Weight

[dolf]

Who has the lightest 1st gen camaro street car? How many are under 3000 lbs? I am shooting for sub 3000 using...

AME sub/ GW cat5 leafs all with bilsteins
Ls1/t56
Al rad
Anvil carbon fiber hood
CCW C14 wheels
14" brembo brakes
Sparco seats



Any guesses on the weight? What is your weight and what have you done?

[rohrt]

I alway thought it would be cool to build a super light weight 1 gen with all the trick aluminum parts out their. I would think it would be possilbe to shave the car weight by 500lbs or more without comprimising saftey and comfort.

I'm sure their are several under 3000lbs. I recall that a basic stock firbird could weigh as little as 3200lbs.

[silver69camaro]

My car was 2980 dry with a 52%/48% distribution. Car is actually a bit heavier now, but here's what it had:

All aluminum LS engine
T56 trans
12-bolt
Full interior w/ sound deadener
AME front clip
14" brakes (heavy rotors!)
Hyperco fiberglass leafs (This is key!! 25lbs vs. 90lbs)
Odyssey battery in trunk
Light aluminum wheels
Lightened seats

Car is a bit heavier now with our rear clip installed, but I welcome the additional girth because it's right over the rear axle and low. Distribution should be close to 50/50.

[dolf]

My car was 2980 dry with a 52%/48% distribution. Car is actually a bit heavier now, but here's what it had:

All aluminum LS engine
T56 trans
12-bolt
Full interior w/ sound deadener
AME front clip
14" brakes (heavy rotors!)
Hyperco fiberglass leafs (This is key!! 25lbs vs. 90lbs)
Odyssey battery in trunk
Light aluminum wheels
Lightened seats

Car is a bit heavier now with our rear clip installed, but I welcome the additional girth because it's right over the rear axle and low. Distribution should be close to 50/50.


So you would be very close to 50/50 with a carbon fiber hood and steel leafs out back. That is the way i was planning and hoping to be sub 3000 with 50/50. This is good news!!

[silver69camaro]

Certainly possible, hard to be sure. Don't get too hung up on getting a perfect balance though, a couple points here and there wont hurt that much.

[Shawn MacAnanny]

I'm shootin for 2800-2900 myself. no interior panels though, gonna have a fiberglass hood and just a set of manual 4th gen seats in it. Plus the mods in the sig.

[another69]

It shouldn't be too hard, unless you use a cage. I just scaled mine again after a new rearend & springs and got 3163 with 3/4 tank of gas and all other fluids full. I weight jacked my LF to get some better balance, it was the heaviest. It's an iron block SBC, but I use as much aluminum elseware as possible. All steel body, Unisteer rack, Al heads, 17" wheels w/ 12.19 rotors all around. 9" rear.

Here's what I got: no driver 3163

LF 889 RF 881

LR 688 RR 706


with driver 3346

LF 972 RF 884

LR 741 RR 749

I'm not going to relocate my battery to the trunk like I had planned, because in my case, the car actually seems better balanced with it in the stock location.

[silver69camaro]

I'm not going to relocate my battery to the trunk like I had planned, because in my case, the car actually seems better balanced with it in the stock location.

I'm confused. You have 56% of the weight (w/o driver) on the front nose, and you don't want more on the rear? Are you more concerned with L/R balance?

Your weights are a bit unusual too, I suspect due to your weight jacking. Remember that you're preloading the chassis and ARBs when you do that, and the difference between w/o driver and with show that. Your body mass is near the center of the vehicle (front to back) and your weights should reflect that as well (for instance, adding 100lbs to front and back for a 200lb driver).

If I do move weight around, I like to do only small amounts. I'd put the battery in the LR corner and try again.

[TheRoaringEagle]

I just weighed my 67 and I'm at 3220 lbs with me sitting in it, I'm light and weigh 150 lbs. I have aluminum heads, no front inner wheel wells, and no interior except for front and rear seats. Everything else is what you'd expect to see from a street camaro.

[Shawn MacAnanny]

Are the front wheel wells that important? Have any pics of your engine bay without them?

[Shawn MacAnanny]

Are the front wheel wells that important? Have any pics of your engine bay without them?

[TheRoaringEagle]

i'm sure they are important for avoiding high speed turbulence within the engine bay. but then again nascar doesnt use the them? - but the again different bodies are wrapped over them.

[6'9"Witha69]

They make fierglass inner wheel wells. Anvil has other CF parts as well. I worry less about overall weight right now as I am most concerned about distribution and compensating for my weight. At my size I sport 250 lbs and am not fat by any means. 3000 is not some magical number, so don't be upset if you don't hit it. I came in at 3315 wet w/o driver but I have A/C and full interior. Some of that weight will come down eventually.