Let's talk about weight savings.

[Eaglerulez]

One of the things that is a bummer about the V6 Camaro in my opinion is that it does have a very powerful engine, but with the weight of the car and with how late the torque comes in, the car does not feel as "fast" as it could in my opinion.

I think a big reason for this is because there is a lot of mass in these cars. I have read through several V8 builds about dropping weight from the car, which were all pretty interesting, but I have not read much about dropping weight from a V6. Most of the substantial savings on the V8 seemed to come from:

Lighter wheels (which adds an exponential saving because it is unsprung)
Race battery
Coilovers (lighter than stock shocks and also unsprung)
Aftermarket exhaust
Lightweight rotors (unsprung)

On top of these "big" ones, a lot of the other builds did a lot of smaller things to shave a few pounds here and there like lightweight lug-nuts, removing various plastic, etc.

I have been having a hard time finding a good number on this, but I think the curb weight of our V6 Camaro is 3700lbs (which is about the weight that most of the SS build threads try to find).

I realized that if we can get the V6 Camaro's weight down to 3500lbs our car will hit a pretty potent power to weight ratio.

For instance an E46 BMW M3, weighs about 3400 and it has a pretty similar engine output and torque curve as the LFX.
For kicks C4 Corvette ZR1 weighs about 3500 the last time I checked (although it also has an extra 100lbs or torque that kick in about 1000 rpms sooner)

I think 350 crank horse power should be pretty easy to attain with a decent round of bolt-on mods and almost definitely with a tune. At that horse power and at a weight of 3500lbs we would be at a nice 10:1 horsepower to weight ratio would be in the weight realm of a BMW M3, and we would be making more power than an M3.

I know when it comes it dropping weight from the Camaro a lot people say "Why not just buy a supercharger?" or "Why not just get a Corvette?" but maybe it is just me, but I think dropping 200lbs adding another 25 horse power or so can take the car from being "well this is good" to "wow, what a beast!"

What do you guys think?

[ratfinkharley]

All the weight savings goes for not when the overweight driver pulls into the drive through at McDonalds.

I know that I personally can gain 4-5 HP!

[Apex Motorsports]

Originally Posted by Eaglerulez

One of the things that is a bummer about the V6 Camaro in my opinion is that it does have a very powerful engine, but with the weight of the car and with how late the torque comes in, the car does not feel as "fast" as it could in my opinion.

I think a big reason for this is because there is a lot of mass in these cars. I have read through several V8 builds about dropping weight from the car, which were all pretty interesting, but I have not read much about dropping weight from a V6. Most of the substantial savings on the V8 seemed to come from:

Lighter wheels (which adds an exponential saving because it is unsprung)
Race battery
Coilovers (lighter than stock shocks and also unsprung)
Aftermarket exhaust
Lightweight rotors (unsprung)

On top of these "big" ones, a lot of the other builds did a lot of smaller things to shave a few pounds here and there like lightweight lug-nuts, removing various plastic, etc.

I have been having a hard time finding a good number on this, but I think the curb weight of our V6 Camaro is 3700lbs (which is about the weight that most of the SS build threads try to find).

I realized that if we can get the V6 Camaro's weight down to 3500lbs our car will hit a pretty potent power to weight ratio.

For instance an E46 BMW M3, weighs about 3400 and it has a pretty similar engine output and torque curve as the LFX.
For kicks C4 Corvette ZR1 weighs about 3500 the last time I checked (although it also has an extra 100lbs or torque that kick in about 1000 rpms sooner)

I think 350 crank horse power should be pretty easy to attain with a decent round of bolt-on mods and almost definitely with a tune. At that horse power and at a weight of 3500lbs we would be at a nice 10:1 horsepower to weight ratio would be in the weight realm of a BMW M3, and we would be making more power than an M3.

I know when it comes it dropping weight from the Camaro a lot people say "Why not just buy a supercharger?" or "Why not just get a Corvette?" but maybe it is just me, but I think dropping 200lbs adding another 25 horse power or so can take the car from being "well this is good" to "wow, what a beast!"

What do you guys think?

