Anyone have good weight reduction tips for a 96 cobra?
sent using nunya
sent using nunya
Weight reduction
- Thread starter 96mystic#899
- Start date
Some of the basics off the top of my head, assuming you are not gutting the car:
1) Loose the spare tire and tools
2) Loose the rear seat
3) Get a set of lightweight wheels
4) Buy hollow sway bars
5) Pick up some lightweight racing seats
6) Pull out the AC and lines
7) Replace your heavy battery with a Deka sports 600 cc amp unit. That alone will save you 20 pounds.
I'm sure there is more you could do, but this is a good start.
1) Loose the spare tire and tools
2) Loose the rear seat
3) Get a set of lightweight wheels
4) Buy hollow sway bars
5) Pick up some lightweight racing seats
6) Pull out the AC and lines
7) Replace your heavy battery with a Deka sports 600 cc amp unit. That alone will save you 20 pounds.
I'm sure there is more you could do, but this is a good start.
+ 1 on the wheels. If staying 17" it is hard to beat the Enkei RPF1's. Similar design to the 10th anniversary wheels, and they are a solid 12-15 pounds lighter per wheel than just about every replica wheel sold on AM/Lethal/CJ/etc. You can get them on TireRack in 17x9/17x10 for our cars. Save you a good 50-60 pounds of unsprung weight right there.
Street car on a diet
sent using nunya
sent using nunya
theyre also available in 18x10.5 +15, though theyll weigh about 1.75"lbs more per wheel. the 18x9s are right at a pound heavier than their 17" counterparts.
Since you are keeping it Street...
Leave the battery alone, just relocate it to the truck, use a sealed box. That will help weight distribution.
I and many I know have had nothing but problems with those over priced mini batteries.
Leave your A/C alone. You'll notice it's absence a lot more then it's weight savings.
K-member will save you 50lbs. Get some adjustable A-arms and coils up front. That's another 25lbs.
As mentioned, quality forged wheels will drop 20-50lbs.
Watch out on the rear seat delete, some kits are wood and carpet and it ends up being a neutral savings.
I had a Fiberglas truck I found on eBay for my SN95 years ago for cheap. It's a nice savings.
Ditch the front crash beam and fab a bar.
I wouldn't go "race seats" but if you can fav you can toss in some manual import seats like ones from a S14 240sx, MR2, Civic Si, Del Sol etc and save weight for only $50 or so.
Leave the sound deadening alone. It makes the car sound like shit and didn't do much in weight.
Exhaust system will cut a few pounds.
Leave the battery alone, just relocate it to the truck, use a sealed box. That will help weight distribution.
I and many I know have had nothing but problems with those over priced mini batteries.
Leave your A/C alone. You'll notice it's absence a lot more then it's weight savings.
K-member will save you 50lbs. Get some adjustable A-arms and coils up front. That's another 25lbs.
As mentioned, quality forged wheels will drop 20-50lbs.
Watch out on the rear seat delete, some kits are wood and carpet and it ends up being a neutral savings.
I had a Fiberglas truck I found on eBay for my SN95 years ago for cheap. It's a nice savings.
Ditch the front crash beam and fab a bar.
I wouldn't go "race seats" but if you can fav you can toss in some manual import seats like ones from a S14 240sx, MR2, Civic Si, Del Sol etc and save weight for only $50 or so.
Leave the sound deadening alone. It makes the car sound like shit and didn't do much in weight.
Exhaust system will cut a few pounds.
This was over in the Terminator FAQ
Ive never had luck finding 18's with what looked to be appropriate offset. where did you find those?
good info guys, also I've read that you can remove the "dog bone" under the rear differential I'm not sure if that is the same thing as the mott bar listed above. I've heard it can remove 8-10lbs.
It's there to help reduce NVH, you can remove it with no ill effect. You might notice some more vibration, but it's doubtful. I've taken them off every Mustang that I've owned.
We dont see that exhaust was mentioned yet! Luckily there is no heavy center resonator to worry about, but a considerable amount of weight can still be shed by changing the factory mufflers out for some quality straight-through units.
Just remember non free weight reduction is always more expensive then power modification. So if you are going to do it do the free weight. In my experience it takes about 100lbs of weight to see a difference at the track. If you are autocrossing they sometimes have a car weight system that allows you to see weight at each corner and move the weight to even the distribution out. Also removing weight from random location is not always the best. Two places that are the best is front end weight and rotational mass. I have found that rear seat deletes and removing the spare tires and jack makes the car noise and unsafe if you have a blowout and need a spare. Now if your at the track feel free but if your daily drive the car its not worth it. At the track two things you can quickly remove off the front for an easy 25 pounds is the front sway bar and the strut tower brace. Saves weight and improves weight transfer, easily worth a tenth in the quarter mile if you got the tire to launch it.
Users who are viewing this thread
