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They are already very lightweight- made of SMC fiberglass, not metal. Carbon fiber will produce limited weight savings.
Better off saving weight through lighter seats, Lithium-ion starter battery, titanium exhaust, etc.
Agreed; body panels aren't where you should focus efforts to shed lbs. My headers+cats+Borla were good for a 40 pound savings. I saved 5 lbs (rotational) with aftermarket brake rotors. Battery is probably the next for me to go after (I plan to try the eRay's 12V lithium battery once available from RockAuto). I don't want aftermarket wheels, but that's a good way to shed rotational weight, in addition to brake rotors. The rear hatch is heavy; you could look at replacing the hatch glass over the engine (it sits high, so should have a nice impact on lowering your center of gravity).
I’ve already done most of those options. The door weights 70lbs plus, lite weight F/G is the 7 lb range, windshield is roughly 60 lbs, Lexan is 3.
By the way, F/G is much heavier than the thin sheet metal body panels.
I just have not found anyone seriously racing the C8 as a race car other than the Pratt&Miller built cars. I’m sure there must be some out there.
The door weighs that much because of the what's inside- crash bars, all the bloated luxury crap in there- multiple speakers etc. , not the body panel portion of the door.
Agreed; body panels aren't where you should focus efforts to shed lbs. My headers+cats+Borla were good for a 40 pound savings. I saved 5 lbs (rotational) with aftermarket brake rotors. Battery is probably the next for me to go after (I plan to try the eRay's 12V lithium battery once available from RockAuto). I don't want aftermarket wheels, but that's a good way to shed rotational weight, in addition to brake rotors. The rear hatch is heavy; you could look at replacing the hatch glass over the engine (it sits high, so should have a nice impact on lowering your center of gravity).
The Anderson Composites body panels are still significantly lighter than the OEM composite body panels. (at least their widebody components) Especially the doors 34lbs vs 72lbs for OEM.
I did their carbon widebody kit with some other various parts. I was shocked when we started swapping stuff out, the carbon fenders and quarter panels literally weighed ounces (less than 1lb) vs. pounds for the OEM stuff.
They are also a lot thinner than the OEM panels so be prepared for more wind and road noise and sounds coming from outside the car.
As already mentioned, wheels, tires, brakes and exhaust are easy areas to drop weight on these cars.
The door weighs that much because of the what's inside- crash bars, all the bloated luxury crap in there- multiple speakers etc. , not the body panel portion of the door.
Yep, the SMC in Corvettes is very light. A very thin carbon fiber body panel would be lighter but not by much. Typical carbon fiber body panels have a density of 1.5 to 1.8 g/cc.
The Corvette body panels now include hollow glass beads and have a density close to water = 1g/cc!
Now if you need a very strong, very light body for a AA/Fuel Funny Car, very thin carbon fiber reinforced with Kevlar in critical areas is the ticket when going 300+ mph!
In fact, the original supplier of the fiberglass 1953 Corvette, MFG, still supplies some special SMC parts that have a density lighter than water. They float!
Yep, the SMC in Corvettes is very light. A very thin carbon fiber body panel would be lighter but not by much. Typical carbon fiber body panels have a density of 1.5 to 1.8 g/cc.
The Corvette body panels now include hollow glass beads and have a density close to water = 1g/cc!
Now if you need a very strong, very light body for a AA/Fuel Funny Car, very thin carbon fiber reinforced with Kevlar in critical areas is the ticket when going 300+ mph!
In fact, the original supplier of the fiberglass 1953 Corvette, MFG, still supplies some special SMC parts that have a density lighter than water. They float!
As others have said "Lower Hanging Fruit!" Good example is the glass between cabin and engine. Tadge said they copied what they found in a Ferrari ME. That glass is like 3 times thicker than the windshield. He added, Ferrari does NOTHING that adds weight. It is done to reduce sound from the ICE that has loud engine parts in the front, a foot from your ear.
Then like my E-Ray there are CCB brakes for ~45 lbs weight savings and the Lithium Ion 12 volt battery for ~20+ lbs. As someone mentioned there is the sound system with, in my case ,14 speakers, amp etc. Could switch to carbon fiber wheels that are lighter AND have less rotational inertia!
Weight savings equals money, some more than others. I guess the questions out there, is the cost of weight savings worth the gains? Is this car being used at a track of some type? And is money a factor, lol? I think one of the biggest weights savings would be an after market exhaust, mine is said to save almost 50 lbs. (2M Fab). Im a little on the chubby side so if I lost weight that would help and be free, lol. Even with the lighter exhaust and if I lost 20 lbs I doubt I could tell a difference in performance on a daily basis as my car is a daily driver, it wont see a track, just some 0 - 60 runs and some quick triple digit runs. Now track cars, weight matters but that can be expensive.
Weight savings equals money, some more than others. I guess the questions out there, is the cost of weight savings worth the gains? Is this car being used at a track of some type? And is money a factor, lol? I think one of the biggest weights savings would be an after market exhaust, mine is said to save almost 50 lbs. (2M Fab). Im a little on the chubby side so if I lost weight that would help and be free, lol. Even with the lighter exhaust and if I lost 20 lbs I doubt I could tell a difference in performance on a daily basis as my car is a daily driver, it wont see a track, just some 0 - 60 runs and some quick triple digit runs. Now track cars, weight matters but that can be expensive.
IF you know your car YES 100% you can feel a difference when losing 50 lbs on exhaust and losing 20 on weight loss .. for yourself. I’ve been slivering, dividing, cutting **** up, putti he back together back and forth since the 1980’s. The seat of the pants is real …. When you can feel it as you know your car and then back it up over and over again on a track.
Side note for this post.
IF my local builder Redline didn’t close down and head north and PBIR race track did not shut down …. I could produce a lot of info for our C8’s and Z’s.
Last edited by 123sugey; May 27, 2024 at 10:41 PM.
