Reducing weight.

[boxerperson]

I'm looking at getting a GT and want to reduce weight as much as possible after I buy it.

I don't want to buy expensive carbon fiber parts or anything....so what can I do short of stripping the entire interior. I don't need rear seats, and I can build something to cover up the hole....

What other weight saving things can I do? I want to keep air conditioning. I don't care about road noise....how much weight savings would I get from removing the sound material? Is there anything I can remove from the car without altering the exterior appearance?

Definately going to be getting a set of low weight forged rims...how much weight savings can I get with that? I'll probably get 17's...they look great with a nice drop....

Basically I want this car under 3300 pounds, which is listed as the weight of the V6. Definately going to be doing some track stuff with it so it's important....

 

[BC61]

Without spending money on lighter parts the main weight reduction would be to remove whatever you don't think you need. Before you start gutting your vehicle think of the vehicles main intended use and if you ever plan on selling it. What type of "track stuff" are you going to be doing, drags or roadcourse? How often?

Not sure of how much sound deadening material is in the car but it probably will be in the 5-8 pound range.

Rims wieght depends on the particular rim you buy. If you are getting new tires don't get run flats, they are heavy.

Order the car spoiler delete, cloth interior, base radio and no options.

Remove as much stuff as you can live without. Some stuff would be more perminant, other things might only be for the "track" weekend. Remove simple things like floor matts, spare tire.

Weight savings usually come in ounces not pounds. The more you want to save the more the parts cost.

 

[SVTdriver]

Atkins?

I know. Not the answer you were looking for. But someone was going to say it. So I figured I would get it out of the way.

 

[boxerperson]

How much weight do you think I would lose by removing the trunk lining, spare tire, and rear seats?

The car is going to be regularly autoX'd

I already know to order no options, and the spoiler delete.

If it turns out that I have to resort to lighter body parts, how much do carbon fiber hoods and trunklids usually run?

 

[Ron9]

Don't forget useless wiring/connectors/sensors. I ripped about 500 miles of wire out of my motorcycle. I made many parts smaller/lighter - to me horns/speedometers/belt gards/turn signals are all useless.

If you really want to reduce weight - toss out everything that you can and the car will still run/stop.

 

[Rampant]

CF hoods are around $1500 or so, but won't save much weight over aluminum (a CF Z hood is reportedly 0-3 pounds lighter than alum.). That money would be MUCH better speant on driving schools.

You should be able to save some with the battery though.

However, I am a little confused about removing the back seat but keeping the A/C. If you are really serious, strip the AC, radio, plus the interior plastic, glass windows, etc. SCC lost something like 500 lb. by gutting EVERYTHING off the Z. I would imagine you would get even more off the larger Mustang.

Just be sure to compensate the suspension for the weight reduction (both in height and wheel rates). And make sure everything stays within the rulebook for autoX.

 

[boxerperson]

I want to keep AC because of where I live. Obviously I'll have it turned off during a time trial....but the car still needs to be semi-useful.

Basically, I'm looking to shed ~150 pounds of stuff I'll never use. I'll never use the backseat, spare tire (hopefully), and stuff like that....but the air conditioning is going to be needed because of the crazy ass climate here.

I might remove all the speakers/wiring/CD deck. I can always just use headphones if i really need to take a trip. (illegal, yes....but so is the speed I drive on the highway)

How much are the seats/radio/speakers/spare tire worth?

And yes, I'll be ordering new suspension bits and lowering the car. Hopefully I can get a good set up that allows me to be semi-comfortable and have crazy amounts of grip and response.

Basically, it's about time I get myself a decent hobby. If I can get a car that is livable in traffic, and terrific for an occasional autoX with friends....then that's what I'm going to do. I need a car anyways, and with my job, I'll be able to afford the GT and some mods.

I could afford the Cobra when it comes out...but I have the feeling that it's going to be even heavier....I'd rather reduce weight and save money for a couple years, towards getting the engine rebuilt and strengthened. N/A power rox and requires less upkeep.

What good is a nice paying job if I don't spend some of my money and have a good time with life?

 

[BC61]

How much are the seats/radio/speakers/spare tire worth?

seats/radio/speakers/spare tire? anywhere from 30-50 lbs

And yes, I'll be ordering new suspension bits and lowering the car. Hopefully I can get a good set up that allows me to be semi-comfortable and have crazy amounts of grip and response.

do your research before you buy any suspension parts, not all are made to make your car handle better, some are for nothing more than lowering and looking good. some weight savings can be had in suspension if you buy the right parts. get a spare set of rims and tires. tires can be your biggest contributor to "crazy amounts of grip". "response" will come from front end alignment. become friends with an alignment shop or buy the tools to do it your self. front end alignment that is great for atuo crossing will chew up tires for regular street driving.

