have searched and can't find too much about what kind of weight savings can be had with the c4s. for a bracket only car i would probably strip everything out that i could, carpet, race searts, dash?? creature comfort assemblies (heater, a/c, etc)... sway bar, lightweight wheels.. just the bare essentials. without replacing other chassis components, what kind of total weight savings could one be looking at with the basic C4 in "race" mode?? and what is a typical stock weight?

thx

 

Do a search for posts by NitrousSam.

He is in the process of building a 2500 pound C4 *with a cage* in it.

The thread has been going on for a long time, you shouldn't have trouble finding it here in C4 tech.

I stripped most of mine down but didn't add lightweight panels or glass yet. I'm at 2900 with no interior, no AC / heater core, lightweight flywheel and balancer, etc. Check out

<------my corvette pics

to see interior gutting.

Mine is a RR car so I need stiff swabars, big tires, and brakes, but you can save weight there if you're not going to drive on the street.

Good luck, feel free to ask or PM me for more info once you get started.

-Jon

 

has anyone switched their rear glas to the lexan one from Exotic Muscle how much weight difference did it make and how well did it fit on the car?

 

Several people have. I don't know if they used the EM piece specifically, though. You can save about 35 lbs for about $350.

 

You say "for a bracket only car"...you do realize that, for brackets, weight is not the slightest issue?...doesn't matter whether you weigh 2800, 3800 or 4800 pounds...you dial the number, cut a light and run the number...light or heavy has no bearing....

Also, there is the consideration that in a lot of bracket racing events you must have the stock interior right down to the carpet...

You may have misspoken and meant heads up...if you did it is a whole different story...

 

Not sure how light you want to go but there are tons of ways to get your cars weight down.

Here is a very short list of ideas:

1. Remove factory exhaust & replace with full length headers.
2. Remove under bumpers the crash absorber honeycomb.
3. Remove heater, heater core...
4. Remove A/C unit and all A/C crap.
5. Remove smog pump crap.
6. Remove power steering pump and loop the line.
7. Remove computer and harness if you are going carb.
8. Swap in a light weight battery...10 to 25 lbs easy.
9. Swap in a starter...worth 5 to 10 lbs easily.
10. Swap in a lightweight waterpump.
11. If you car didn't come with aluminum heads...35-40 lbs savings.
12. Swap rear window with a lexan unit (buy a used hinge plate)
13. Gut gut the underside of the dash including the air ducts.
14. Remove the breakbox if you have one.
15. Remove the center console,
16. Remove all carpeting and padding/sound deadener.
17. Remove the stereo and speakers and wiring.
18. Swap factory brakes with Aerospace units with aluminum hubs.
19. Swap to an block.
20. Remove cargo boxes in rear and rear shade.
21. Replace factory seats with race seats.
22. Remove factory seat frames especially the power ones.
23. Melrose room skin (very light)
24. Toledo Pro lightweight race hood skin.
25. Melrose front and rear fiberglass bumpers (lighter).
26. Do away with head lights, motors, gears & dzus light covers.
27. Race wheels like Weld Magnum, Alumastars or Bogarts...
28. skinnt fron tires, race drag tires WITHOUR tubes.
29. Titanium wheel studs.
30. Rifle drill all non critical fasteners.
31. Harry Glass carbon fiber dash.
32. Aluminum fasteners/titanium fasteners.
33. 7 or 8 inch torque converter.
34. Powerglide will save a ton of weight if your car is really light.
35. Cromoly roll cage.
36. Replace windshield replace side windows with lexan.
37. Gut the doors or at least the crash beam.
38. Race radiator with aluminum mounts.
39. Remove front sway bars.
40. Lightweight coilover shocks, remove front spring and trim frame.
41. Fuel cell and lightweight fuel cell mount.
42. Obviously remove spare tire, spare mounts and tub.
43. Lightweight steering wheel or steering tubular shaft.
44. Aluminum engine hub or balancer.
45. Remove windshield washer pump and plastic container.
46. Remove portable jack.
47. Remove parking brake handle and hardware/cable.
48. Lightweight fan.
49. Aluminum alternator and replace bracket.
50. Aluminum oil pan
51. Remove rear window struts
52. Belt drive
53. Remove passenger seat entirely (not for me)
54. If you are painting your car anyway paint it white.
55. Trim off any tabs and brackets off your frame as you remove stuff.
56. Remove all power window stuff, gut the doors inside if you dare.
57. Aluminum door skin if you have entirely gutted the doors.
58. There are tons of stuff you can do with your engine to reduce weight...
An example of engine weight reduction, Brodix makes a lightened version of their aluminum engine block that has been machined heavily to reduce weight...mainly found in sprint type cars but the concept works if you are wanting to cut weight. Eliminating a balancer and swapping on an aluminum hub has weight benefits but many question the long term effects on the engine, lightweight winberg crankshafts can get down to 27 to 30 lbs, titaniam connecting rods will save weight , with the right stroke and block clearance billet aluminum connecting rods can offer weight savings, heads...rarely do people select aluminum heads based on their weight compared to other aluminum heads however some are heavier than others. Sheet metal intake manifolds offer a weight reduction over cast aluminum intakes, titanium valves and retainers offers a savings, a 3 or 4 gallon fuel cell limits your weight and fuel weight.