I am a BIG fan of dropping weight. It makes everything better. If you are intentional about the parts you select you can drop of lot of it off of these hefty cars. Another place you can save a decent amount of weight is with the seats. The stock ones are pretty chunky. Just something to add to your list.

In addition to the bolt on upgrades to improve power output, another opportunity to add some serious giddy up is to upgrade your rear end gears. Going to 3.73 in a manual transmission equipped V6 will produce an equivalent torque gain of approximately 15% or 41 lb.-ft. of torque. That gets the car moving A LOT quicker.

[911medic]

http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=319468

[KMPrenger]

Originally Posted by 911medic

http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=319468

Well I was going to post up this thread, but you beat me to it.

This V6 owner is going with performance/weight savings and will be one to watch I feel.

So far, the best example of weight loss on an SS, while keeping full interior and drivability is from member "Doc". His SS weighs something like just under 3,650 lbs, which is fantastic considering its an SS. Heck, I'd love for my V6 to weigh that lol.

Guy in the thread linked above looks like he could hit 3,600 to 3,650 lbs as well in his build.

You mention going for 3,500 lbs, but I just don't know if that's doable in in the V6 without spending BIG bucks or running without a stripped interior.

But in the end I have to agree. Weight is about the only thing I dislike about these cars. If they could have only been 2 or 3 hundred lbs lighter from the get go, and then we could drop a little more off of that, they would be amazing performers...V6 and V8.

[Eaglerulez]

Originally Posted by KMPrenger

Well I was going to post up this thread, but you beat me to it.

This V6 owner is going with performance/weight savings and will be one to watch I feel.

So far, the best example of weight loss on an SS, while keeping full interior and drivability is from member "Doc". His SS weighs something like just under 3,650 lbs, which is fantastic considering its an SS. Heck, I'd love for my V6 to weigh that lol.

Guy in the thread linked above looks like he could hit 3,600 to 3,650 lbs as well in his build.

You mention going for 3,500 lbs, but I just don't know if that's doable in in the V6 without spending BIG bucks or running without a stripped interior.

But in the end I have to agree. Weight is about the only thing I dislike about these cars. If they could have only been 2 or 3 hundred lbs lighter from the get go, and then we could drop a little more off of that, they would be amazing performers...V6 and V8.

Yeah, as I was thinking about things I felt like I could lose the first 100 lbs fairly easily, but the next 100 would cost quite a bit of money to accomplish.

Nonetheless, I still think we can get some more performance from these V6's it really just has to do with shedding the extra pounds and getting some more torque and earlier if possible.

Out of curiosity, does anybody know what the curb weight of the V6 actually is? My number came from wikipedia and I am not sure how reliable it is.

[rtcat600man]

To drop the weight you have to start somehwhere. Do what you can is a good start. The thread above gives great ideas. I have talked to Kevin many of times about things we have both been doing to drop weight.

For me I added the MRT 2.0 axle back mufflers and took the stock heavy suit cases off and that dropped 32 lbs. within an hour.

Adding my new TSW Nurbgrings even with 275's (in all 4 corners) and dropping my stock 19's saved me another 5 lbs of sprung weight in each corner.

Going with my headers and removing the stock exhaust manifold and cats, saved another 16 lbs.

So just those 3 mods listed above, saved 68 pounds, improved my HP, 1/4 mile times, handling and looks. ALL WIN WIN WIN, in my book.

Now with my new driver weight reduction of 75 lbs, to date and another 75 to go before I hit the 1/4 mile again that could be worth another 0.15 in the qtr.

You can also look into a rear seat delete, the bottom is worth 12 lbs. seat back is 18 lbs. that is another 30 lbs.

Good luck trying to get to 3500.

Oh and I believe the WIKI to be pretty close for my stock weight of 3750. at least that is the number I started with until I can get on some scales.

[KMPrenger]

Originally Posted by Eaglerulez

Out of curiosity, does anybody know what the curb weight of the V6 actually is? My number came from wikipedia and I am not sure how reliable it is.

I was going to address this in my previous post and forgot.

I believe a manual V6 is somewhere around 3,700+ lbs, while an automatic is in the 3,750+ range. Fully loaded V6 might top 3,800 but I'm not really sure about that.

