wieght reduction diehards..

[willfish]

is there anyone here that considers their ride to be lighter if you have some fiberglass bumper opposed to the heavy stock bumper..
I'm guessing that a stock bumper wieghs about 50 lbs as to the fiberglass one wieghing about 10 to 15 lbs..

plus,

if anyone having the hood carbon fiber/ cevlar compared to the heavy ass stock hood ..
i'm just guessing that the wieght comparason is about the same , the hood being a hood 50 lbs at least as to a carbon/cevlar hood being guessing about 10 lbs.

so that, would you guys say your ride might be about 100 lbs lighter if you have those ? or is that someone trying to be too hardcore etc...

just curious .. an nat..

Will

 

[jmanbball]

The factory bumper cover probably weighs about the same as a fiberglass one. I you want to lose weight with the factory cover, gut the impact stuff behind the cover and make some support brackets

 

[willfish]

hmm,
I dont know man, I remember when I bought my maxx evo bumper, . I had picked it up, an my guess it wieght really light, then after having the stock bumper off, it seemed to wiegh a ton compared to the evo..

just my guess though...


Will

 

[jimi87-t]

It all depends on the maker of the FG bumper. Some actually weigh a lot, the stock skin is actually light weight, it is the inner support and metal brackets that are heavy.

For example, I have 2 FG bumpers at the moment. One is the Max Evo, the other is the Shine-auto replica Spec-G Bumper. The Evo is a lot heaver than the stock one but the Spec-G Bumper is a lot lighter.

This all has to do with the type of material used, fiberglass parts made with chop/mat are heavy, thick, weak, and don't flex-they shatter.
Parts made with actual woven FG cloth are light, thin, strong, and will flex some on impact.

Sadly most FG parts are made with chop, mainly because it is cheaper.

EDIT: thats odd you say the EVO one is lighter, was this just the skin of the stock one? I weighed both on a scale and the evo was almost twice the weight.

 

[willfish]

It all depends on the maker of the FG bumper. Some actually weigh a lot, the stock skin is actually light weight, it is the inner support and metal brackets that are heavy.

For example, I have 2 FG bumpers at the moment. One is the Max Evo, the other is the Shine-auto replica Spec-G Bumper. The Evo is a lot heaver than the stock one but the Spec-G Bumper is a lot lighter.

This all has to do with the type of material used, fiberglass parts made with chop/mat are heavy, thick, weak, and don't flex-they shatter.
Parts made with actual woven FG cloth are light, thin, strong, and will flex some on impact.

Sadly most FG parts are made with chop, mainly because it is cheaper.

EDIT: thats odd you say the EVO one is lighter, was this just the skin of the stock one? I weighed both on a scale and the evo was almost twice the weight.

well, i did a half ass way of wieghing it., I think I picked each one up an stepped on a scale. I could be wrong, but when I did that, I couldve swore the stock wieghted about 50lbs, an the evo (maxx) wieghted about 14lbs,, or so....
of course, I didnt wieght in the aftermarket fog/day lights, an the bracket that also came with the kit...

even weirder , at the time, I was leaving for work so I had the kit put on by someone else, an they told me that they couldnt fit on the bracket to the frame or the bumper to the frame.... etc,,, so my evo, isint attached by means of the bracket.....


Will

 

[zurud]

The bumper cover is light. Its made of urethane. The aftermarket is fibreglass. Most aftermarket bumper cover require the use of stock bumper which is the heavy part. You can make your own bumper using lightweight material just be prepared not to hit anything or involved in accident.

 

[SySt]

I doubt I would ever use a fiberglass lip of front bumper. Way to fragile. The Factory cover will tend to flex instead of crack. Also, the only way the factory cover weighs 50 pounds is with the bumper support included and with all of the brackets. And the bumper support is the heaviest peice there. So unless you remove that (illegal), then you are not loosing much over stock with an aftermarket bumper. And on top of that you can still use the factory cover without the bumper support.

 

[bobiseverywhere]

in all honesty if you are serious about weight reduction Take out the stock drives and passengers seat. I think the Drivers weighs something like 65lbs and the passengers 45lbs

The stock bumper cover does not weigh anything close to 50lbs. I just took mine off not that long ago. My guess would be 20 - 25 lbs with the metal bracket in it and the mounting hardware. Not including fogs though but i think they add maybe another 1 - 2 lbs

All the interior molding in the car i am sure adds up fast.

Take the back seats out. Right there is at least a good 20 - 30lbs

Get Aluminum calipers, Driveshaft,

I want to reduce the weight of my car, but not to an extreme. I'll probably leave things like the interior paneling But the seat got to go. The hood enh! i want a CF one but for the cost it is hard to say it's worth it compared to some of the other things you can remove or change first.

I would be more inclined to change the hood for a cooling factor of under hood Temps. Nothing can beat a properly vented Car for temps

Ninja Edit: Also Change the Glass in the Hatch for Lexan or something that Glass is heavy. If they made CF Hatches then that would be a huge weight reduction for the car as well. Question would be do you really want to take weight off the rear end....LOL

 

[xarewhyayen]

I think the better idea would be better weight ratio.. The mk3 is already a decently proportioned 55%front 45% rear... by taking some weight from the front such as the battery, and relocating it to the rear, and doing things like a lighter driveshaft and lighter seats will take middle weight away.... which helps keep the balance there.

The car will handle better with a better weight ratio. A CF or FG hood wouldnt hurt either. And as far as the bumper thing, the big weight of it is, As everyone already stated, that thick bumper support. Without it, a tap in the front is definately gonna probably knock off the bumper and a collision will cause some serious damage to the car. The car is going to be heavy unless you start spending big dough on lightweight yet strong parts. Regardless of what you do, its still going to remain a relatively heavy car, Its long and its wide. Thats the sacrafice you have to make to have a high powered good handling GT type car. The weight more than pays off when youre hitting a curve with some speed and feel the car sticking to the asphalt, and at high speeds when it stays so steady.

 

[SySt]

Actually I doubt all of the interior plastic paneling in the car including the dash weighs more than 50 pounds. The wiring is concentrated to the front half of the car and is surprisingly heavy when added together however

 

[willfish]

ok, and the hood ?

that stock hood has to wiegh alot , right ?
I think I read in he carbon fiber section that Duane or someone mentioned that the c/f hood/ cevlar only wieghs in around 14 lbs.
thats gotta help somewhat ? right ?

I figured it would help ...

Will

 

[bobiseverywhere]

i think that sounds right IIRC

 

[emiliorescigno]

Unsprung weight is where it's at. Good a super-light 16" wheel-tire combo, and the weight savings really adds up, and doesn't sacrifice the car's stock features like A/C, or a back seat.

 

[bobiseverywhere]

The Back seat is not a feature it's a novelty and not a good one at that...lol

 

[xarewhyayen]

The stock hood isnt as heavy as it looks.. im guessing between 20 and 25 lbs. Its just awkward to pick up alone because of how big it is. Granted shaving 10 lbs or so off the front wouldnt hurt, but going cf and spendin all that money for 10 lbs is hardly worth it

 

[tte]

Well if you have the money and time replace all the bolts and screws with titanium ones...the weight adds up.

Cheers,
Roy

 

[supra90turbo]

yeah do what dirtbike racers do.

titanium nuts and bolts wherever possible, and strip the paint off of everything. you'd be surprised what that adds up to.
dirtbikers do some silly shit to strip weight off a bike.

 

[tte]

And also use Carbon Fiber whereever it is possible.

Thats my plan...To lighten the car as much as possible before increasing the power.

Cheers,
Roy