Official Grand Am Weight Reduction Thread

[Knifeblade]

Ptttttttthhhhhhhhhhh

[Knifeblade]

One other thought, remove the power sunroof motor and stuff, leave the glass alone, that saves a few lb.'s

[Ridenour]

Yeh the motor would be probably 5 to 10. Wow, I had my whole sunroof assembly and glass out back when we redid my car, and I swear that thing must've weighed at least 40 to 50 pounds.

[grandamdriver52]

wow, thats quite a bit of poundage. thats one plus of not having a sunroof, i always wanted one but i guess not so much now.

[muzzy1maniac]

Originally Posted by Knifeblade_03

One thing no one seems to mention is the wheels, ya can save at least 40 lb.'s over stock rims by going billet all around, and that is at the ground which has to add an incremental boost due to lack of inertial force [weight] to get the tires moving, I think.

Will Yugo wheels and tires work?? LOL!! Small, thin, light - I like it. It should also add to that "just lowered" look too.

[Forkliftguy]

Originally Posted by Knifeblade_03

Marc, just curious, is the Lexan glass mod. ya mentioing pretty good at resisting scratches, or will there be some future problem with hazing or dulling so visibility gets bad?

One price to the weight reduction by going to lexan is that it is higher maintenance than glass. You can't use certain cleaners on it or it will discolour but you can use your wipers. There is a special compond you can put on it to protect it also.

Here's my Pro's/Con's list

Glass: Pro;Does not scratch easily (major benefit in winter due to slush, sand and road salt),

Con; Heavy, easy to break thus easy to break into, expensive.

Lexan: Pro; Very light (1/4 the weight of glass), Very strong (250 times more impact resistant than glass, basically your car will never get broken into by smashing a window and debris on the highway will not go through your windshield including Deer ), Same price if not cheaper than automotive glass, up to 8 times more clear than glass

Con; If your out camping don't lock your keys in the car or you're F*cked, Higher maintenace because it is softer than glass (this is where a lot of the impact resistance comes from), Shorter life expectancy than glass under same driving condition (sandblast effect from road dust), Certain glass cleaners will harm lexan, windshield must be wet (should be wet) before running wipers, deep scratches (like a rock nailing the windshield could be too deep to buff out (although minor scratches can be)

I personally feel going lexan is the best choices if you are looking for performance, but if that isn't a concern I would probably lean towards glass because of the lower maintenance.

Marc

[Elk]

1 pound of rotating weight = 7 lbs of static weight. So taking 40 lbs off the wheels = 280 on the chassis.

[Knifeblade]

Thanks for reply,Marc, gives something to think about.

Elk, ty for the math, I had kinda thought there was something incremental that would be beneficial by lowering rotating mass over just the static weight. Cool!!!

[Ridenour]

LoL yeh muzzy, yugo wheels would do the trick

Marc, great break-down. THat makes me REALLY want Lexan, damnit!! lol

elk, I wonder if that's just tires? I heard that 1 pound of rotational mass was equal to 10 pounds of normal (unsprung) weight. That may have been referring to actual engine / drivedrain components though, instead. I suppose these numbers are very general rule of thumb, however, as there would be a huge amounts of factors to make an accuracte statement.

[OLDSCHOOL-MUSCLE]

Excuse me fellas, I'm relatively new to these forums, (not new to forums in general, or cars), and I've been reading about your weight reduction, supposed horsepower increases, and fat girlfriends (sorry no offence there, lol). BUT, something has been on my mind. I know it's just a general rule, but your car will never really act like it has increased a specific amount of horsepower due to a drop in a specific weight, because any drop in weight is a percentage of the total weight of the car. I'm using kilos here cause I'm not used to pounds, but if a car weighs 1500 kilos, and you somehow drop the drop 500kg for arguments sakes, you've dropped the weight of the car by a third, and increased it's power to weight ratio by 33%. On the other hand if you do the same thing to a 1000kg car the end result is a 500kg car (unrealistic, but still feasible) and have increased the power to weight ratio by 50%. Lets imagine these cars both have 500hp. In these cases, the 1500kg car will behave like it has increased 250 horsepower, and the 1000kg car will behave like it has increased 500 hp to achieve a 1kg to 1 hp ratio. Thats my point. Please provide feedback and opinions.

Just another quick illustration, imagine you have a 200 pound buggy, and you can run the quarter in 16 sec. You then half the weight of it, you drop 100 pounds which is supposed to drop your quarter time by .1. Halfing the weight of this buggy will most likely make you run like 10's or something with the same power output. All's I'm saying is that it's all relative to the actual weight of the vehicle, more accurately as a percentage.

[Hoags]

Alright I've read enough. you guys just don't get it. As far as I see it you have two major weight reduction options:

First: For you guys running the V6's all you have to do for an approximate 30 to 40 pound weight loss is to cut off your left arm and leg, you dont need them any way, you do every thing with your right side any way.

Second: To increase your 1/4 time and gain an average of 148 pounds...get up to the line put a 2 pound btick on the gas pedal and on the green jump your ass out of the car... LOL

Just a couple of jokes guys. I have read this whole thread, and I mean read the whole thing [I don't want to be accused of not reading]. I think you guys have gone over the edge, it is one thing to be a Technomod (thats for you Ride), but to take a car that actually your mode of transportation and spend all that cash to make it lighter is a waste. Take your cash and invest in a real race car, I would go entry level PRO STOCK for around $150,000 for a chassis and composite shell. That way you will not have to worry about the girls and how much weight to accelleration ratio will effect the bottom line.

Hey DO NOT take the above seriously, I'm just having some fun. I did read the thread and some of the ideas sound as it they will peoduce some very favorable results in the quest to reduce the overall weight of the car. I do have one more serious comment: Do not forget...you can take off all of the weight you want and develop the fastest car on the road but if you don't have the skills to drive you can race all you want and never pull the checkered flag.

Just havin fun with you guys,

Be cool, guys!

[Forkliftguy]

True, it is a power to weight ratio issue. And the rule of thumb is based on exactly that, rule of thumb. The "100lbs is worth a tenth" is a starting point. Weight reduction will not make a car faster (top speed) only quicker at getting there. To make a car go faster without physically increasing the engines output you have to change it's CD (coefficient of drag). That's why a 140HP "crotch rocket" can do 160Mph while a Corvette needs 400HP to do the same thing. And if anyone is considering going to a crotch rocket: I've driven one at a measily 150KM/hr and I've driven a ZR1 Vette at 250KM/hr, the vette leaves less of a skid mark in your shorts... LOL
Hey Hoags, If you went to "Hand controls" for throttle and brake you could even cut off the right leg :O LOL

Marc

[Hoags]

Good point Marc, but then you will not realize the full weight loss of the right leg due to the added weight of the hand controls.

One additional comment about the crotch rocket theory, there is also less mass weight of the rider because he has to be a little light in the head to go that fast on one of those things!! LOL.

[Forkliftguy]

LMAO, true true. I was watching "Top ten speed machines" on the discovery channel and they showed the Suzuki Hayabusa (world's fastest massed produced sport bike, 190Mph) which was completly insane!

[Hoags]

I'll stick to my 90 Kawasaki KDX200 dirt bike, and I'll keep to the trails.

190mph, What the HELL for????