OVER 200 LBS. IN WEIGHT SAVING IDEAS

[1977and2010]

Originally Posted by Zfatuated

Interesting thread on the crash bars, thank you for linking that. Is there a solution to avoid Dremeling that rear bumper cover in a succeeding iteration? Any thought to perhaps welding in a threaded bung to both bars where you could attach a RennLine folding tow hook? Kill two birds with one stone. It'll bump the price of course but offer an elegant solution to the tow hook problem.

Is there a thread or link to a good solution for a lightweight clutch? Are we talking LW, single-mass flywheel as well? And if so do the worms come out of the can in regards to torsional vibration issues with the crank/dampener/pulley(s)? Just thinking out loud here. I already have plenty of worm experience and prefer to avoid earning more

Check out this thread http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45165
Doc has done a lot of weight reduction to his car. He dropped 22 lbs with his mantic clutch. I,m putting in a McLeod in mine and will lose about the same.

[Moreno1]

Originally Posted by 1977and2010

Check out this thread http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45165
Doc has done a lot of weight reduction to his car. He dropped 22 lbs with his Mantic clutch. I,m putting in a McLeod in mine and will lose about the same.

I think this is one of the best thread on this whole site. Good call! Doc has had a lot of influence on our build.

Originally Posted by Zfatuated

Interesting thread on the crash bars, thank you for linking that. Is there a solution to avoid Dremeling that rear bumper cover in a succeeding iteration? Any thought to perhaps welding in a threaded bung to both bars where you could attach a RennLine folding tow hook? Kill two birds with one stone. It'll bump the price of course but offer an elegant solution to the tow hook problem.

Is there a thread or link to a good solution for a lightweight clutch? Are we talking LW, single-mass flywheel as well? And if so do the worms come out of the can in regards to torsional vibration issues with the crank/dampener/pulley(s)? Just thinking out loud here. I already have plenty of worm experience and prefer to avoid earning more

Good idea. That's why I like doing these mastermind threads!Let me look into it

Originally Posted by joeyrotorhead

here are some super light weight seats for ya...
http://www.tecnocraft.com/Tecnocraft...-Seat-P39.aspx

Nathan, i think you should add something similar to the G5 Carbon line-up goodies!

Joey those are some killer seats for sure, 6.5 lbs is crazy Thanks for the link!

Originally Posted by joeyrotorhead

Nathan can you give us weight comparisons / savings for the following:

Dry Carbon fiber trunk
Dry Carbon fiber roof
Dry Carbon fiber hood
Dry Carbon fiber fenders


...sorry if i missed these in another thread

Let me see if I can get of these numbers and I'll post them.

[Zfatuated]

Originally Posted by joeyrotorhead

here are some super light weight seats for ya...
http://www.tecnocraft.com/Tecnocraft...-Seat-P39.aspx

Nathan, i think you should add something similar to the G5 Carbon line-up goodies!

Damn, those are some groovy seats! And the price is very reasonable considering what you are looking at.

Tillet B6 or B7 would also be interesting choices with the added benefit of FIA rating (for peace of mind and specific class legality).

If I go so far as to swap seats, then I'd have to look at a rear-half roll hoop. Those of you with late-model Camaro roll bar experience, what's involved??

[The Stig]

Originally Posted by Justin Moreno

I haven't heard this one yet in the Z/28 section... CF one piece drive shaft. reduce some driveline weight, and at the same time you get rid of the slop that comes with a two piece.

OE wheels are beautiful, but not the lightest at 25-27lbs ea. We have forgeline Ga1R-OL and they are right under 21lbs ea IIRC

Optic Armor front and rear windshields will save 20 lbs off the top of the car.

all depends on how extreme you wanna go

Driveshaft Shops aluminum one piece is actually lighter than their CF one

Also - the tubular rear cradles that you guys built for G5.R. I know of at least one Z/28 owner who is installing it...

[joeyrotorhead]

Was looking around and noticed Seibon makes carbon fiber doors for our cars...

from Gen1 to Gen5, Camaro's have always had the heavy ass doors... wonder what the weight savings would be here???

[Zfatuated]

Originally Posted by joeyrotorhead

Was looking around and noticed Seibon makes carbon fiber doors for our cars...

from Gen1 to Gen5, Camaro's have always had the heavy ass doors... wonder what the weight savings would be here???

Now you are talking full cage though. I would never run carbon doors/remove the intrusion beam unless I had a cage with side intrusion bars.

Carbon doors are huge weight savings but comes at price, one way or another (your safety or roll cage weight)

[Moreno1]

Originally Posted by Zfatuated

Interesting thread on the crash bars, thank you for linking that. Is there a solution to avoid Dremeling that rear bumper cover in a succeeding iteration? Any thought to perhaps welding in a threaded bung to both bars where you could attach a RennLine folding tow hook? Kill two birds with one stone. It'll bump the price of course but offer an elegant solution to the tow hook problem.

Got to give this some thought because look at how the bar runs in relation to the grille. Plus we are now replacing those two coolers with bigger ones. Meaning the coolers would get in the way.

[Zfatuated]

Originally Posted by Nathan Moreno

Got to give this some thought because look at how the bar runs in relation to the grille. Plus we are now replacing those two coolers with bigger ones. Meaning the coolers would get in the way.

I trust you to figure it out or kill the idea. And I trust very few people

[McRat]

I would not even do carbon doors if the factory doors are plastic. Simply find a pair of junkyard doors, and cut the flange area off. You end up with a "skin" and a build a light aluminum angle frame to mount the latch/hinge points. You need to mark the door on the outside as to how it opens. If you are skinny, just Dzus the door on and climb out the window hole. You will also need a net that can be released from the outside/inside.

