F355 weight saving measures?

We got a 355 challenge car down to 2800 pounds by completely stripping everything that did not make it go, stop, of stay. This is with an IMSA legal roll cage.

With CF F/R bumpers and aluminum holders we could have achieved 2600.

 

Yes, you won't get much lighter than this the red and yellow one in the background was heavier! pooch was impressed as well
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Pah! - That fatboy's still got the door hinges attached!

 

I admire your attention to detail, the one lug bolt per wheel is awesome.

 

That thing a 348 or 355?

 

Additional weight loss!

 

Bumpers, remove carpet, seats, switch leather for Alcantara, rims/tires, dump factory exhaust for a lighter aftermarket unit (or a straight through challenge at 8lbs), remove trunk carpeting, lexan rear window, manual steering, lightweight brakes.

Beyond that you're going to be fabricating parts which gets exponentially more expensive. I don't think the shocks would save you weight as the actuators weigh almost nothing - and you could just remove them and lock the adjustment in place if you wanted to.

 

It is apparent from the stack of concrete blocks that this project is about to be entombed in a mausoleum...LOL

 

Why the need to lighten it up? If you are driving the car on the street it's a waste of time effort and $. If your tracking it you know where to start.

 

I have a really good friend who was always looking for ways to lighten up his car (not a Ferrari). He spent thousands on aluminum heads, acid dipping his fenders, lighter headers, lexan windows, and suffering after he removed his HVAC. When I pointed out that since he weighed about 275 lbs that he could chop 100 lbs off his ride by eaitng less he looked at me like I was an idiot and said "Uh thanks, but what does that have to do with the car?".

 

Oh come on! - It's got 5 spoke alloys with 4 bolt holes!

Three spokes with 5 bolt holes would weigh less!

 

Well ... Tell him to take the 100 pounds of pizza outta da trunk

 

Just buy a lotus Elise.

 

Pitching that boat anchor of an exhaust system would be a good place to start. The factory exhaust not only heavy, but it is prone to failure in a number of interesting ways. There is a host of emissions equipment that if all added up probably weighs in at another 50 lbs.

Ditch the air bags, replace the glass with lexan, remove the A/C, remove the starter and have it like an F1 car (LOL), etc.... you can strip weight by a number of means, but at the end of the day, is it worth it...

Will you have a car that is better to drive? Probably not necessarily enough to matter. Still, I wouldn't fault you for a lighter aftermarket exhaust system sans emission controls. When compared to the aftermarket options, the factory exhaust contributes minimally to anything other than catastrophic engine failure... and perhaps collector value.

I would argue that stickier tires and proper care of the car will reward you more handsomely than trying to shave pounds and ounces from the car.

 

Atkins or south beach diet works for some.
Lots of carbon fiber and get rid of all the carpet and leather on top of what they said above.

 

Hey you have to have some creature comforts, they are holding the lexan doors on!

 

With 3/4 fuel I got my 355 gts down to 3180 pounds with a lighter rear euro bumper. Noviulari exhaust, fabspeed headers and cat bypass. Carbon fiber bmc intake boxes, and airbag delete.

Hopefully with carbon fiber challenge seats, carbon fiber front bumper and front bonnet I will get dry weight under 3000 pounds. Not bad for a f1. Image Unavailable, Please Login
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Awesome! But don't you think it will hurt the balance of the car with carbon front bonnet and bumper? Because F355's front is already light compared to rear and you will make it even lighter. Just my 2 cents. By the way if you didn't already, you can get a lightweight battery that will shave approximately 25 lbs

 

Re question of 348 weighing more, I can add that 348 seats are super comfy, but weigh a ton, so maybe 355 seats weigh less. I believe 348 wheels weigh more, and the stock exhaust is quite heavy. Also a strange 348 part is a metal plate on a hinge that covers the fuses and relays in the passenger foot well that feels like it's made from lead.

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I've done the battery already, it actually saved more than 25. I got an antigravity lithium ion that weighs 11 pounds. The car is actually well balanced since it is mid engine. Actually rear weight bias I believe is better than front weight bias since I rather have slight oversteer than understeer. The problem is snap oversteer but that is common with mid engine cars.

Also I was told losing weight is losing weight for a track or performance car. It's not like you're changing the weight distribution by more than 30% with the minor weight savings, and conversely we dont add weight to the car to plant it down if that makes sense

 

Makes sense to me How much weight did you lose by having installed lighter exhaust parts instead of heavier (probably) OEM parts?

 

One could probably shed 200-300 pounds here: http://www.superformance.co.uk/355/body.html

 

... and twenty thousand pounds (£££) from your wallet

 

Nobody said performance was cheap.