As some of you might know, I am going to be moving cross-country to CA and will be driving my stang there. I will be taking a bunch of stuff with me which will weigh me down and reduce my fuel economy. I am trying to find cheap ways to increase fuel economy. It's a convertible so it already has a little bit of a disadvantage from that.
The obvious thing is to do a tuneup and oil change. I was going to put in motorcraft coppers. Anyone ever notice better mpg using platinum?
I've already got a CAI with a K&N.
I don't care about my AC. It's in there right now and supposedly works but I've never used it. If I have time I think I may remove it for weight savings. I looked up some shipping weights for some AC components on Advance's website and found that I should be able to save 30 or 40 lbs by removing the AC stuff.
I think I may remove my power steering. I have read up on it on turboford.org and leaving the lines open to the air is supposed to work. Eventually when I get money I would go with the flaming river rack but right now I need to do the free stuff. I figure I could save about 15 to 20 lbs by removing the p/s, bracket, and losing some fluid in the rack.
I have a ranger alternator and bracket kicking around. I think I may install that as it has a 95 amp rating and give me a slightly lower center of gravity which would have potential to reduce some vibrations. I'll also be able to get rid of all the bracketry on the driver's side.
I was thinking of relocating the battery to the rear to give a better weight distribution but I think it may be more work than it's worth at this point since I'm not actually eliminating any weight by doing so.
I've taken off the damper from the driveshaft which weighed 5 or 10 lbs.
I'm swapping to a T5 but will be using the stock flywheel and clutch so I don't run into any reliability problems (I hope).
I have removed the carpet from the interior as it was pretty nasty anyway and have removed a lot of insulation from the passenger compartment. I'll be putting in some thinner carpeting that weighs very little compared to the factory stuff.
The rear seat has also been removed but in its place is a sub box which is admittedly quite heavy. Since I'll be moving permanently, I must take this with me as I have some time and money into it and I love good sound (I gotta have SOME creature comforts).
I will be bringing a full size spare tire with me. I figure it's better to add a little weight there and not have to worry so much if I do happen to get a flat.
So, if any of you guys know ways to reduce weight easily without sacrificing streetability or costing much of anything, let me know. Also, if there's any tricks to increase fuel economy I haven't touched upon, please tell me.
The obvious thing is to do a tuneup and oil change. I was going to put in motorcraft coppers. Anyone ever notice better mpg using platinum?
I've already got a CAI with a K&N.
I don't care about my AC. It's in there right now and supposedly works but I've never used it. If I have time I think I may remove it for weight savings. I looked up some shipping weights for some AC components on Advance's website and found that I should be able to save 30 or 40 lbs by removing the AC stuff.
I think I may remove my power steering. I have read up on it on turboford.org and leaving the lines open to the air is supposed to work. Eventually when I get money I would go with the flaming river rack but right now I need to do the free stuff. I figure I could save about 15 to 20 lbs by removing the p/s, bracket, and losing some fluid in the rack.
I have a ranger alternator and bracket kicking around. I think I may install that as it has a 95 amp rating and give me a slightly lower center of gravity which would have potential to reduce some vibrations. I'll also be able to get rid of all the bracketry on the driver's side.
I was thinking of relocating the battery to the rear to give a better weight distribution but I think it may be more work than it's worth at this point since I'm not actually eliminating any weight by doing so.
I've taken off the damper from the driveshaft which weighed 5 or 10 lbs.
I'm swapping to a T5 but will be using the stock flywheel and clutch so I don't run into any reliability problems (I hope).
I have removed the carpet from the interior as it was pretty nasty anyway and have removed a lot of insulation from the passenger compartment. I'll be putting in some thinner carpeting that weighs very little compared to the factory stuff.
The rear seat has also been removed but in its place is a sub box which is admittedly quite heavy. Since I'll be moving permanently, I must take this with me as I have some time and money into it and I love good sound (I gotta have SOME creature comforts).
I will be bringing a full size spare tire with me. I figure it's better to add a little weight there and not have to worry so much if I do happen to get a flat.
So, if any of you guys know ways to reduce weight easily without sacrificing streetability or costing much of anything, let me know. Also, if there's any tricks to increase fuel economy I haven't touched upon, please tell me.