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> Weight reduction, 94bird, Colonel, et al...
trax
post Apr 3 2004, 09:14 PM
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By now everybody and his brother has seen Colonel's weight reduction thread over at LS1Tech. Mike's (94Bird's) thread over at LS1.com was a big hit also.

In another week or two I'll be doing a bunch of weight reduction to the car and getting it ready for a 6-point rollbar over the summer. So I decided to pull up Mike's thread and assemble the several posts into a checklist to use on my own car. It's a great list of weight reduction specific for cars that still have to be able to turn (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Mike's list (as well as Colonel's) can be accessed as a formatted Excel spreadsheet here.

CODE
     Mike Taylor's (94Bird's) weight reduction list      

     Interior
           
49     Driver's Seat
43     Pass. Seat
19     Front bumper
2      Hatch Release Panel
42     Rear Seat and Belts
5      Steering Wheel Airbag
2      Foglights
15.5   Pass. Airbag
5.5    Rear Speakers & Panel
2.5    Rear Sound Insulation
0.5    Airbag mod. center console
0.5    Amp
4.5    Ctr. Speakers
4      Radio
3      Upper trim panel insul
3      Center console insul
-27    Corbeau Clubmans
-10    Seat Mounts
4      Cruise Control Mod
31.5   Carpet
26     T-tops
0.5    Front cap airbag sensor
5.5    Center console
14     Window
9.5    Interior Door Panel
8.5    Window Motor, Support Levers, etc
3      Door Speaker
4      Wiring, Screws, Etc
7.5    Door bar (ea)
2.5    Glovebox
28     Spare Tire
6      Jack


     Exterior
           
9      AC Condenser
15.5   AC Compressor
29     HVAC Box, blower motor, heater core, assorted hoses, etc
4      Headlights
19     Front bumper
2      Horns
7      Windshield washer reservoir (full)
3.5    Air pump
17.5   Stock battery in exchange for Hawker
42     Front lexan


463    Total



Any additions / changes?
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94bird
post Apr 4 2004, 04:51 AM
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Hey, good summary. I do have some new parts to add to your list. Yours is not in the same order as the spreadsheet I've been maintaining, but I didn't see these on your list:

BTW, negative weights indicate heavier parts than stock . . .

Grant steering wheel -> 2.5 lbs. (stock = 4.5 lbs. including SIR coil, not including airbag and radio controls)
LS1 driveshaft -> 5.5 lbs. (stock LT1 steel = 17 lbs.)
SLP headers -> 12 lbs.
Global West front control arms -> -2 lbs. (stock are 4 lbs. and GW= 5 lbs. each)
Brad Blaine Carbon Fiber Targa Top -> (it weighs 3 lbs. 4 oz. and the stock t-tops are 26 lbs. I will lose more than this once I remove a few of the supporting structures for the t-tops)
C5 brakes -> 7 lbs. (less than LT1 stock)

I'm going to think long and hard about cutting my exhaust system short and dumping it in front of the rear wheels. That will likely save 20 lbs. or so since I'll also use a smaller muffler.

We had some more discussions on this board when it first started up on this thread:
http://frrax.com/rrforum/index.php?act=ST&...t=154&hl=weight

Also, switching from stock front springs to GC coilovers saved me about 12 lbs. in total IIRC, but for some reason I can't seem to find that sheet I wrote that down on anymore. That was before I was maintaining the spreadsheet. You could save even more if you went with shorter springs. Jon A probably remembers the lengths better than me, but I believe I currently have 10" springs on there and 8" will work quite nicely.

This post has been edited by 94bird: Apr 4 2004, 05:05 AM
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lateapex
post Apr 4 2004, 02:21 PM
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This is sort of on topic. I saw the most recent episode of “Sports Car Revolution” on the Speed Channel on 4/3 at 10:00 pm. They were working on a project car, an Acura RSX. They referred to a previous mod; they had changed the front brakes to Stoptech. They mentioned that they had lost 12 drive wheel HP from that. Since then, they had added a cat-back system and this week they upgraded to a Mugen low restriction, ram air filter box. These last 2 mods had regained most of the 12 HP they say they lost from the big brakes.

