Weight Reduction! Everything must go.

[shomesomesho]

My '91 Plus weighs in at 3,0XX lbs. This was with the gas tank nearly empty, me not in it.

This car is a daily driver. I did this:

- Front seats replaced with pair of Corbeau FX1 Pro seats (16 lb/ea).
- Removed rear seats (including seat back)
- Removed rear tray
- Removed center console
- Removed carpet (tar liner still in place)
- Removed trunk lining, spare tire
- Ground control coilovers (saves 40lbs. over standard springs)
- Team Dynamics PR-1 17x7 rims with Bridgestone RE-01R's (41 lbs. tire+rim)
- Hawker Odyssey PC680 lightweight battery (15 lbs) in place of stock battery
- Light(er) weight Gen2 starter
- Fidanza 9 lb. flywheel
- Deleted A/C
- Plus hood which came with it (it's a Plus, afterall)

All the door panels are still in place, so is the heater, headliner, entire dash, EATC, all electrical, I even have a stereo with the stock amps and 4 speakers in it. The car has a sunroof, ABS, and airbag. It has a 3.2L and a Quaife, with 13" Cobra front brakes as well as full length SFC's and front/rear STB's. Just goes to show you, you don't have to go too crazy to get some decent weight reduction (at least with a Gen1).

The car pulls very hard with stock 3.0 cams and has amazing agility in the twisties. It probably does 13's. I will have to confirm that on the strip this spring.

 

[92inPA]

shomesomesho, I'm sure you'll agree, it is remarkable how much the SHO comes to life when you drop a few pounds. It becomes a whole deferent car!!

I got my rotors and pads back from cryo treatment today, and will have the track tires mounted tomorrow. Maybe this weekend I will be able to weigh the car again and get a fresh set of numbers. Looking for about 2,800 (no fuel).

 

[shomesomesho]

shomesomesho, I'm sure you'll agree, it is remarkable how much the SHO comes to life when you drop a few pounds. It becomes a whole deferent car!!

Absolutely! Like night and day!

 

[warmonger]

mine wieghs in at 3158 stock(9lb flywheel) 1/4 tank of gas..has no sunroof,and no sub or amp option/manual pasg seat.(1st gen btw),removed spare tire...kind of a striper model
i'd like to get it to a even 3000..maybe less,so i should swap the front seats,remove the rears,remove non functioning ac,single muffler exhaust...would still be a liveable dd

 

[egroce11]

You need to just go buy this and save yourself some time.

http://www.landracing.com/forum/index.php?topic=2175.msg24893;topicseen#new

 

[95Rudy]

Some of the minuscule things you guys take out....might as well go to the gym and lose a few pounds yourself Drive in sandals too, shoes weigh too much.

Ditch the hood? fenders? all 4 doors and trunk? Both bumpers? Bust out the hacksaw and make it a convertible? Saranwrap to replace windows?

At what point are you no longer driving a Car? Might as well just take the engine out and make a buggy.

I agree, instead of a seat just sit on a bucket.

 

[smokinshogun]

sooo all I wanted was some more ideas and figured SOMEBODY on here has to have done this before. Guess I was wrong. Well my inspiration is project goodwill http://www.joebucci.com/Goodwill1.html and he started with a 15 sec car. So would this be the fastest taurus in the 1/4 mile if I replicated it.

 

[92inPA]

I finally got around to weighing my 92 yesterday. It is 2,870# with no fuel in the tank. The front end is so heavy I am considering adding some lead in the rear to balance it a bit.

no fuel, no driver
LF 898 RF 932
LR 546 RR 494

 

[gmorrell]

I finally got around to weighing my 92 yesterday. It is 2,870# with no fuel in the tank. The front end is so heavy I am considering adding some lead in the rear to balance it a bit.

Urk... Why would you want to make it heavier, and therefore slower, just to "balance it..."?

Consider, that in many road racing series, cars that are over-competitive in a class are given "penalty weight." Nobody wants penalty weight, but if there's no choice, you put it where it does the least damage, which generally means low and between the axles.

If the car isn't balanced, fix it with spring rates, anti-roll rates, bushing compliance, or even, God forbid - tire pressures, but adding weight is the last, and probably poorest solution to achieving "balance".

Additionally, don't forget that the SHO is wrong wheel drive. If you take too much weight off the front, traction and understeer problems will abound.