 

[RandyB]

There is no need to gut a new car. I would be very cautious with the weight savings before destroying a pretty nice car - there is no reason you can't have it all with a little creativity.

First off, like you said order the car with the least amount of options you can live with. Cloth seats, manual trans, radio delete if it's available. You could probably save a total of 5 lbs per corner if you're careful on wheels and tires. Then I would focus on things like aluminum rear control arms(Steeda?), aluminum underdrive pulleys, radiator(if it isn't aluminum already) and tubular shorty headers(FMS) if they are lighter than the manifolds, high-flow cats or off-road pipes will be lighter. Also, get an aluminum flywheel. Remove the spare for events also, but you'll probably want to keep it in there for daily use. Smaller battery, aluminum struts if they become available, and maybe ditch the airbox for an open element conical K+N filter.

I would be slow and methodical about this so you don't ruin a good car you may want to sell someday. I wouldn't do away with the sound-deadening material for instance - not worth it. Lose some weight yourself if you have any you can shave off if you can't get your car where it needs to be.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[Sainted]

Portable Power systems makes a light weight battery you can mount in the trunk. Weight savings 26lbs. Aftermarket non electric seats. Steeda light weight suspension pieces even there springs are lighter. SSR rims 18" x8" weight saving about 15lbs each rim. Remove rear seat.The battery is PC680 made by Hawker. Dynabat buys it rebadges it and sell it for more money.

 

[351CJ]

In addition to what everyone else said:

Remove the interior panels from the doors, rear seat area, rip out the headliner, remove the carpets and sound deadning, take out the inner fenders, remove the console, rip out the speakers All that should be good for 100 lbs.

Then you need magnesium racing wheels, that will save you another 60 lb.

You'd be able to knock off 150 lb by getting rid of the crash bumpers. That is pull off the bumper covers and pull ALL that junk underneath them out, You't need to them make up some light aluminum brackets to hold the bumper covers. If you're Auto Xing this is the BEST thing to do because it removes weight at the ends of the car. Just don't get into an accident after yo've done this.

Don't forget the aluminum drive shaft that will buy you another 20 - 30 lb.

You could get a race shop to fabricate you a titanium exhuast system. It will probably cost you $5K, but it will save you another 60 lb.

Seems to me your 3,300 lb target is childs play. If you dig deep enough into your wallet 3,000 lb should not be a problem.

 

[66Satellite]

Seems to me your 3,300 lb target is childs play. If you dig deep enough into your wallet 3,000 lb should not be a problem.

Might be cheaper and easier to just buy a Lotus Elise.

 

[Irv]

how about a "body in white"?

 

[boxerperson]

Heh, yeah I'm not really interested in making any changes that I can't put back if I DO decide to get rid of the car.

I already test drove one, and I can honestly say I've never gotten to drive a car that I enjoyed more. I want one, and I won't be getting rid of it for a long long time.

And yes, I COULD get a lotus elise instead. The difference is I don't LIKE the Elise.

Eventually I'd like to buy the parts to turn my car into a copy of the GTR. I know my way around cars well enough to do most of that work myself. But until I save up enough for that....I need a dual purpose vehicle. Once I take it that far, I'll probably buy another car (probably a nice used something) that I can use for daily driving.

So, basically what I'm hearing is, invest in some real high quality low weight wheels, remove anything I can put back in if I want to, and become comfortable with changing the suspension settings for track days....

Thanks for the help guys

 

[peyotesands]

How much weight do you think I would lose by removing the trunk lining, spare tire, and rear seats?

The car is going to be regularly autoX'd

I already know to order no options, and the spoiler delete.

If it turns out that I have to resort to lighter body parts, how much do carbon fiber hoods and trunklids usually run?

I think you can remove 20-40 lbs with the rear seats. Are there light weight suspension/engine/tranny parts you can buy? Like a flywheel, driveshaft, springs (wheels were mentioned) shocks and stuff? I don't see how you can shave off 200lbs or more without carbon fiber parts.

I wonder how much a door weighs?

 

['03 6-Speed]

about these magnesium wheels, I can't find a good set of 17x9s that I would like to get, you guys know any websites that offer them, if they even are?

 

[eric n]

Someone jokingly said atkins earlier, but realistically if you're carrying around an extra 20 or 30 lbs now would be a great time to drop it.

Make you feel better and buy a little performance.

Keep your head down, hands up and always work behind a jab.