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I was surprised to find that the body and all its components weighs the most when i pulled my body.
A stripped body with doors weighs about 1000.
Rounded numbers:
body with contents 1350
engine sb 575 / bb 700
frame 250
rear sus 250
wheels plus spare 200
front sus 175
trans 120 (turbo400 or munci and flywheel / clutch)
gas tank full 100
engine accessories 60
radiator 30
battery 40
3150
Make sure to do a search for "weight loss" or "weight reduction" as this topic comes up about annually and there is lots of good info on weights of items that can be removed or replaced.
Here is my current list for my 69. I have lots of opportunity left, easily another 100 lbs if I wanted to.
Aluminum intake manifold 17.5
alum water pump 5.5
Wilwood front brakes 26
Wilwood Rear brakes 26
C4 spacesaver spare 10
stamped steel upper steering column mount 5
Aluminum brake master cylinder 5
Aluminum radiator fan shroud 5
1981/1984 exhaust manifolds 14
mini starter 7
Aluminum heads 50
Aluminum radiator fan. 2.5
Aluminum radiator 7
Battery 19.5
Restrosound radio 4.5
Aluminum rear diff cover 10
Fiberglass rear spring 30
Total 244.5
Last edited by Dynra Rockets; Sep 12, 2020 at 12:01 PM.
I‘ve gone from 3600 lbs with 220 horsepower to 2960 lbs with 630 horsepower. Work on weight and horsepower, but horsepower and tires have made the biggest difference in my autocross times. Weight let’s you brake later and accelerate harder and makes the horsepower more useful. I have no idea why the C8 with aluminum frame. Fiberglass body, and carbon fiber bits and pieces weighs so much? I hope the Z06 will have standard lightweight composite brakes, wheels, and seats.
We're talking cornering - not drag racing. Try to keep up.
Well, you brought up autocross but the conversation up to that didn't specify what type of driving. Perhaps you're right with autocross favoring lighter weight however, on a road course the higher powered to weight Corvette, Ferrari, Porsche would leave the lesser powered to weight cars far behind.
In reality you have to have a balance of both for the specific performance driving you're asking of the car.
Panic? Is that you? You were my inspiration to get below 3000lbs years ago. How have you been?
And most often the car with the biggest tires goes the fastest too. Then the tires don't have to work as hard to generate grip!
With lower powered cars tho the story changes, it eats some HP to accelerate the tires/wheels as well..... Not usually a problem with Corvettes! ...Maybe Miatas.
Well, you brought up autocross but the conversation up to that didn't specify what type of driving. Perhaps you're right with autocross favoring lighter weight however, on a road course the higher powered to weight Corvette, Ferrari, Porsche would leave the lesser powered to weight cars far behind.
In reality you have to have a balance of both for the specific performance driving you're asking of the car.
Yes, I brought up autocross...because it emphasizes handling while reducing the impact of other factors (like power). At that point the conversation had turned to cornering - so it is by far the best field of play to emphasize handling. But while it is the easiest example to use, in no way is it the only. While the reason you want to move away from the tight courses to the larger tracks is to give yourself those long straight runs where your handling disadvantage doesn't come through, even on those tracks, power to weight isn't going to win the race. The lighter car will still have an easier time through the corners even with the same or worse power to weight. Case in point: a Bugatti Veyron and C6 ZR1 both run the Nurburgring (about as far from autocross as you can get) in roughly the same time (ZR1 with a 2 second advantage in the best test). Yet, the Veyron has 50% more power per lb. Unfortunately, the extra 1000 lbs it carries doesn't like to change direction. And just to be clear, while weight affects almost everything (acceleration, braking, handling, tire wear, brake wear, fuel economy)...it isn't everything. The 2017 ZL1 Camaro, despite a 16% disadvantage in power to weight and an extra 600 lbs compared to the same ZR1 Corvette runs 8 seconds faster. Fun fact: aero is also minimized in autocross...
So yes, performance is complex. But power to weight only impacts acceleration. Weight impacts far more.
Going from a full left turn to a full right turn means stopping the Left momentum, reversing it, and accelerating the car in the other (Right) direction, using only the tire grip to both stop and accelerate the car from left to right.
So less weight does this much easier, if the tires are the same..
Bigger tires also do this much easier, if the weight is the same.
Changing both at once is more complicated.
Reducing both weight and tire size at the same time, could be either slower or faster. Miata vs Viper? 911 vs Z06? etc.
And vice versa.
Bigger tires absorb HP to flex them. Usually the extra grip makes up for it. But when carried to the extreme there is a point of diminishing returns, and then it hurts. it costs more speed than it helps. Just imagine 315s on a stock Miata!!! Now how about on a 500 HP LS6 Miata?
Last edited by leigh1322; Sep 13, 2020 at 10:18 PM.
From: I tend to be leery of any guy who doesn't own a chainsaw or a handgun.
Originally Posted by Bee Jay
I‘ve gone from 3600 lbs with 220 horsepower to 2960 lbs with 630 horsepower. Work on weight and horsepower, but horsepower and tires have made the biggest difference in my autocross times. Weight let’s you brake later and accelerate harder and makes the horsepower more useful. I have no idea why the C8 with aluminum frame. Fiberglass body, and carbon fiber bits and pieces weighs so much? I hope the Z06 will have standard lightweight composite brakes, wheels, and seats.
I'm not following your comment as you've got it written.
Looking at a car from the same era - 1978 Lotus Esprit -
Lotus' claim of acceleration from 0–97 km/h (0–60 mph) in 6.8 seconds and a top speed of 222 km/h (138 mph) may have been optimistic, as actual road tests revealed a 0-60 mph acceleration time of 8 seconds and a top speed of about 214 km/h (133 mph).
...
S1 (1976) Series 1 Kerb weight 900 kg (1,984 lb) Engine: 1973 cc inline 4 Power: 160 bhp @ 6,200 rpm Torque: 140 lb/ft @ 4,900 rpm 0-60 mph: 7.3 secs By 1978
When I installed the 81-82 exhaust manifold on the drivers side I ended up using the cast iron 72-79 C3/truck cast iron lower alternator mount since the ex manifold had no provision for the 68-71 style lower bracket. Today I replaced it and installed the 80-82 aluminum mount saving another 2 lbs. It positions the alternator slightly lower and farther out so need to get a longer belt tomorrow.
R
Last edited by Dynra Rockets; Sep 28, 2020 at 10:26 AM.