The list can go on and on depending on if you are strictly drag racing or driving the car a little on the street. If you are going to street drive the car removing the power steering pump is probably not wise especially with bigger front tires.

NitrousSam

 

Selling the rear lexan hatch from Melrose on my 94 if your interested. Live in the DFW area. Includes already mounted hinge plate and fasteners. About 35 LBS without the struts.

 

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Most people bracket race as a means to have some fun since true class racing is pretty darned expensive. As such, weight reduction is an effective means of making your car quicker, meaning having more fun. Also, if getting competitive and running the super classes, all have minimum weights, and all are much lighter than any stock car.

Technically, you are right - that weight doesn't matter in true bracket racing. But, as most people are trying to have fun and make their car as quick as possible (while still being predictable), weight reduction is a part of bracket racing.

 

thanks a ton NitrousSam... still looking for the weight reduction post of yours everyone was talking about this must be the Cliffs Notes !

weight IS important in bracket racing to an extent. most bracket cars will remove and drill just about everything they can. less weight means faster times and less load on the motor and other parts as well. you can also acheive your ET goals with a less expensive, smaller motor. this is really why i'm trying to ascertain a target weight reduction # which is easy and fairly cheap to obtain.

i know about weight though... i bracket race in a pig heavy ~5,000 lb (w/driver) Lightning right now. stock block, it runs 8.0s in the 1/8th, not too shabby. the motor would be bad azz in a 3,000 lb car though! she's got about 700 passes on her so I am retiring her before something blows and it is not a dead consistent platform due to the supercharger and some of the electronic stuff the ECU does (adaptive strategy, timing retard for IAT2 temps after supercharged air, etc). i did well enough this year in the truck to make it to the IHRA div 1 Bracket Finals, from which i just returned. looking

 

What is your weight reduction goal? What is your budget for your weight reduction project?

NitrousSam

 

i think about 2700 sounds like a reasonable goal. it's looking like it will just be race only the more i think about it. one race seat, modified dash, stripped interior, 6pt roll cage, probably all lexan (damn i hate to spend a grand on that), 6 - 10 gal fuel cell, th350 tranny, headers and straight thru bullet mufflers. i don't really want to get into spending hundreds of bux to shave a few lbs, whatever is "free" is good.

 

my car should be around 2500 lbs when im done with it . i did everything that nitrousSam did, also re- wired car and saved about 2 lbs. and i went to a 12bolt . i got my lexan for less than $250 , i got to big sheets and cut them myself.

 

Cromoly cage/bar is the way to go to shave weight. If you are not driving it on the street put a smaller cell in it like a 3 to 5 gallon cell, stay away from the 10 gallon cell because you are going to be carrying about 30 to 40 lbs of fuel which won't be necessary each run. 2700 lbs should be a great target and if you don't mind cutting stuff you already have you can save a bunch of money and recoup money out of parts you are removing. Best of luck to you!

NitrousSam

 

I won't argue with anyone but if you are out to just have fun, no problem...if you are racing in serious events, weight or speed of the car are not an issue...last month the winner of the NHRA Div. 2 finals raced a stock 1990 Cavalier...dialed over 10 seconds in the 1/8 mile!...he is one of the best footbrake bracket racers in the country...he has 2 more Cavaliers as back up's, all the same...

This man won over 40 events in 2006 and none of his cars have any drill holes or anything removed... think about how many round wins that represents and that 99.9% of the cars he beat were faster than him...cut a light and run the number...if you're of the ilk that prefers to be the chaser then you do need a faster car for sure...best of luck...

 

impressive, but no "style points" for cavalier wins personally i like to be the chaser, and tend to think there is a slight advantage for the faster car due to winning rounds when a slower car redlights (remember the FIRST to redlight is the loser). plus it's easier for me to judge where we're at at the line rather than looking over shoulder. i do hate waiting for seconds at the tree on slow cars like that. a lot of racers get anxious and go red.

i raced in the ihra div 1 finals this year. most footbrake cars there were in the mid 6s to low 7s.

 

Absolutely the faster car has an advantage because if the slower car red lights the faster car will win every time. If the slower car only red lights once in ten races you immediately have a 10% better chance than the slower car. Another benefit is that if the slower car breaks you will see it typically before the finish line and you have another advantage. It is MUCH harder to judge a fast car chasing you down compared to being the one chasing the slower car. Also if the slower car spins or bogs the slower car typically doesn't have as much power in reserve to make up for it down track but the faster cars tend to have more in reserve especially when the faster car has nitrous and lays on the spray to make up track position if they spun on their launch...now try to judge a black dragster at night with mufflers and nitrous chasing you down...you won't see or hear him coming. Faster cars have the advantage for sure. With that being said...if the slower car nails the tree and runs on his dial every time that is a tough combination to beat. Taking this a step further...give me a lightweight car with a huge tire and a modest power plant...the combination that would hook on ice and I immediately have an advantage over a similar powered car with smaller tires because a smaller tired car with decent power will not be as consistent and the 60 foot times will vary more which effects the ET.

 

lets not forget parts live longer

 

Absolutely...that is the second biggest reason I am cutting so much weight...easier on parts.