crazypete said:
and makes for a softer ride.
CrazyPete
It depends upon where the weight loss occurs...sprung/unsprung weight ratio. The heavier the sprung weight is compared to the unsprung weight, the softer the ride. Pulling weight off of the chassis without proportional weight losses in
suspension/wheel/tire/brake components will lead to a harsher ride, and may not always lead to better handling if the vehicle is skipping across the road surface. Ride quality can be regained if the spring rates are decreased appropriately. There is a little bit more to the subject than meets the eye.
I do agree that the tires have the ability to grip the pavement with "X" amount of force and generally speaking, the lighter the vehicle, the tires can put a larger percentage of that grip towards accelleration, braking, lateral forces, etc. However, the
suspension must be tuned, in response to this weight loss, to allow the tires to remain in contact with the pavement.
Then, there is the subject of reducing rotational weight (crankshaft, pistons, driveline, brakes, wheels, and so on), which puts more of the available power to the pavement. That may be another thread, altogether.
From a simple physics standpoint, vehicle weight significantly effects the performance characteristics, however, I'd do a little more research on the subject before I'd suggest gutting the vehicle. From an engineering standpoint, what kind of weight (sprung, unsprung, rotational, etc.), where it occurs (front/rear/left/right), and what compensatory chassis/
suspension tuning has occured is probably more important. It's not what you do, but how you do it.