Adding lightness to the Mustang?
 

What are the best ways to shed weight from our portly ponies?

Yeah, yeah, I know we're already well ahead of the Shamoo-maro and the Dodge Battleship...but we're a few hundred fun-sapping lbs over the SN95 cars.

Here are a few ideas... but any specific parts or weight saving numbers would be massively appreciated and helpful. There are always options like "remove the hood!" or "replace the windshield with Lexan" but let's keep these mod suggestions more or less street legal, livable and safe.

1.) Wheels and tires
Forged wheels are massively expensive but unsprung/rotating mass is a hugely important and most stock Mustang wheels are boat anchors Any suggestions for light wheels that don't either cost a fortune? Any suggestion for high performance tires that tend to be a bit lighter?

2.) Aluminum/Carbon fiber driveshaft
again, rotating mass. several lbs to be saved here.

3.) Boss 302 rear seat delete- Is this available to buy?
may only save ~10lbs...cool factor is huge though

4.) Carbon body panels
Do these actually save weight on the Mustang? Sheet metal isn't really that big of an offender in modern cars...)

5.) Quarter window deletes?
The Boss 302R has this.. probably worth a couple lbs

6.) Hollow sway bars?
Possibly worth 2-3 lbs per bar, stiffer bars are sometimes better for handling (though not always, technically)

Thoughts?

- lighter Brakes & rotors

- lighter mufflers & catless midpipe

- lighter suspension pieces: after market LCA's, A-arms, etc are usually lighter then OEM

- Steeda LW Radiator support

That's the only others I can think of off the top of my head

Just switching from GT500 18x9.5 wheels to Enkei PF01 18x9.5 wheels, I dropped 12lbs per corner. Changing from 275/40/18's to 285/35/18's saved me another 1.5lbs per corner.

Next on my list for lighter weight is a Braille battery and tray. Depending on the model I choose, I'll be dropping 18-22 lbs. After that I'm going to put in racing seats, probably a Sparco Evo 3. There are lighter seats, but I'm a larger fellow and fit in the Evo 3. That's going to drop 45lbs per seat over my premium leather seats.

I've already done the hollow sways and saved a total of 8lbs. The GT500 axlebacks you have on your car are boat anchors. They are ~38lbs for the pair compared to my Kooks that are ~15lbs for the pair for just the mufflers. My car actually lost 3 additional pounds by replacing the factory cat back pipes with resonators and switching to the Kooks 3" with no resonators. I also lost 18lbs by switching to an OR/X and eliminating the factory cats. Eliminating the noise tube and removing the decorative engine cover will net you almost 5lbs of weight loss. Another couple of pounds can be shed by getting a lighter Panhard bar. Taking out the spare tire and jack is 37lbs lost. Just removing the spare cover/trunk floor is almost 7lbs. The Brembo front rotors are 25lbs/each. DBA and Baer offer replacements as low as 14lbs/each but they are pricey.

I could go on some more, so if you knock out the list above and want more ideas, just hit me up. :salute:

Wow... this post will keep me up at night prowling the internet and trying to figure out how to pay for this stuff.

Awesome post. :cool:

Those Enkei wheels look pretty sharp and the weight saving is amazing! Will they fit over the Brembo brakes?

I am going to look into the lighter rotors when it's time to replace the stock ones... sounds like another superb mod.

That engine cover is 5lbs?!? Whoa...I'm off to remove that right now!

EDIT:
BTW, what class do these mods put you in for Autocross? Is the car competitive? I have only autocrossed with my Miata (which is a senior citizen now and retired from autocross with 206,000 miles).

Good suggestions here too...
The A-Arms in particular sound really interesting. Who makes those?

Yes, with tons of clearance.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6010/...cb4f6681_z.jpg
Untitled by jsnyng, on Flickr

The engine cover is 3.8 lbs. The noise tube is 1.2 lbs. Total = 5. Don't remove the noise tube unless you have something to cover the hole on the intake.

To be practical, I think wheels, driveshaft, and exhaust are probably going to be your best "cost per pound" items. With that said, removing any frivolous trim and other stick-on items would be a starting point. I don't see why 150-200# of material could come off the car.

In my opinion, look into BMR for your A-Arms. Also, once they release it, look into getting one of their K-Members to drop weight on the front end of your car. Theirs is 20-25 pounds lighter than the stock one.

Coilover Kits look like a good upgrade to not only improve appearance and handling, but lose some pounds as well. The springs included in the kits are usually much smaller and lighter than the OEM units. Some of these kits have aluminum-bodied struts/shocks compared to the OEM steel-bodied units.

I'm being a wise *** and being serious at the same time. Go on a diet if this applies to you lol. Think about it, I myself am about 245. I could afford to lose some and it would probably be better then any single weight reduction mod I could do. If you're into the whole racing scene it helps to be lighter. Hence why theres no 200lb Jockeys!!

Wow, those wheels look great, man!

BTW, cracking up at the thread title. You can add weight, but you can't really add lightness :dunno::grin:

Edit: My wife pointed out that you can add a negative; I replied that I think that only works in accounting, hehe

That's good logic right there!

Listen to your wife. No need to simplicate matters. :D

"Adding lightness" is a car term that has been kicking around for years... it was coined by the late, great Colin Chapman :)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_Chapman

These are great looking wheels. I don't know though, they seem very similar in appearance to the stock Brembos. I really like the Brembo wheels. I guess it depends on what you want to do. If you want to race the car, lighter wheels would certainly be a big consideration.

Mike

Rear seat delete is available in AM. Thought of doing this myself. Only 150$

Replace the k-member and a-arms, you will probably shave about 75lbs doing that. Also take out your spare tire and the trunk matting. I believe that is another 25lbs as well.

Women with power tools = the sex :D Although women with forced induction vehicles = the dirty and awesome sex :D :D

The weight reduction I've done so far to my GT that showed significant improvements were lighter (Enkei) wheels and tires, lighter mufflers, and a lighter battery (Odyssey PC-680). I also have a Corbeau fixed back seat and bracket in my garage waiting to go into the car that should save another 25+ lbs. Oh, and I lost 50 lbs last year, I guess that counts too.

Some of the things mentioned that will bump the Mustang into a much more difficult autocross class are the K member and A arms, LCA's, driveshaft, and rear seat delete.