For the road race guys on weight reduction

I'm really considering doing some weight reduction on the cobra sometime down the road... here is what I'm thinking of so far...

Spare tire/jack
coilovers
rear seat delete
maybe lighter hood
aftermarket front seats

I'm not sure on how much weight that would get rid of, but would it make a difference on how the car drove? I dont wanna gut the car up, but just some subtle changes that will really help the car drive more neutral. Thanks.

goldeneagle_10 said:

I'm really considering doing some weight reduction on the cobra sometime down the road... here is what I'm thinking of so far...

Spare tire/jack
coilovers
rear seat delete
maybe lighter hood
aftermarket front seats

I'm not sure on how much weight that would get rid of, but would it make a difference on how the car drove? I dont wanna gut the car up, but just some subtle changes that will really help the car drive more neutral. Thanks.

Click to expand...

The spare and jack is a no brainer. Coil-overs are not going to save you a lot of weight but they will assist in a better chassis set-up which will in turn give you better handling. The rear seat is a good one too. The lighter hood is not going to save you a lot of weight and it will cost you a lot by the time you paint it! :idea: Front seats are good and they are more for keeping your ass in one spot and the weight savings is just a bonus. You will find yourself driving better and faster when you don't have to worry about where your ass is sliding next!

Aftermarket light weight wheels will give you a huge return because that is all unsprung rotating mass! :read:

FWIW

:thumbsup::coolman::beer:

i agree with bruce
unless you are going with the tiger racing 7 lb hood or somethin ridiculously lightweight you wont save much, and theyre very pricey, you'd be better off spending it on a K or something along those lines

I sure you have already considered this, but if your really feeling froggy you could throw in a built aluminum block. Whats that about 80/90 lbs off the frontend. Ofcourse that requires some rather deep pockets and if your car already runs good...

Thanks for the feedback guys... I can always get what I'm looking for.

I realize its not a big weight savings, but every little counts. The coilovers I'm doing anyways just cuz its a better setup than the H&R race springs. I'll hold off on the hood because it is so expensive. The seats I'll look into eventually, but so far I think the stock seats sit pretty well for what its worth. If aftermarket sits even better, then thats wonderful.

I'm going to use 95 Cobra R wheels so I don't know if they are any lighter than the 04 Cobra chromes or not.

I know this is a silly question, and I hate to ask it... but where exactly is the jack at in the car?:bash: The spare I know of course, but I've looked around in the truck and under the carpet but I have yet to find it. I just wonder if the guy that had it before me took it out.

The jack should be under the spare tire. Removing it for OT driving is a given, most orginizations will make you take it out for safety concerns.

One simple thing for getting weight off the front is getting a smaller battery, like the dyna batt by Performance Distributors. They weigh about 13lbs. That would get rid of about 25lbs off the front end for a $120 battery.

Michael one thing you should look into is moving the battery to the trunk. Moving it off the left front and to the right rear makes a pretty good difference. The right rear is the lightest corner on those cars. Adding the 30-40lbs for battery/box will help balance out the car.

Like others have said the factory 03-04 hood is pretty light. There isn't much savings there. The big gains will be found in the seats. Switching to after market seats and going with a rear seat delete kit could save you in the the 50-70lbs range.

Z06Fix said:

Michael one thing you should look into is moving the battery to the trunk. Moving it off the left front and to the right rear makes a pretty good difference. The right rear is the lightest corner on those cars. Adding the 30-40lbs for battery/box will help balance out the car.

Like others have said the factory 03-04 hood is pretty light. There isn't much savings there. The big gains will be found in the seats. Switching to after market seats and going with a rear seat delete kit could save you in the the 50-70lbs range.

Click to expand...

Do guys have good luck in moving the battery to the trunk? I thought I've read somewhere where some guys have had bad luck in doing that, maybe I read that for something else.

I would only change the hood if it was still the same style but alot lighter. I like the stock hood too much. But keeping it works for me, saves me money too.

Since I really dont use the rear seat anyways, I see doing the rear seat delete a really good idea. Thanks guys.

i have had problems with the battery in the trunk in another vehicle. You are correct in that several people regretted putting the battery in the truck. I did have the odyssey battery and it lasted about 2 years. One of the other mods i have done is install manual seat brackets. I really like the seats and it took of 22lbs.

Thats a good list:

Spare tire/jack - I already did this
coilovers - In the near future
rear seat delete - Hopefully i will start making mine tomorow
maybe lighter hood - In the later, later future
aftermarket front seats - Im getting a set of fixed sparcos soon

Try building your own rear seat delete. All you really need is plywood, carpet, misc parts. It will cost you less than $40 to make it. And you can make it to your likings.

Humm Tony has been running his battery in the trunk for 3 years now with no problems. This is the 1st I have heard of issues out of it. Seems like as long as you ran good wire and make sure the alt had good output you would be fine.

Z06Fix said:

Humm Tony has been running his battery in the trunk for 3 years now with no problems. This is the 1st I have heard of issues out of it. Seems like as long as you ran good wire and make sure the alt had good output you would be fine.

Click to expand...

Ditto
Mine has been in the trunk(right rear) about a year now .... no problem.
It is a much shorter run for the Fuel Pump Driver Module wire up grade too.
If you are concerned about reliability use a very heavy gauge wire, and add a couple extra grounds to the engine.

Factory battery is about 38 pounds.
Larger radiators that hold more water weigh more.
Larger H/Es that hold more water weigh more.
2.3 Whipples weigh more.

My reasons for moving it are obvious.

Bruce is correct as usual on the effect of reduced rotating mass as opposed to static weight.

04 Chrome OE wheels bare weigh 30 pounds.
95 Cobra R r58 wheels weigh about 23 1/2 pounds

Track tires weigh less than street rubber too.

When you change over to your track wheels and tires and pick them up one after the other............. the difference is DRAMATIC!!


:beer:


..

Five years here with Hawker Odyssey battery in trunk and no issues. The battery saves me in the neighborhood of 10-15# of total weight. It was a total weight SHIFT from left front to right rear of about 50# which is huge.

FWIW

:thumbsup::coolman::beer:

you could also pull that dogbone off the front of the diff, that saves about 10 lbs, my shit had nasty high speed vibes before i did it and it was no worse afterwards so I see no point in that worthless hunk of DEAD weight

Sounds like I'll do the battery move then, if some of you guys have had no problems with it... works for me.