The power of lightness

This video illustrates why 3500 pound cars with 700 +HP is the wrong direction for someone who simply wants a trilling ride......imagine 1850 pound car with 350 HP--the weight of an MGB and the HP split between 348 and F355 at ~350 HP.

 

That was cool!...A rediscovery of what Colin Chapman knew long ago.

 

Was just having a long discussion with fellow 355 owners about this vid last night.

Now who’s looking for light-weight 355 panels??

 

I would be in for carbon front fenders with embossed shields, carbon doors, carbon front and rear bonnets.

I have a challenge kevlar bumper already, but could use a rear bumper.

Our engines are essentially perfect as is. A higher RPM build would be really cool but not necessary. Shedding some fat wherever possible would be great though.

 

Every designer knows this. It’s just that vehicle design regulations won’t let them build cars like this.

I’m sure this car has no airbag under the engine lid for protecting pedestrians when the car is reversing at high speed...

 

A lot of truth right there. In fact cars will get heavier with more electricication. Battery = tons of weight. cars must bet heavier to survive other heavy electric cars from hitting them. So thicker steel for crush zones, thicker Apillers for rollover protection....

That tribute 911 is cool and all but it is basically a death trap. Modern harness with no head and neck restraint = death from some frontal crashes not seen with 3 point seatbelts.

 

I watched that and then a review of the new Gunther Werks 993, which has a different philosophy of larger tires and a widebody for more traction and balance. Interesting to see the difference.

 

Doesn’t Valence USA make them?


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You’re gonna need more than what Valence offers to make any difference. Plus, last I heard it was difficult to order anything from them.

 

Their cars are also Turbo. How about that difference ?

 

Probably a weight savings of 25-35 pounds there -- about a half-tank of gas. Immaterial.

 

Stock hood - 27lbs. Well made cf hood - 9lbs

Engine lid - 25 lbs. Well made cf engine lid - 7lbs

Front fenders I believe are about 8 lbs each. I’ll double check. Well-made fender would be 3lbs each.

That’s 46lb savings from the above.



I have no clue how much an OE door weighs, but it feels quite heavy. I’d imagine 50-80lb weight savings for the pair there.


You can save about 30 lbs from the front bumper. Maybe 20 lbs with the rear. I’ll have to double check on that.

10-15lbs with the full underbody panels.

 

I raced my 348 as low as 2750lbs. It made a welcome difference in performance. I loved that car until it got wrecked.

 

A 355 at 2750 lbs and still be able to maintain it’s street look would be quite an accomplishment.

 

Add roof, butresses, rear fender for another 60 pounds.

Remove another 50 pounds of "stuff" from the engine bay {air pump, Titanium muffler, water shields, ... air vents in inner fender, ...}

For a total of 424 pounds off or ~15% and you still have A/C and P/S.....take these out for another 100 pounds {if you dare}.

 

Just checked. Factory U.S spec rear bumper is 30lbs. Euro-spec challenge rear bumper is 20lbs. Most of the weight is in the crash support built into them. A rear bumper can be made to 15lbs with crash support in place. Without crash support, less than 10lbs.

 

Kline makes a full Inconel exhaust system btw. Not sure how much it weighs, but the components were pretty light when I purchased a system for my Scud.

 

Full stock exhaust system - 44kg ( 97 lbs)

Kline full Inconel exhaust system - 15 kg ( 33 lbs)


65 lb. Weight savings.

 

There's already a long message thread on this subject:

https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/ferrari-f355-weight-reductions-parts-weight.411077/

 

Kinda living the lightness thing … thus was Laguna Seca March 2022. I just went up there end of July and beat my all time best by 4 sec. Anyone know what challenge cars ran around there? Broke my second prop shaft so that’s definitely a weakness for me.

Enjoy! I’ll try to get my video from last month uploaded.. it’s pretty much this just faster .

 

Don’t forget lithium battery swap for easy weight savings. I think even capristo muffler is a significant savings over stock


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Another 20lbs getting rid of the abs…

 

Also seat swap for non spider guys…


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How light could one make a F355 with all CF exterior panels, CF chassis with front and rear subframes in steel tubing::

a) Stripped interior for track ??
b) conventional interior for street ??

Think we could get it down to 2000 pounds running ??

 

Indeed, I remember taking off the front bumper and feeling it was way heavier than needed. No question that they can be made but how many aftermarket manufacturers do this? I think the problem is going to be liability vs revenue. How many 355 owners would buy a lightweight bumper? 100? 200? Hardly enough to justify the inevitable lawsuits when someone wraps themselves around a pole and their family's lawyer goes after the $.