Yes, you will need a rollbar or cage to run those.

[Moreno1]

Originally Posted by Zfatuated

Damn, those are some groovy seats! And the price is very reasonable considering what you are looking at.

Tillet B6 or B7 would also be interesting choices with the added benefit of FIA rating (for peace of mind and specific class legality).

If I go so far as to swap seats, then I'd have to look at a rear-half roll hoop. Those of you with late-model Camaro roll bar experience, what's involved??

depends on what you want. There are prefabbed roll bars, CM or MS (IMO MS is better for this app). I've seen some nice ones on here.

Originally Posted by The Stig

Driveshaft Shops aluminum one piece is actually lighter than their CF one

Also - the tubular rear cradles that you guys built for G5.R. I know of at least one Z/28 owner who is installing it...

I did not know that! interesting. Yes the rear cradle will drop a nice chunk of weight and so will the tubular from cradle that Extreme innovations already makes! maybe later I'll put together a list of everything we've done to lose weight.

Originally Posted by joeyrotorhead

Was looking around and noticed Seibon makes carbon fiber doors for our cars...

from Gen1 to Gen5, Camaro's have always had the heavy ass doors... wonder what the weight savings would be here???

The factory doors are heavy Mofo's but for good reason. they are engineered to be very protective in case of a side impact. carbon doors are ONLY recommended for race cars. You need a full roll cage with beefy door bars to run a carbon door. you will also never get the factory door closing qualities with such a door. shutting it will sound more like "CLACK!"

[Zfatuated]

Originally Posted by 1977and2010

Check out this thread http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45165
Doc has done a lot of weight reduction to his car. He dropped 22 lbs with his mantic clutch. I,m putting in a McLeod in mine and will lose about the same.

Thanks for the linky. Good stuff. A bit dated, but still interesting. The money quote at the end:

" If I had to do it over starting now, I'd go with a 21 lb battery instead of the 15 lb, and the wheels I have now instead of the ones I bought then (because the ones I have now are lighter). The wheels I have now weren't available at that time. I would also consider engine mounts that weren't quite as stiff as the Pfadt ones although they do work as advertised.

Top 3 mods that made the biggest difference I could feel... probably replacing the rear bushings, the brake rotors, and the lighter wheels. The car's handling improved dramatically with those 3 mods. I did those separately at different times so I can only imagine how it would feel to do all 3 at once."

[Zfatuated]

Originally Posted by Justin Moreno

depends on what you want. There are prefabbed roll bars, CM or MS (IMO MS is better for this app). I've seen some nice ones on here.

I did not know that! interesting. Yes the rear cradle will drop a nice chunk of weight and so will the tubular from cradle that Extreme innovations already makes! maybe later I'll put together a list of everything we've done to lose weight.

I'd agree on the MS, do you have a favorite manufacturer/bar? Is it a bolt-in install? Need to tack-in backing plates?

A friend of mine builds some pure art Subaru cradles, he'd love another project and buyers would get a museum quality piece. Is this (cradle(s) ) something that would make sense for a Z/28? Is there already a high-quality manufacturer (Extreme Innovations?)? What are talking about for install time/expense?

Easier for me to just ask this stuff outright at the moment as opposed to digging for hours TIA for your reply

[Zfatuated]

I was just looking at the RPM bar, interesting! Claim bolt in. Bungs for eye-bolts for shoulder harnesses. CM is 1/2 the weight of the MS though.

[Moreno1]

Originally Posted by Zfatuated

I'd agree on the MS, do you have a favorite manufacturer/bar? Is it a bolt-in install? Need to tack-in backing plates?

A friend of mine builds some pure art Subaru cradles, he'd love another project and buyers would get a museum quality piece. Is this (cradle(s) ) something that would make sense for a Z/28? Is there already a high-quality manufacturer (Extreme Innovations?)? What are talking about for install time/expense?

Easier for me to just ask this stuff outright at the moment as opposed to digging for hours TIA for your reply

Not sure.. as Nathan said, we built ours with a friend who specializes in pre runner, trophy trucks, etc. it was all custom. I have seen some nice looking ones on here though. I'd say my favorite is a guy on here who has an Orange 1LE track car. I'll see if I can find the thread.

regarding the cradle, YES, it makes sense for the Z, IMO. I know Ofer (2SSRS@gen5diy) has an order in place for the upcoming REAR cradle. And once he gets that one, I'm sure he'll get the front too, based on the quality. they are fully tig welded, and yes, art pieces. The front cradle is done and has been on the market for some time. Here's some pics when ours came in.









Install time and cost would depend on who's doing the work, but basically you need for pull some motor, radiator and front suspension, so it is definitely involved....

Originally Posted by Zfatuated

I was just looking at the RPM bar, interesting! Claim bolt in. Bungs for eye-bolts for shoulder harnesses. CM is 1/2 the weight of the MS though.

I just checked their website. 45 lb CM vs 75 lb for MS. which makes me think they are probably using .134 wall for the MS and .083 for the CM. .134 is pretty thick, Ive mostly seen .120 MS. From what I've read, the RPM bar's are designed with NHRA rules in mind.

I just like DOM and MS much better than CM because it is not as stiff and has the ability to absorb energy a bit better than chromoly. I have also heard horror stories of chromoly cage failures due to improper welding technique. A chromoly cage must be done RIGHT and if not, it could cause more harm than protection. Chromoly also becomes brittle over time and more prone to breaking. The last thing you want is a sharp edged pogo stick in the cab in the event of a rollover. IIRC, SCCA and NASA don't even approve chromoly cages anymore for their competitive classes.

These are all the conclusions i came up with from my own personal research when deciding what to go with for our cage. I advise doing your own HW, and I'm sure you will