2005+ GT - Weight saving tips?

XLeatherNeck

New Member

Aug 22, 2005

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Michigan

Aug 28, 2005

#1

• Aug 28, 2005

• #1

Do any members know of some weight saving accessories or tips for the 2005+ GT's?.....besides removing the driver

 

tomustang

Psychotic Member

Founding Member

Jun 8, 2000

3,434

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78

McLean Hospital

Aug 28, 2005

#2

• Aug 28, 2005

• #2

You should worry more about weight distrbution.

battery relocation, striping interior, rear seat deleting, loosing weight yourself, replacing suspension componets with lighter alum. ones...

 

A

alfman9

New Member

Apr 9, 2004

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Florida

Aug 28, 2005

#3

• Aug 28, 2005

• #3

remove the drivetrain?

 

L

LordHalbert

New Member

Apr 2, 2004

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Aug 28, 2005

#4

• Aug 28, 2005

• #4

Remove rear seat - 40lbs saved.

Replace drive shaft with composite one piece - 20lbs saved.

Pull out alll padding and insulating material - not sure how much saved here.

Remove spare tire and jack - that's gotta be at least 15lbs

Get kevlar/carbon fiber body panel replacements - tons saved and may be stylish but tons of $$$ too

Go on a diet and hit the gym - will save some lbs here unless you beef up a lot

There ya go.

 

XLeatherNeck

New Member

Aug 22, 2005

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Michigan

Aug 28, 2005

#5

• Aug 28, 2005

• #5

Wonder what a fiberglass hood weights vs steel?

 

Z

zwooky

Member

Oct 27, 2004

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Tampa, Fl.

Aug 28, 2005

#6

• Aug 28, 2005

• #6

Original hood is aluminum, actually lighter than my fiberglass hood from steeda.

 

85_SS_302_Coupe

it sucks (I know) to be on the receiving end

15 Year Member

Nov 11, 2003

6,945

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Northern KY

Aug 28, 2005

#7

• Aug 28, 2005

• #7

I have a feeling that to really put the '05s on a diet you're going to have to gut the interior and start with removing all the sound deadening materials you can find, then remove the back seats. After that, start with the suspension and get it lightened up, especially the K member (which i'm not even sure there's a racing version available yet through the aftermarket). Then look at buying some light weight wheels (this is where everyone who's buying 20s is kicking themselves in the ass). Gut the trunk/spare, don't go overboard with the audio stuff.

If you're serious about lightening up the car, more so if you're really building a racecar, i'd start with fiberglass fenders and lexan windows, plus all that other stuff.

 

XLeatherNeck

New Member

Aug 22, 2005

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Michigan

Aug 28, 2005

#8

• Aug 28, 2005

• #8

I'm not looking to get crazy with cutting weight. Just looking for some ideas.

I know what you mean about 20" rims. My Hemi Ram had 20's and those suckers where very heavy!!

 

85_SS_302_Coupe

it sucks (I know) to be on the receiving end

15 Year Member

Nov 11, 2003

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Northern KY

Aug 28, 2005

#9

• Aug 28, 2005

• #9

XLeatherNeck said:

I'm not looking to get crazy with cutting weight. Just looking for some ideas.

I know what you mean about 20" rims. My Hemi Ram had 20's and those suckers where very heavy!!

Click to expand...

I read a big article about how Ford put a LOT of research into keeping the new car light, since it was going to be bigger and have a stiffer chassis. They did just about everything practical to keep the car light, so really the only options you have are the kind of things that would be too expensive for them to do from the factory, like the K member and aluminum suspension stuff to lighten things up. Hell, even the factory hood is aluminum just to save weight. I'm willing to bet that the Shelby is going to have a lot of the sound deadening removed just to shed some weight...

 

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packhater

New Member

Apr 13, 2005

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Sep 4, 2005

#10

• Sep 4, 2005

• #10

I hear engines weigh a lot.

 

G

gotan05

New Member

Mar 31, 2005

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Sep 5, 2005

#11

• Sep 5, 2005

• #11

I can't remember exactly what issue, but Hot Rod magazine " 1st 05 in the 12's" dropped 300lbs with the rear seat delete, racing rims, and a few other things I can't remember.

 

torqueIT

New Member

Jan 9, 2004

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Phoenix, Arizona

Sep 6, 2005

#12

• Sep 6, 2005

• #12

It's basically the sum of ones parts.

I was looking at reductions in suspension, exhaust, driveshaft, rear seat delete, hood, windows (replace with stuff used in funny cars, at least for front and rear windows), wheels.

All in all, you could probably get rid of 300-500 lbs before going to real extremes (removal of sound deadening, cutting into the frame and replacing with one-off pieces). You won't see a real major performance gain till you shed around 1000 lbs.

I did know a guy about 2 years ago who decided to cut out his entire floor pan and replace it with a combo of aluminum and carbon fiber, the cost was through the roof, but he did manage to drop nearly 300 pounds doing it.

All in all, your best bet is to just find was to increase your power output, unless you've got some real skills, lots of money, or a combination of both, weight reduction isn't really going to do much for you, at least not enough that you can see in 0-60's, handling will be the biggest payoff with weight reduction.