[911medic]

Originally Posted by KMPrenger

I was going to address this in my previous post and forgot.

I believe a manual V6 is somewhere around 3,700+ lbs, while an automatic is in the 3,750+ range. Fully loaded V6 might top 3,800 but I'm not really sure about that.

Strangely, and this is certainly contrary to what one would think, Chevy has always specified the 5th Gen V6 Camaro automatics as being lighter than the manual trans V6s.

The official brochure (2013 MY found here) lists the 2LS and automatic LTs as weighing 3712 lbs, while the 1LS and manual LTs weigh 3728 lbs.

See page 24 of the brochure, titled "Performance."

The 2014s apparently lost a smidge of weight, since their brochure states the 2LS and auto LTs weigh 3702 lbs, while the manual V6s weigh 3719 lbs ("Performance" is on page 15 of the MY '14 brochure, found here).

The MY '12 brochure was consistent with the '13 brochure, so I don't think this was a typo.

The SS on the other hand, shows the autos as heavier, but then they have a different engine than the manuals, so it's more than just transmission weight involved.

[KMPrenger]

Originally Posted by 911medic

Strangely, and this is certainly contrary to what one would think, Chevy has always specified the 5th Gen V6 Camaro automatics as being lighter than the manual trans V6s.

The official brochure (2013 MY found here) lists the 2LS and automatic LTs as weighing 3712 lbs, while the 1LS and manual LTs weigh 3728 lbs.

See page 24 of the brochure, titled "Performance."

The 2014s apparently lost a smidge of weight, since their brochure states the 2LS and auto LTs weigh 3702 lbs, while the manual V6s weigh 3719 lbs ("Performance" is on page 15 of the MY '14 brochure, found here).

The MY '12 brochure was consistent with the '13 brochure, so I don't think this was a typo.

The SS on the other hand, shows the autos as heavier, but then they have a different engine than the manuals, so it's more than just transmission weight involved.

Oh...well aint that interesting. lol

[kjkjr27]

Originally Posted by 911medic

http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=319468

I would def follow this thread OP. I am constantly looking for ways to lose weight. I try to keep the first posted updated as far as what I have done in weight reduction. Right now with a full tank of gas my car weighs 3720lbs and that includes all the weight reduction I have done in my first post except for the rear seat. Now if I take out the rear seat and hit the track with half a tank my car is at 3620 (assuming 93 weighs about 6.35lb/gal) Now since weighing my car I have bought a couple of mods to help reduce the weight even further. I have:

Coilovers- should lose about 20lbs
custom front and rear crash bars loss of 24lbs
17lb braille battery - loss of 27lbs
LSR toe rods - loss of 1.5lbs
Planning on removing the dust shield - loss of maybe 5lbs

So with just that my car should weigh in about 3545 +/- 5lbs

I am also looking into an Al 1-piece driveshaft and a 25% underdrive pulley, both should save some weight.



Also the title for my car says it weighed 3749lbs and it is has everything but a sunroof and I think that doesn't include the weight of gas.

[Rabbitlfx]

Wonder how much weight could be saved by getting rid of all the nannies??? Like anti-lock brakes, traction control, stability contol, and onstar. The first thing I do when I start my car is turn stuff off. Can"t turn off the anti-lock, (wish i could) and the only thing I use onstar for is the compass. Any Idea how much this stuff weighs?

[Fuel74]

I've been looking at Copo style hoods and stumbled across the VFN Fiberglass hoods. Not sure how sturdy these are, but at only 13 pounds for Pin On certainly caught my attention. Thats about 12-15lbs reduction, plus you could scrap the bolt on hardware for additional weight loss.

www.vfnfiberglass.com/2010camaro.htm

[Fuel74]

Originally Posted by Rabbitlfx

Wonder how much weight could be saved by getting rid of all the nannies??? Like anti-lock brakes, traction control, stability contol, and onstar. The first thing I do when I start my car is turn stuff off. Can"t turn off the anti-lock, (wish i could) and the only thing I use onstar for is the compass. Any Idea how much this stuff weighs?

Yeah - hate that crap, though always thought it was more software than hardware. Would love to tune out stabilitrack and traction control. Then maybe put something cool where that button is, like a line lock