Originally Posted by GT Muscle
I've been reading this build for few days now, with some skimming and skipping I finally finished.
There are several weight reduction I haven't seen you try yet, BMR's K-member and arms(31 lbs), MMR tranny CF tunnel (they claim 75+ lbs), MMR CF trunk (25lbs), and if you're going hardcore, JPC offer ligher axles and final drive.
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Wow, those are some pretty extreme weight saving mods. Let me address them each in order:
- The K-member is not allowed in almost any SCCA racing class so we didn't look at this. I have installed tubular K-members on several Mustangs and they are not a perfect, no-compromise mod. The suspension geometry is often altered in these, and if the unit is built for weight savings (drag racing) it can even have more deflection under load than the stock steel piece. The road race versions are often only 10-20 pounds lighter, which isn't much considering their price, complexity, and time to install.
- A CF trunk is also a costly one, and wouldn't work at all with any sort of wing mounted to it like we run on track. You would then need to brace the wing all the way down to the frame, adding structure and weight along the way. And CF trunk wasn't legal for the racing class we used to run in this car (SCCA ESP) so we couldn't do it. Now we could, but it is a costly mod for the weight lost.
- CF Tunnel? What the.... you mean they cut out the stamped steel unibody floor and bolt or bond some CF replacement in there??? That sounds like a nightmare on many levels. First, you would lose all sorts of structural rigidity. I suspect this is for fully caged race cars only. That isn't at all what we have.
- Lighter axles would probably mean weaker, too. Sure, you can probably get a gun drilled axle as strong as stock, but at what cost?
Originally Posted by GT Muscle
Few Questions:
-Have you done the rear seats yet?
-Since we can fit a 315mm tire on the 18x10 is there a need for an 11"? I see you didn't like the 345 because that was my plan.
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Yes, the rear seat is under 28 pounds.
Seat belt hardware is also around 8 for a total weight loss potential of 35 pounds. But removing the rear seat adds a TREMENDOUS amount of rear axle and road noise. It kind of sucks on a street driven car. Have been driving my 2013 GT like this for 2 months and it sucks.
And mounting a tire to a narrower than optimal wheel is "possible", it isn't great for performance. Squeezed tires don't sit square on a narrow wheel, and the actual tread section gets cupped up on the ends, effectively making the tire narrower in use than it really is. The 315mm tire mounted to the 18x11" wheel (front) is even a bit squeezed compared to when it is mounted on the 18x12" wheel (rear).
Cheers,