89 sc weight reduction where to start?

J

JT15601

Registered User
Title says it all pretty much. I know these are luxury cars and they're heavy and that's a big performance let down. I feel like every little bit of weight saved helps so what are some ways to cut the weight on these cars down.
 
For starters, I would say
-Remove sound deadening under carpet
-Remove complete A/C system
-Lighter seats/rear seat delete
-Remove premium sound amp and sub and all associated wiring
-MarkVIII aluminum lower control arms and differential
-Aluminum driveshaft
-Mustang GT PBR front caliper swap
-Fiberglass hood

That will get a good 150lbs out of the car without any sacrifice in comfort or drivability.
 
If I start with the interior, say racing seats. Then no carpet no headliner no back seats no trunk lining, no panels on the doors or in the back maybe some custom door panels what might I be looking at?
 
I like the weight reductions that aren't so obvious.

I took out sound deadening under the carpet only in the truck and under the backseats. That was about 8lbs. I also use a single exit exhaust in order to ditch another muffler/pipe/hangers, etc... The ABS and Premium sound both didn't work in my car so those computers came out. The rear seatbelts are gone, but the pods are still on the shelf. There is a plastic panel on the driver side dash by your knees....remove that and there is a big chunk of metal. I just tossed that and put the plastic back on. Pull the center console and there is another metal cover for the trans tunnel where the shifter comes through. That is now plastic (trimmed from an office size garbage can). Behind the backseats, more metal brackets....gone. I also ditched the foglights and metal brackets. It all adds up to about 100lbs, but no one would really notice as it's full interior.

Then I added 100lbs worth of subs and box :)
 
Micahdogg said:
I like the weight reductions that aren't so obvious.

I took out sound deadening under the carpet only in the truck and under the backseats. That was about 8lbs. I also use a single exit exhaust in order to ditch another muffler/pipe/hangers, etc... The ABS and Premium sound both didn't work in my car so those computers came out. The rear seatbelts are gone, but the pods are still on the shelf. There is a plastic panel on the driver side dash by your knees....remove that and there is a big chunk of metal. I just tossed that and put the plastic back on. Pull the center console and there is another metal cover for the trans tunnel where the shifter comes through. That is now plastic (trimmed from an office size garbage can). Behind the backseats, more metal brackets....gone. I also ditched the foglights and metal brackets. It all adds up to about 100lbs, but no one would really notice as it's full interior.

Then I added 100lbs worth of subs and box :)
Click to expand...
I just did most of that also removed the windshield washer resivoir. Is the liner under the hood needed? Like the insulation for the hood
 
No the hood mat is pure NVH. pull it. I wouldn't pull headliner tho, makes the inside of the car ugly for what, 1/2 pound? I also converted to vac brakes and the auto ride didn't work, so I just manually cranked the shocks/struts to full firm and was able to remove virtually all the wire harness from rear package tray to firewall on passenger side, and the entire package shelf of stuff auto ride, antilock, and stereo).

Adam
 
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I gutted almost everything out of my car. The sound deading ~~~~ i wish i wod have left in, bc its soo loud n gets hot a bit from exhat n trans...and wasnt much weight.. I have a list of things i ripped out that i regret.. But up front, the front sway bar is heavyy...the foglights
Are heavy. Pull the front bumper cover and hack away alot of the front bumper- thats heavy.. Same with behind rear cover.. You can save 100lbs by putting plastic race seats in... Under steeringwheel is big metal plate, that can go. Ac has to go for sure.

My regrets

-biggest regret - manual steering -
Ripping out
Power windows and power locks
Sound deadening
I dumped my door panels, and looking back it prob wasnt worth the 10lbs or so..

It all depends how fast you want to go.. If u can take away 1lb then it turns into 10lbs that turns into 100lbs...i have a stripped down rattlebox and got it down to 3450 i think it is. I took out pretty much everything except for heat.. Can go lighter w buying lighter parts
 
Tiny battery, mandrel-bent aluminum IC tubing, glass hood, stereo delete, foglight delete, aluminum radiator, plastic MAF, lighter pulleys, dryer hose air intake, Mark 8 diff housing, Mark 8 LCAs, front coilovers, lighter front seats, custom exhaust, aluminum flywheel, and some other stuff I'm probably forgetting have put my car down to about 3,430 pounds.

That's with 17x9 wheels, big sway bars, and 13-inch rotors. Depending on what you want to do, you can get a lot lighter. Mustang GT calipers, rear seat delete, standard or no sway bars, etc. Fiberglass doors are an option if you're willing to spend the cash.

The best first questions: what do you want to do with the car, what sacrifices are you willing to make, and what can you not live without?
 
Well its my daily driver right now. I just use it for some casual racing and its just so damn heavy. I stripped the trunk and took all the padding and sound proofing out from under the carpet and back seat. Took that plate under the driver dash out. Took the washer fluid tank out. I took the hood liner out and elimated all but 2 exhaust hangers. Took the exhaust shroud off. I can live without the ac because I did drive a 78 F100 all summer and I was fine. Although my car is black so idk. What about relocating the battery in the trunk? That's not too difficult is it? That helps redistribute 40ish pounds considering I have a 1000 cca battery. I'm looking mostly at the front end so I'm going to check out what's going on with the bumper. What about that metal cross member under the front of the engine its just a tube bolted to like the engines cross member, i cant see what that actually does? And the seats will be replaced soon because I know their monsters.
 
Most people move the battery to the trunk, but I prefer to just use a small battery in the stock location. That eliminates the need for long, heavy cables, but either method will work. The battery I use is 10 pounds or so, but it does require use of a battery tender. A week or two of not driving the car will kill the battery.

In addition to the previous links, here's a thread I made with the weights of lots of parts I weighed while working on my car.

http://sccoa.com/forums/showthread.php?t=110054
 
From that post you have the weight for the stock sub/amp. I honestly didn't even know there was a stock sub haha. Where is it located because mine obviously is just as crappy as the rest of the speakers. I'll drop it.
 
Do you have the JBL sound system, the premium sound system, or the base sound system in your car?

If it's the JBL, the subwoofer is located at the rear deck, passenger side, that big black thing that hangs down. The amp for it is on the bottom of the sealed unit, and the amp for the four satellite speakers is in the package tray (it's just to the passenger side of the middle of the car).

If it's not the JBL, you don't have the subwoofer.

RwP
 
I think for me it was removing the big chunk of metal between the valve covers, I guess they call it a supercharger:rolleyes: than the accessory brackets, and that giant FMIC now sitting on the floor at the shop, pipes, pulleys Save a lot of weight LOL


Ken
 
I do have the JBL but the previous owner has everything all rigged. I'll take a look tomorrow I know where the amp and stuff is but youre saying the sub is like behind the back seat under the rear window or what?
 
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