Making the Vert lighter
 

Hey guys,

Proud owner of a 2010 base Vert for a couple months now. Absolutely love it. Just went over 75k miles the other day. I'm looking to mod the car for extra power...I'm trying to turn it into a real sleeper that will blow your paint off...but, given the mileage on the engine, I'm not sure FI will be in the cards for me. Not until I save up more of a rainy day fund. I've already done the Stillen catback and Stillen Gen 3 CAI. Next step will likely be the FI long tube headers.

My question to you savvy vets is: what can I do to reduce the weight of this monster? The Vert tips the scales at around 4100 lbs, and I recently added probably 15-20 with the Stillen exhaust and CAI (most of that is in the exhaust). The FI long tubes (according to their website at least) should drop me back down to roughly stock weight, given that they advertise 17 lbs of weight savings. I'm guessing I can probably shed another 20 lbs by going with lighter weight wheels, but I'll re-gain probably 5 of those lbs by going to bigger tires.

What else is there? I'd like to drop the weight by a few hundred pounds. Pipe dreaming, I know...

Any suggestions?

Most people with the main goal of weight reduction eventually remove the rear seats and replace the fronts with racing seats. Not sure if you have a spare tire in the trunk but you can take that out as well.

Get a miata?
You will not blow anyone's paint off without FI.
G vert looks good, it's 'quick enough', and it's a ton of fun, but it's very far from a 'fast' car and if that's your goal you should probably look for something else.

If there is no changing your mind, the best way to save the weight is to remove the roof and all the mechanisms that support it. I'll bet you'll shave 500+ lbs.

This 100%. Without FI you'll never be more than decently quick. This is simply the wrong car for that.

Aside from removing the hardtop and all its mechanicals, don't even bother to save some pounds off the car. FI is the only way to go if you want more power..it is not a problem with that mileage as long as your compression are all within specs. Maybe its just me but even at this weight its NOT a slow car. Not a rocket for sure but not slow by any means.

If I was in your place I would just leave the vert alone and spend all that money in getting a used Miata with an aftermarket turbo. Just use the vert as a cruiser and the Miata as your own "race car".

... isn't that exactly what I said? :D

It's all relative. I don't think you'll see anyone say the G37 is slow, but it's certainly not some speed demon. However, it's comfortable, relatively reliable, fairly quick and a good overall daily driver. Just 500+ pounds or another 100hp from being FAST.