Can someone give me some weight reduction mods??? And please dont post non street mods (ex: taking out the interior). Thanks alot!

 

aluminum drum brakes for rear if equipped w/drums...
remanufacturing brackets w/aluminum where you find them...
WHEELS!!!! Changing to lighter wheels will show and feel stronger 1/4's
the obvious change if you don't have from aluminum heads/intake...
just a few thoughts...

 

Thanks Duffster! Anyone else got anymore ideas? How about anyone that knows good fiberglass body parts?

 

Aluminum drive shaft, 10 lbs and almost 15 HP to the rear wheels too.. less rotational mass. The engine will rev up a little quicker.

 

Fiberglass hood, and if you have a bird with the aerowing, you could go with glass on that, too. There's also manual locks/windows. And manual transmission.

 

An old car racin' guy told me one time (he gave me tons of cool info)that You could take the front and rear bumper covers and take out the actual bumpers and then put the covers back on. He said it freed up like 100 pounds, or something (I could be wrong with the figure) but, he said it would definately be alot of wieght off and that You'd notice it with your 1/4mile times. I haven't tried it, though. By the way, it's illegal.. if You don't like that kinda' thing... hehee c ya later!

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Everything I know I learned by messing it up at least once.

 

If you're carrying a spare, you might go to the N64 space saver, aluminum, 10 spoke, 1LE variety. I've got a couple if anyone is interested.

JamesC

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Taking the bumper supports off isn't such a great idea. On the street, your car will get messed up BAD if you get into a 2mph parking lot fender bender. I've also seen 2nd gens with the support removed slow down in the 1/4 because of the massive aero push that resulted from the nose flattening out. On thirdgens, the inner bumpers are plastic and only worth about 10lbs.

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The IROC Homepage
<A HREF="http://www.rit.edu/~jli4307/camaro" TARGET=_blank>
View the restoration of an 85 IROC</A>
"I didn't know a bored out Ford could go so slow" -Shenandoah

 

I dont think i thats a very good idea on a street driven 3rdgen that you care about, it doesnt take much to total one with the so called bumpers

 

Hey, Hey... I didn't DO it! I'm just tellin You what an old ******* guy told Me... Only 10 pounds? Wow, then He just didn't know what He was talkin about... He was an old-school car guy...wasn't much into third gen's. Sorry for the bad info... Brant

(My signature really applies here...hehe)

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Everything I know I learned by messing it up at least once.

 

No, there's steel bumpers under there... there's also a black honeycomb "impact absorber", that takes the DOT required 5-mph head-on-collision impact.

Don't let anyone tell you to remove the padding under your carpet to lighten the car. I replaced my carpet with new this summer, and for giggles, I pulled the old padding off the old carpet. It weighed -maybe- five pounds. Might as well just skip lunch to save that weight.


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-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.f-body.net/mailbag/3rd/3rd_mailbag.html message boards

 

FYI, The aluminum 1LE space saver rim saves 5 lbs over the stock steel rim. The honeycomb plastic behind the bumper cover was removed on the 88 Iroc I bought. I picked up another at a wrecking yard. It weighs 27 lbs. It looks as if it could be lightened up some by drilling some holes in it, if you wanted to go to the trouble. But try explaining that to your insurance company after the accident. I too have the aluminum driveshaft. Also FYI, the WS6 front sway bar is hollow and weighed less than my stock solid RS one I replaced. Even with the addition of the Wonder bar I still saved some weight. Also the Pontiac WS6 16 X 8 rims with 245/45-16 tires weitged exactly the same as my stock RS 15 X 7 rims with 215/60-15 tires. It is great when you can improve the performance of your car over stock and save weight as well in the process. I believe they call it a "win-win". Good luck, Lon.

 

all-aluminum radiator, sheds pounds and cools better, but PRICEY $$$

 

John, the all aluminum radiator saves weight compard to what? Plastic weighs less than aluminum. I guess if your radiator isn't the aluminum core/plastic end cap style then this would save weight. But an all aluminum would weigh more than the stock composite one. I just weighed the one from my 88 Iroc, 14 lbs (including lower radiator hose). But I suspect some mineral buildup in it.