Might I suggest a little light reading?
Race Car Vehicle Dynamics, William F. Milliken and Douglas L. Milliken.

 

[gmorrell]

sooo all I wanted was some more ideas and figured SOMEBODY on here has to have done this before. Guess I was wrong. Well my inspiration is project goodwill http://www.joebucci.com/Goodwill1.html and he started with a 15 sec car. So would this be the fastest taurus in the 1/4 mile if I replicated it.

Urk again... If you duplicate Project Goodwill, please install a proper cage, and don't tie the shoulder harness tails down to the floorpan, where they will induce a spinal compression injury should you ever have a crash.

If the tech inspector can fog a mirror, I'd be surprised if Project Goodwill could get on the track.

 

[Shoaz]

If the tech inspector can fog a mirror, I'd be surprised if Project Goodwill could get on the track.

While I agree with what you said, I think you'd be surprised at what they'll let go down a drag strip. During one of our trips to Speedworld I was remarking that they'd let somebody run without a helmet. It turns out that's fine if you stay below a certain time or trap speed (or something, I don't remember the criterion, but it was surprisingly lax IMHO).

Blew my mind.

 

[gmorrell]

While I agree with what you said, I think you'd be surprised at what they'll let go down a drag strip. During one of our trips to Speedworld I was remarking that they'd let somebody run without a helmet. It turns out that's fine if you stay below a certain time or trap speed (or something, I don't remember the criterion, but it was surprisingly lax IMHO).

Blew my mind.

Well, trying to waste as few precious life minutes as possible at Project Goodwill's site, it appears that he had to get sub 10 seconds before considering a cage, at which point he installed a 5-point mild steel unit. It seems that they used a lot of private test&tune days to run the car, so perhaps that's how one gets past the tech inspector. Seems to me that one can dance with the 10 second Devil for only so long until this happens:

Yep, the driver died. And agreed, the circumstances were extenuating; he did have a cage, but the track didn't have concrete walls. His car went air-born over the metal guard rails and caught the scoring tower steel post, which wasn't a breakaway design. Just wanted to point out that drag racing can have some pretty horrific crashes, this fellow was running in the Outlaw 10.5 class.

Fast is good, but let's be safe about it.

Edit: I'm not posting this stuff for your benefit Eric, I know that you know better. Rather, I'm concerned for the safety of those here who may not yet know better. Hunt up pretty much anything I've posted about cages, racing seats, 5-point harnesses, etc., and tho I may sometimes seem to come off as condescending (Cause I'm an old fart...), my intent is to make folks think about safety. Just because its on "Teh Intrenets", doesn't mean it's right.

 

[smokinshogun]

that sucks...

I think his roll cage design is ok even though I was gonna over build mine anyways, and he does bolt the shoulder straps to the cage.

he has newer pics on thi website http://www.joebucci.com/index.htm

This isnt something im gonna race all the time. Just want to do the work on it and know it can run a fast time. If were on safety, so am I gonna have to keep the rear brakes, sway bars, crash supports, exterior lights? And having the gas and nitrous right next to you is a good idea? I like the looks of it.

 

[NJSHO]

I believe those shoulder straps should have been wrapped around and secured to the bar that passes directly behind the seat, not just draped over it and bolted to the floor. Thats the way Ive seen it done in cars with cages.

 

[Shoaz]

It looks like the shoulder straps are bolted to tangs on the harness bar, it's just the excess that drapes to the floor.

That looks like a reasonable setup if you're just wanting to do some track days. It won't pass inspection for a race group, but that's true of a lot of cages.

It'd be a little better if the harness bar was a bit higher, and I'm not crazy about the placement of the fuel cell. That's just me, though...

 

[SHO92]

I think that fuel cell is actually a water tank for the inter-cooler, judging from the tubing that appears to be connected to it. If that is a fuel cell, he has an interesting value for the fuel cut-off.

There is at least 1 SHO that I know of that has been modded to the extent of that DSM, Mike Courtney's '89. He doesn't own the car anymore, and I don't know if it even still exists. These are pictures he posted several years ago, ('99 maybe?) when he was selling it. Stripped SHO (I still can't figure out what that crank arm does in the second picture, to the right of the steering column.)

 

[PAracer]

The crank is to adjust brake bias.