Anyone have a weight reduction thread? trying to loose some weight over the winter.

 

For yourself:
http://www.lakemurraycrossfit.com/

OR

your car:
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...ngths-etc.html

Weight reduction
You can achieve substantial weight reduction with the following modifications, while still having a car that's very comfortable to drive. Most of these modifications will directly increase (and decrease in a few cases) the safety of the car, while safety is indirectly improved due to the better handling and limits of a lighter car. Fighter pilots say "speed is life". Acceleration, deceleration, and lateral acceleration are all forms of acceleration, and lighter cars accelerate better in each of these ways because the tires have less mass to control....thus a lighter car is a safer car. Lighter cars have better moments of inertia which allows them to turn in more easily and roll less. Lighter cars are also easier on the tires and gas.

All the stage weight estimates are typically wild butt guesses, but it makes it easy to see what is possible. The weight listings in the separate weight posting is MUCH more reliable.

Stage I: Streetable weight reduction mods
Non-popup headlights (~40 lbs)
Braking rotors with an aluminum hat, or titanium rotors (unproven on street cars) (~20-30 lbs)
Carbon fiber hood (~12 lbs)
Z06 (thinner) windshield and side windows (~5.7 lbs)
Non runflat tires (~20 lbs)
Slicks (~30 lbs)
Z06 wheels (~4 lbs est.)
Corsa titanium exhaust (~35 lbs)
Long tube headers (~20 lbs)
Halltech aluminum alternator & bracket (10 lbs)
Carbon fiber driveshaft (~2 lbs)
Newer torque tube
Less options [HUD, elec AC, Active Stability, seat/mirror/steering wheel memory, cd changer] (~50 lbs)
Less gasoline & wiper fluid (No wiper fluid=9lbs, 6 lbs for every gallon of gas in that 18 gallon tank....~81 lbs for autocrossing)
Remove
cargo net
targa top (~20 lbs)
BCM’s
C5 "appearance mods" - exhaust plates, doorsill covers, etc.
fuel rail covers
all loose change, CD's, golf clubs, misc. items, from center console, hatch area, and glove box
Replace
stock crank pulley with aluminum aftermarket pulley
steel dampener with aluminum dampener
stock targa top with lexan piece (coupes)
water pump with electric water pump
battery with smaller battery
non-stressed fasteners with aluminum or titanium fasteners
leaf springs with coil over shocks with titanium springs
steel shifter with aluminum shifter and delrin or titanium shift ****

Empty your pockets of extra change, PDA's, cell phones, keys, lead plates, or whatever other junk you lug around
Go on a diet =p

Stage II: Hardcore semi-streetable weight reduction mods
Aluminum flywheel (~10 lbs)
Lighter clutch like Exedy or Quartermaster (~10 lbs)
Racing buckets (40-50 lbs)
Off-road x-pipe (10 lbs)
Replace stock hood, fenders, doors, roof, hatch and bumpers with aftermarket carbon fiber pieces
Remove
Tire repair kit (Z06)
Floor mats
Fog lights

Stage III: Track only weight reduction mods
Racing steering wheel & delete both airbags (~30 lbs, but get a 4-6 point harness)
Use unpadded aluminum or carbon fiber steering wheel
Run open headers
Replace stock front and rear glass with polycarbonate “glass”
Rebuild motor with Al or Ti connecting rods, Ti valve spring retainers and pushrods
Port the heads
Replace valve covers with magnesium or carbon fiber parts
Strip entire car, acid wash chassis, put car back together.
Remove
Column locking hardware
Interior – passenger seat, carpets, speaker panels, head liner, dash, center console, glove box, door panels, sun visors, rear view mirror, insulation, etc.
A/C Compressor
A/C controls and ducting
AIR pump system
Factory radio, speakers, and/or CD changer, and unnecessary wiring
HUD projector
Windshield wiper fluid reservoir and pump
Windshield wipers and motors
Stock cat back
Power steering pump
Front sway bar (drag only)
ABS, TC, AH hardware and sensors (drag only)
Fender wells
Headlight assembly, turn signals, taillights and reflectors
Shave side mirrors
Torque tunnel cover
OEM seat belts
Parking brake
Side windows and motors
Power locks and power windows
Side impact beams
Casting flash from engine, then polish

Reducing unsprung weight—not all is streetable
Forged 1-piece wheels
Use 3-piece wheels by Jongbloed, Kodiak, CCW, BBS
Skinny front wheels (drag only)
Ti fasteners on 3-piece wheels (~1 lbs per wheel)
Lighter non-runflat tires, or even track only synthetic corded slicks
Lighter calipers
2-piece, unvented or titanium rotors
Titanium wheel studs
Aluminum or titanium lug nuts
Remove tire pressure sensors
Remove rubber valve stem cap
Balance the wheels without tires or balancing weights, and then mount tires

 

IIRC, each 300 lb. weight reduction roughly equals the equivalent to a 47hp gain.