 

lonsal, I beleive the stock radiators are made up of copper and lead, they only have plastic trim. Aluminum is lighter than these stock components and the design of the radiator is also changed a little to further reduce weight. This is what I read about Be Cool radiators, but I could be wrong. Maybe some stock models' radiators are lighter than others (such as GTA vs Firebird radiators), I don't know. Are you saying that your stock radiator is aluminum/plastic? I never heard of this, but maybe someone else here has. I'd be interested in finding this out.

 

Aluminum heads
Headers (less then stock exhaust manifolds
coil over front struts (good for 40-50lbs)
aluminum drive shaft
aluminum rear drums (if so equipped)
aluminum space saver tire
Fiberglass hood
light weight rims (ever feel how heavy a stock 3rd gen rim is compared to drag rims?)
if no emissions ditch the air pump, tubing and cats (dual cats are heavy)
perhaps the a/c if you don't need it.


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Rob P
89RSconvtZZ4TPI
92Z28convt5spd
71Impala convt 402BB
BETTER DRIVING THRU SUPERIOR HORSEPOWER!

 

i weighed a front bumper once ,little over 35 pounds. better to leave it on for the street.

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-=ICON MOTORSPORTS=-

 

where can you get aluminum brake drums. are they standard equipment.

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when the green flag drops the bull$hit stops

350,performer RPM intake ,650dp, 700r4, headers, 3inch exhast

 

When I changed rims on by Firebird I went up 1 more inch and went from chrome to polished aluminum and the chrome was much heavier. That might be another avenue to venture down b/c it will also make your car have more style to it w/ some tight aluminum rims.

- Mike Harvey -

 

how about this one: no winshield wiper fluid.

 

Take out those useless back seats!!! I am 6'4" and NOBODY can sit behind me.

 

What would be the most feelable difference? Im thinking a fiberglass hood. Anyone else????? Thanks!

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1992 Camaro RS 3.1L
T5 Manual 5 speed
Open Air Intake
Z-28 Exhaust

 

nobody has said this one yet. how about lightening yourself. Especially if you are a heavy person. you could try going on a diet. It will be healthier for you and your car will get faster, a lot faster if you lose 50 pounds or so.

 

...................yea

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1992 Camaro RS 3.1L
T5 Manual 5 speed
Open Air Intake
Z-28 Exhaust

 

replace starter with new style high torque lightweight gear reduction starter It saves 10lbs in weight and costs $160 to $195 works great in my turbo transam

 

Ok Ive got two good questions. How much weight would be needed to notice anything? And where would be the best place to start reducing weight? The front or back of the car?

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1992 Camaro RS 3.1L
T5 Manual 5 speed
Open Air Intake
Z-28 Exhaust

 

Aluminum front bumper impact bar (4cyl cars and 84 L69 cars)

82-83 SMC hood (glass)

82 style seat belts (don't have the reels in the floor)

Ditch jack,spare,back seat,back seat belts. (just don't get caught with a flat)

Mini starter, lightweight battery, headers.

Smaller muffler, GTA rims (lightest 16 inch),lexan t-tops.

Just a few ideas, every little bit adds up.



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85 IROC,5.0 TPI,T-Tops,fully loaded,black with red Lear-Siegler "Camaro" interior,Decal Delete,91 Bose stereo,Stage 2 Fastchip,AFPR,TB Airfoil,K&Ns,March pulleys,Alum. Driveshaft,92 police version 700r4

"The Devil drives a Camaro"

 

The stock radiator in my '83 Z28 is aluminum. The one in my other '83 z that's an auto trans is copper but i think it's been replaced with one from a gbody. I work with gm now and all the radiators going into gm vans are aluminum. The aluminum core has a crimp strip along the edges, the plastic tank is held in place and crimped on. Trust me, the're aluminum

 

Well they say that dropping 100lbs is worth a tenth in the quarter mile.(anyone varified this yet?) Its also common among bench racers to say that a tenth is about 10HP. Who knows? Probably close. Form my experiences with drag racing, you cant feel a tenth just on the street. Probably wont even be able to tell at the track untill you actually get the timeslip that says you went a tenth quicker than the last time.

