weight loss

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Snellgrovia

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Can anyone tell me or give me ideas about what would be the best way to get rid of weight in the car (91 SHO)? I know stuff like, jack, spare, trunk carpeting, etc... I just took out the sound deadning under the back seat, and all it did was make the exhast louder (OH DARN!). My best freind has a 93 Eclipse and they have like lists of what every little thing in the car weighs. Anything like that for what we got?

thanks!
 

Snellgrovia

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OK....let me restrain this some. I still want the car to look stock, still be driveable, and without looking ugly. Saftey must also be maintaned. I knew of the back seat and speakers, but I'm a music fan, the speakers will stay. Along with the speaker box in the trunk.
 

NotSoSlowSHO

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factory power seats...
factory power windows...
Gut the AC compressor...
...

Really depends on how far you want to go...

Try a search, this topic has been discussed many times before and Im sure you can find a decent list of items to loose thumb
 

drivinhard

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Instead of ripping stuff out, try to replace OEM parts with lighter weight aftermarket ones (seats, battery, flywheel, wheels/tire, brakes,) You'll be amazed at how much weight you can knock off by doing that. (several hundred lbs)
 

Snellgrovia

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thanks for the tip about using the search function ( doh ) I don't want to go too crazy just a little here and there. I'm looking at lightweight stuff for it now. Does anyone know where I can get some lightweight replacement stuff for it? The A/C is about to be ripped out (doesn't work anyway), so that will take alot there.

Thanks for the help.
 

Hack

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I did the same thing with my A/C. Do you have UDP? If so the proper size belt to bypass the AC pump is a Dayco 5060390. I believe that makes it 39 inches. You will have to come up with someting to go in place of the pump as the alternator attaches thru it. I cut two lengths of steel pipe to the same size as the top of the pump to compensate for it. Once you take the pump off you will better understand what I mean. To remove all the a/c lines, a Sawzall comes in very handy. Just be careful you dont accidently cut something other than the lines! And dont forget to pull the condensor from in front of the radiator.

Also, there is a very informative article about lightweight batteries at SHOTimes.com. It is under the product review section. You may want to avoid changing you battery out if you have a big stereo though.

Aftermarket seats are another great weight savings. The stock SHO seats are very comfortable but very heavy. Cobra (subesports.com)makes some pretty nice stuff and you can get a mount from them specifically designed for the Taurus.

The downside of removing power windows in favor of adding rollups is that you need to change door panels. I wouldn't be suprised if they are discontinued from Ford, and chances are you wont find nice ones in the proper color at wrecking yards. Also you will only save about 1 3/4 lbs per door. (I did this in my car and weighed the assemblies).

I would recommend taking a look under your hood. Do you really need/want all the pretty plastic covers? ie shock towers, radiator, ignition system, hood pad, etc. They dont weigh much individually but it all adds up!

Hope this is helpful!
 

Snellgrovia

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Well, I'm done for now with ripping out stuff. Lost the spare, jack, carpet and sound proofing in trunk, back seat (top and bottom) and the sound proofing under that and the trunk divider. I looks HORRID, but the seats can be put back in under 2 minutes (that's why I left the seat belt stuff).
The rear end is ungodly loud now and it sounds like everything is breaking loose back there, but I'm just guessing that is stuff I just never heard (esp over bumps).
And the stereo is MUCH louder (had to put the fader to the front some).....the sound proofing was a good 10lbs total and the rear carpet was 3 or 4lbs. Lord knows on the jack and the spare....but the rear end is up a little bit (I think...maybe it's just wishful thinking)
 

drivinhard

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You haven't had fun till you've yanked the full interior, and got a heat gun and a scraper and picked off all 32.81 lbs off the floorpan :D

FWIW, on my 89 I pulled the OEM carpet (thick and heavy) tossed out the padding underneath, scraped the material off the floor, and re-installed aftermarket thin carpet. Sounds like a lot of work, but it's a decent amount of weight. Result is a stock looking interior (since you only see carpet on a car anyway) Car is only about 3 db louder at cruise on the hwy according to the handy SPL meter. Very livable (for a weekend track runner). Believe it or not, the whole deal comes out around 75 lbs.
 

billyshoe

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power dvr seat 65-manuel pass. seat 56- floor pad 45- carpet 20- back seat upper 21-lower 15- rear deck speakers, radio, harness amp,30- headliner & all plastic molding, courtesy system & wiring, other related misc. 40- all air cond. components under hood 35- bumper(behind cover) & 5mph shocks corn lights & fog 40 lbs..... more than 250lbs can come out of the intierior w/o touching a door panel or the dash.
 

kjunsniper

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Race alone!, normally any fool at a red light wanting a slice of SHO, is in a rice burner full of his buddies. Add a superchip, or do what i do, let them tear out ahead of you, then turn on the flashing lights, once they slam on the brakes and pull over, you just drive on.
 

Snellgrovia

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Thanks billyshoe, that's what I was looking for. I am going to put in thin aftermarket carpet and put the back seats back in, because I want to take my son out and not having him thinking I drive a POS (He's 4, but they know these things..I know I did at 4)

And YellowSHO.....thanks for all the info...I learn more aout my car here than anywhere else. :)

<small>[ September 19, 2003, 08:49 AM: Message edited by: Snellgrovia ]</small>
 

billyshoe

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Some of these figures are estimates but are close, I have them listed on a sheet somewhere. My 89 weighs in at 2900 with a half tank. need to shed about 300 more to be fast.
 

PAracer

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When I pulled the A/c on my atx, the total weight removed was about 24lbs. I chose to gut the compressor. The stock compressor was 15lbs., while the lightened one was 7lbs.

If you run on a road course, I would leave the spare in the car. This is because of the placement of the donut behind the rear "axle". You not only are keeping some rear wieght to make up for the FF layout, you are lifting weight off the front and moving it to the back.

If you are concerned that much about weight as it seems, you really need to look into adjustable links for your swaybars. A combination of the adjustable links, and some time on a set of corner scales, will allow you to shift more weight than you would think is possible.
 

Hack

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drivinhard:
You haven't had fun till you've yanked the full interior, and got a heat gun and a scraper and picked off all 32.81 lbs off the floorpan :D
Yeah, I did that too! I just skipped the heat gun and anything that wouldn't scrape off easy got blasted with a heavy gauge wire cup brush on a 4" angle grinder.
 

billyshoe

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I replaced the 44lb battery with a garden tractor battery weiging in at 11 lbs. it has given out, totally shot after 5 months.
 

thebigjimsho

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Maybe I'm a ***** but didn't I and another Forum member post on this thread about the importance of lightweight wheels and what it means for overall and unsprung weight?? I must be wiggin out. headbang
 

billyshoe

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Originally posted by thebigjimsho:
[QB] Maybe I'm a ***** but didn't I and another Forum member post on this thread about the importance of lightweight wheels and what it means for overall and unsprung weight?? I must be wiggin out.________________________________________________________________________________________________
a slicer weighs about 18-19 lbs. this is not heavy. however, its too narrow. a good forged wheel 1.5 to 2.0" wider one piece will cost $300 to $400 each & up. they may weigh about the same as the slicer. a cast wheel with a good width will weigh 20 lbs to 25 lbs & heavier. I won't even comment at the cost of a modualar light weight wheel. 4 figures is too much. a light wheel will have a shortened stress life. tires have various weights. reducing the spinning weight is big.
 

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