Did anyone see the earlier episodes? I would like to know how much weight the Stoptech system added. It is hard for me to believe that they could have lost 12 HP from a slight increase in rotating mass. Maybe it wasn’t slight. They spoke as if they were surprised by the size of the HP loss. I would be interested to know if they checked for brake drag after installing the new system, or if the whole loss is attributable to increased rotor mass.
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94bird
post Apr 4 2004, 04:09 PM
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I saw that episode last weekend I think. They mentioned it wasn't from an increase in mass, but an increase in rotational inertia. 12 wheel HP does seem quite high to me. I don't believe they checked drag. All they showed was the guys scratching their heads until they called another guy who theorized that must be what it is.
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JonV
post Apr 4 2004, 06:24 PM
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I saw that episode too. I concluded that they must have been talking about the oversized rims/tires that were installed. Can't say for certain, though.
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rmackintosh
post Apr 4 2004, 07:34 PM
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QUOTE
12 wheel HP does seem quite high to me.


....it is a little itty bitty motor.....

(IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif)
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RegaMaro
post Apr 5 2004, 04:14 PM
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Does any know around how much weight aluminum heads, intakes and water pumps save? I know they save quite a bit but have never seen hard numbers.

I also read an article in CHP awhile back where they saved 25lbs from switching a 3rd gens power steering setup to a Flaming River manual box and collapsable shaft.
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JKnight
post Jun 21 2004, 12:56 AM
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I don't see mirrors on anyone's list of ways to save weight. Those things weigh 5.5 pounds or so. Here's a pic from a bad angle, but the actual weight was right between 5 and 6 pounds.

http://www.z28racergirl.com/images/29work/...tockmirrors.jpg

What's behind you doesn't matter, right? But I figured just in case we wanted to check who's out there before turn in I'd put something back, so I installed some Spa mirrors. They weigh a lot less:

http://www.z28racergirl.com/images/29work/.../spamirrors.jpg

Chris had expressed concern about those big ass stock mirrors getting hit during a race, so I've had spa mirrors on my list for a while. She went to Vegas, I fabbed up mounts for the mirrors.

Jason

[Edit - looking at the spa mirrors, it looks like I've got the screws for the passenger side sticking out the wrong way. Another thought is that I could use the current brackets as a plug and make some fiberglass mounts. Probably not worth the effort except from an educational standpoint.]
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LT4Firehawk
post Jun 22 2004, 03:32 PM
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QUOTE (94bird @ Apr 4 2004, 10:09 AM)
They mentioned it wasn't from an increase in mass, but an increase in rotational inertia. 12 wheel HP does seem quite high to me. I don't believe they checked drag. All they showed was the guys scratching their heads until they called another guy who theorized that must be what it is.

Supposedly it's from the increased rotational mass of the larger diameter brake rotors on the drive wheels (fronts in the case of the RSX) and from the increased rotational mass of larger wheels (to clear the brakes). This along with the fact that the stock RSX-S will just about put you through the windshield is why we aren't looking at upgrading the brakes on the wife's RSX-S. Considering that the stock RSX-S already has close to 12" front rotors, I don't really see the point of upgrading unless you are doing a LOT of track time. Heck, I have no problems with the 12" LS1 setup on my Firehawk, and it weighs a good 500lbs more.
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94bird
post Sep 20 2004, 12:21 AM
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Stock '94 Formula hood - 45.5 lbs.
VFN liftoff hood - 11 lbs.

Weighed them tonight just as a doublecheck.
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Judd
post Sep 20 2004, 08:30 AM
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I know that Cobra Clubman seats are already on the list but here is the weight of another light weight seat-

UltraShield Rally aluminium seats {with seat cover}- 13.75lbs each

Isn't the Strano hollow 22mm rear bar a smidge lighter than the stock 19mm solid? Anyone remember?

I getting ready to try to get rid of around 80-100lbs myself. The last time I weighed {dragstrip ready} I weighed in at 3280lbs without the front swaybar. Add back something like 15lbs or so for my hollow 35mm front.

I just bought the UltraShield seats {-30 or so lbs}
Get rid of the airbags, airbag sensors and swap out the factory wheel {-25lbs?}
Get a hawker battery {-15lbs}
Pull the carpet and remove backing, scrap off the sound damping on the floor board {-20lbs}
Get rid of the windshield washer and assorted junk {-10lbs}

I would really like to get the car down to around 3200lbs. Being that my car is still pretty much a street car, that might be a bit optimistic but I will give it a try. I am going to have to add a roll bar soon so there goes 75-85lbs right back on there,,, what a pisser.
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