 

drain the windshield washer
lighter carpet

 

Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, etc....

 

Drain all the fluid in the turn signals.

 

So many people overlook this.

 

Don't forget the light weight carburetor belt

 

Where do i get that at?
im only running half my blinker fluid, hopefully that doesnt hurt anything.

 

non pop up headlights 40 lbs? really? racing buckets only the same?

 

I have a bit of experience in this area. On a gen 2 Lightning over the coarse of 2 winters I was able to remove 148lbs and not sacrifice usability.

To be honest you can remove weight but it takes a lot of work and thought. Or... $$$ to install lightweight parts.

Something else to consider is where mass is removed. Depending on what kind of performance your trying to improve, will direct you to where the mass is removed.
For example if all you care about is dragracing.. remove weight off the nose to get the CG rearward and up. (the further fwd the more effective it is)
If you want to go around corners and brake.. remove mass from the top as much as possible (so as to lower the CG)

A few big "pork" items are: AC compressor & condenser, electric seat mechanisms, Audio AMP, fluids, mufflers, headlight mechanisms, bumper brackets (beams are usually fairly light these days), spare tire, battery, and.... your middle aged.. "spare tire".

 

This whole weight reduction thing has been most frustrating for me with the Vette. I keep reading about people with no weight reduction at all hardly with the full stock exhaust and A/C in place, etc that claim to weigh what we weigh now or even less. I have no exhaust whatsoever, no A/C components, drag brakes up front, a 6# Lithium Ion Battery that cost a fortune, 15" Weld RT's with 15 pound front runners, 17 x11 Weld RT-S's in the back with M&H 325/45-17 tires, coilovers, SRS passenger side removed, heating mechanism removed from stock "Sport" seats, no stereo for now but still have speakers in the doors, Super light hood and tiger shark front end. We still have the stock pop up headlights but those are coming out and doing something special ASAP. Now we do have a few things that add apparently significantly to the weight of the car. It's got a fancy transmission cooler with braided lines and built in fan, a dual pump fuel system with extra braided lines for extra fuel when the boost kicks in, a return style fuel system but that comes stock on the 97's and 98's as far as I know and a Procharger setup with a huge FMIC instead of the standard dual side mounts. We have a tigershark front end so we can get away with this as there's a nice opening in the front to allow air in. We just removed a documented 400 pounds from the car going from 3540 with a 1/4 tank of fuel to 3140 with a half tank of fuel. It's a little frustrating that we just spent thousands of dollars lightening up the car and untold effort as well and we're still heavier than a lot of people are claiming their car is with no weight reduction. I've got a plan to be sub 3000 by next year but it's not going to be cheap. It involves a new front crossmember and a manual steering box. Pop up headlight removal and rear drag brakes should get us to that magic 3000 pound threshold. Anybody else wanting to share their weight reduction techniques and results, please chime in. I'm really wanting to read as many success stories as possible to motivate me even more. Thanks in advance.

 

Lithium battery 30 - 35 lbs.

 

This is what my 2000 FRC weighed with a little less than a 1/4 tank. Only real weight savings is no AC compressor, LT's, air pump crap, and evap crap.

 

I've gotten my 02 z down to 2950 with no major trouble. 1 sparco seat and less than half tank of gas. Stock hood , headlights,and completely stock suspension.

 

I'd love to get our 97 C5 to that weight. It would make a huge difference but I just don't see getting it there. We started off at 3540 so we were too far in the hole to get where you are.

 

Just below 3000 while appearing to have stock interior is my goal. Pulled the dash and got rid of a lot of pieces underneath that I don't absolutely need. Glove box is about to get scrapped. The glove box door will get epoxied up to the dash as if it's shut. Entire stereo and stereo and AC bracket is gone. Most AC plumbing is gone as well as some of the AC actuators. Passenger side airbag and the aluminum bracket that held it in place is also gone. No floor mats. some of the carpet is gone. Driver side airbag will be next with a steering wheel swap. Windshield washer fluid reservoir is gone. I'll be getting a light weight battery as soon as I get the chance. The passenger seat will only go in the car when needed for a passenger. Driver seat will get ditched for an aluminum Kirkey.


I need to pull all the carpet, headliner, and jute and see what it all weighs. May ditch all the carpet and use a black cloth that appears to be carpet at first glance.

 

I've got a Joe's lightweight steering wheel with quick release. It weighs about 11 ounces.

I bought two by mistake. You want my extra one? Cheap.

 

My FRC weighs in at 3059 right now with: Turbos, and additional associated parts. I do run a 14.7lb flywheel/clutch assembly, aluminum exhaust, and lightweight fikse wheels. Full interior, ac car. Eventually, I will put it on a diet.

 

CAREFUL!! it gets very addicting