Another good weight reduction mod is the Tubular K member. I think it is worth 35lbs. You could ditch all your A/C gear and probably drop 50lbs (not me).

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L98, stock 3.27s, Hooker shorty headers, custom 2.5inch Y-pipe, no cat, 3inch 2chamber flowmaster, JET AFPR, Ported MAF, Best ET: 13.86 @100mph. 1.99 60'
17 inch ROH "ZS" wheels. 17x8.5(front) and 17x9.5 (rear). And just recently T56!

 

heres a thought the back glass ummmm anyone ever lifted one up with no struts holding it up, good 100p at least, i looked but i have yet seen a company make a fiberglass replacement, if they did they would make alot of money,

 

I did not know some 82-84 cars came with an aluminum front impact bumper in place of the metal one. Looks like I'm going to look for one of these next time I head to the junkyard.


For other great weight reduction modifications checkout this page.

http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/7610/weight.htm

 

another good idea is to shave all the dirt and grime off the bottome of your car. on shadetree mechanic, they did this to a newer(97?) f-body and it took 30 lbs of the total weight.

 

Fiberglass!!!!!!!!!

buy fiberglass body parts, doors, fenders, front clip hood. You will kill a ton of wieght Harwood fiberglass makes all these parts. they are highly renouned for there quality and their prices a decent

 

Man, I dont think you should have said that. Im sure you are about to get flamed by ALOT of people on this board. People here think Harwood is a joke! They have had alot of problems with their hoods. But thanks for the idea!

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1992 Camaro RS 3.1L
T5 Manual 5 speed
Open Air Intake
Z-28 Exhaust
8.5mm MSD Ignition wires

 

Hardwood sucks. I installed a pull off hood on a 79 Camaro and wow, what a POS. Had to trim off an inch on the front lip so the wipers could be used, throw on multiple washers to raise the hood up enough to match stock body lines, the front of the hood was still lower then the front nose and to top it off the thing flapped in the air when you get avove 50mph. Not my idea of quality, I shutter just thinking how bad their fenders, etc probably are.

[This message has been edited by Get Blown ? (edited November 08, 2000).]

 

Here's a thought. Take off your interior body panels and get a hole saw. Saw out any metal that isn't structural.

 

Where could I find aluminum brake drums and how much?

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J.P.
84 Z-28 L69
rebuilding engine parts include:Ported heads and maybe intake,hypertectic pistons,rods,main cap stud girdle,ISKY cam and lifters,push rods rocker arms (maybe roller tip)performance rebuild on carb,MSD 6AL,HEI rebuild,dual exhaust, hooker super comp headers.T5 rebuild center force clutch,aluminum drive shaft.

 

I like the idea of strip interior and use saw. Works for the pros, so why not us right!
I'd get rid of the spare tire if you've got AAA. Also fiberglass hood does wonders, hey, why not a V6 or even a 4 banger :-) those are pretty light. J/k The problem with our cars is the thick metal and glass hatch. Doesn't help that we've got layers and layers of sheet metal all over the place.

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, Jon (91 RS too many mods to list)

 

Go swiss chesse on the underside. like a Z11 impala.


100lbs = 1 tenth in the quarter dont think weight reduction is that great for street, if you can do it but dont go nuts, its easier to build HP. if you really want to lighten it up, put in an aluminum block

 

You can order the drums from pepboys they are about $30 a piece. NAPA has them too for the same price. I am doing this this weekend for heat distribution. I am also putting on slotted rotors($45/each) and kevlar brake pads. Don't know about weight but well worth it on the street

Jeremy

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92 Z conv
5-spd B&M
alston SFC, few mods, some free, some not

 

your going to have to do some serious mods to your body to really notice the difference. save the money and put it into useful mods, unless your going to win money at a track, whats the point. anyone who says the can feel hundreds of a sec on the street is plain kiding themselves. just my 2 cents! if you do have the money though, i would recomend fiberglass doors, front fenders, and a hood, that worked for me; goodluck finding someone to fabricate it though the guy who did mine said he would never do it again.