Weight reduction on camaro?

[Erik@Torq]

Originally Posted by Kurt_OH

The tough part is, you need to lose the weight up front if possible.

Is the battery already in the trunk? If not, move it. Doesn't LOSE weight - probably adds a couple lbs for longer cables, but balance is improved.

Tires/wheels/rotors.

Not totally true, the car has a weight bias of 50.8 - 49.2 so it's not as front heavy as a Mustang with an iron block. It has quite ideal weight bias!

[OUR72GTO]

I think you will find that fat red cable brings the amps to the front.

[Easy Go]

Originally Posted by OUR72GTO

I think you will find that fat red cable brings the amps to the front.

SSSSSHHHHhhhhh!!! You're supposed to wait for them to take it out before telling them that...

[Ivan @ Southwest Speed]

P90x is supposed to work well I hear.....

[76z28]

Slim fast, bowflex, and p90x

[MrE]

Originally Posted by Bad Karma

P90x is supposed to work well I hear.....

Don't be messin' with Tony Horton. Off to go do some static arm curls... X style.

[DarthNacho08]

Originally Posted by MrE

Don't be messin' with Tony Horton. Off to go do some static arm curls... X style.

I'm waiting on my delivery for p90x, gotta look good and fit for the ladies

[DGthe3]

Originally Posted by SSCamaro2010

What are some easy ways to lower the weight in the Camaro. What are some things you guys have done to help with this situation?

I just merged a couple threads into yours. Go back and read through the thread.

[sen10l]

Originally Posted by Doc

Study and calculate where you can save. 200 lbs is possible without gutting the car but 300 might require more radical changes. Depends on your budget for mods too. Lighter wheels can save about 20-24 lbs depending on what you get; I'm getting 3-piece forged which will save about 6 lbs per wheel over the stock 32 lbs. I'm looking at switching the stock brake rotors to racingbrake 2-piece rotors which are about 9 lbs lighter each for a total of 36 lbs. Together that saves about 60 lbs of unsprung weight. Cost of wheels about $3k-5k depending on what you get; rotors are about $1200.

I'm also looking into a carbon-fiber driveshaft which will save around 50 lbs and probably improve drivetrain efficiency which will let more horsepower get to the rear wheels. Stock drivetrain power loss is around 16%; 426 hp at the crank delivers about 356 hp to the rear wheels as a result. If the cf driveshaft can improve that by only 3 or 4 % that can deliver another 15-20 hp to the rear wheels. Cost should be anywhere from $800-1000.

Headers, high flow cats, lighter mufflers, CAI (cold air intake) can save I'm guessing in the area of 50 lbs over the stock system. Been hard to get weight data but that's my best guess until I get my car and begin my project. Cost should be close to $3k if you do the installs yourself.

So... 60 lbs total for wheels and rotors; 50 lbs cf driveshaft; 50 lbs exhaust system. That right there reduces 160 lbs. Price tag? Gonna be about $8k-$10k give or take a few hundred depending on what kind of deals you can get. However you will also have gained conservatively at least 70 hp or more and be delivering a higher percentage of that to the rear wheels for even better performance. Plus you've lowered weight. On a 2SS which weighs 3860, the stock power to weight ratio (p/w) is 3860 ÷ 426 = 9.06 lbs per h.p. Add 70 hp for the mods, subtract 160 lbs and you get 3860 - 160 = 3700 lbs. 426 +70 = 496 hp. 3700 ÷ 496 = 7.46 p/w. A $74k Corvette Z06 has a p/w of 6.3 just to give you a perspective.

There are other things you can do; lightweight pulleys, lighter battery, remove the electric motors in the seats and go with standard seats, etc. that will help you reduce at least another 30-40 lbs. Depends on how dedicated you are to losing weight. But even if you do all the above you will have a perfectly beautiful, non-gutted car that goes like the wind without any issues of heat or pressure problems due to turbo or supercharging. I know the f/i guys will talk about how they can add tons of power with $8k through forced induction but those methods also introduce weight and other issues neither of which you will have doing what I outlined above. Adding f/i could bring your cars weight up to 4000 lbs. So how much hp does it take to get a p/w of 7.45 on a 4000 lb car? It takes 537 hp versus 496 on your 3700 lb car. The lighter car will be easier to handle, handle better, stop quicker and be perfectly drivable around town. As to the improved drivetrain efficiency if the f/i car hasn't done that, then they're still losing 16%. That means out of 537 hp only 451 is making it to the rear wheels. Out of your 496, 431 is making it to the rear wheels. True p/w ratio is 8.87 for the f/i car, 8.58 for you. He'll have to boost is hp to 555 to get the same amount of power to the rear wheels you are. Fun stuff.

Both methods of increasing performance are perfectly valid and fun; to each his own. That's why customizing performance cars is such a blast.

fantastic info! Anyone know the longevity of carbon fiber driveshafts? Can they last many decades, or do they deteriorate over time?

[mscaggs]

Try eating right and exercising :o) You will feel better and lighten your car at the same time... Kidding

[Becka1988]

i think trading in the old fat GF for a newer thinner model will help

a/c isn't technically necessary; u wanna be fast and hot or less fast and not sweaty.
I'm gonna upgrade from a 3.5 Dodge Charger so my SS will definitely fulfill my need for more speed!

[sen10l]

what if we fill up the back cabin with helium balloons? cheap fix no?

[DGthe3]

Originally Posted by sen10l

what if we fill up the back cabin with helium balloons? cheap fix no?

Crunching the numbers ... it looks like there may be ~90 cubic feet of air that you could replace with helium, if you had balloons shaped perfectly to your interior and trunk (and left space for yourself as a driver). 90 cubic feet of helium will save you 6.3 lbs vs air, but that doesn't account for the weight of the balloos. So lets round down to 6 lbs. Not that great, particularly considering that a helium tank of that volume would cost over $100. Still, I think thats a better $/lb than you get carbon fibre vs fibreglass ...

I really should be sleeping right now

[96MrBass]

Small things I have done to mine while upgrading parts not much but I guess it counts.
Muffler delete
Lighter rotors
Trailing arms
Coil springs
Oh yeah 1/4 tank and lite beer.