Today’s messing around started cause I got curious what my actual car weighs. Manufacturers throw these numbers at you, but I always kinda wondered how accurate they really are. Seemed like a perfect weekend project.
Round 1: The Garage Floor Idea
First, I grabbed my bathroom scale – yeah, the one I stand on every morning. Figured if I drove one wheel onto it slowly, I could add up all four corners.
- Pulled the scale out, zeroed it carefully
- Nudged my Honda Civic’s front wheel onto it inch by inch
- BANG! Plastic shattered everywhere under the tire
Scale instantly died. Lesson learned: bathroom scales hate cars. Felt like an idiot sweeping up plastic shards.
Round 2: Borrowing Heavy-Duty Gear
My uncle lent me his ancient industrial scale he uses for deer hunting. Solid steel plate thing weighing maybe 50kg alone.
- Dragged that beast into my driveway
- Wheels felt stiff like they hadn’t moved in decades
- Positioned it under one wheel, rolled car forward
- Numbers flickered wildly… 150… 680… ERROR
Called my uncle swearing. He just laughed: “It needs level concrete, dummy! Your driveway’s slanted!” Of course it is.
The Final Attempt
Found a truck weigh station outside town that does cash measurements early Sundays. Showed up at 6 AM with coffee.
- Paid the guy twenty bucks cash
- Drove onto the massive metal platform slowly
- Heck of a rumble under the wheels
- Digital screen blinked: 1287kg with me in it
Boom. Actual real number. Felt stupidly satisfying after all that chaos. Moral? Don’t trust paper specs or bathroom scales. Pay the dude with the real equipment.
Later looked up Honda’s brochure weight: 1260kg. Liars. My cupholders alone have three kilos of forgotten coins and fries.