Now if someone ripped out their back seat and just left it open or if they left just bare wood showing I could understand looking ugly but when its coverd I think it looks quite nice.