Weight reduction: Running out of ideas.

Lots of good ideas there. My wallet may end up the lightest item in the list. :amused:[/QUOTE]

i can help with that if you are ready to let loose of your j-56 brake pistons...
 
Just did a quick search of the thread - you were/are looking at aluminum brake calipers.
How about Aluminum hats on the disks? Give you lower unsprung weight too!

Cheers - Jim
 
phantomjock said:
Just did a quick search of the thread - you were/are looking at aluminum brake calipers.
How about Aluminum hats on the disks? Give you lower unsprung weight too!

Cheers - Jim
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Got Wilwoods all around, and lightweight Wilwood rotors and aluminum hats up front. Rear rotors are stock 11.5"/.81" wide C4 rotors. Looked at two piece rotors for the rear a while back, but I've only seen 11.75" diameter pieces (I haven't looked yet to see if I can find correct offset hats, and what the weight would be). Due to rotor/caliper clearance issues if I had to bump up to 11.75" rotors, I'd have to fabricate another pair of rear caliper brackets. I'm trying to figure out if the net weight reduction is worth the cost/annoyance factor.
 
Headlight actuator(s) weight?

Just curious what the weight of the actuators might be, and is it possible to just manually open and close the headlights if they're removed?

Running out of ideas, and this weight is way ahead of the front axle centerline.

Thanks for any help here.
 
You can open and close them by hand, but I found at high speed the headlights will open by themselves if there is nothing holding them in the closed position. (This is even with similar grille block off plates to yours) Don't forget, you also get to remove the vacuum relay, tank and associated lines. If you were to get rid of the actuators, a simple aluminum or composite T-handle attached to the actuator pivot would make opening and closing much easier than reaching up through the radiator ducting up front
 
vette427sbc said:
You can open and close them by hand, but I found at high speed the headlights will open by themselves if there is nothing holding them in the closed position. (This is even with similar grille block off plates to yours) Don't forget, you also get to remove the vacuum relay, tank and associated lines. If you were to get rid of the actuators, a simple aluminum or composite T-handle attached to the actuator pivot would make opening and closing much easier than reaching up through the radiator ducting up front
Click to expand...

I removed the storage tank a couple years ago when I swapped out the stock m/c and p/b booster for the C5 m/c and C4 booster. I left the rest of the vacuum system intact as I don't want to excessively strip the car for the next owner when the wife has to sell it after my funeral someday.

I thought that the lights were held up or down by some overcentering springs, but I apparently am wrong here. I'll have to stick my head in the actuator area and refresh my memory on how it all works.

I appreciate the feedback.
 
I found out that the springs who hold the lights up or down are quite firm in their actuation, but I never drove the car at speed in that configuration, soooo...
And I love the endurance light look !
 
The springs do hold the lights down, but there is no over center geometry in the lift direction, only the down position. FWIW the high speed numbers were 3 digit, and with my old splitter which likely pushed significantly more air through those lower ducts than a stock front lip would

What would be really great is if someone 3D modeled the headlight housing... a composite printed headlight housing could probably save 6+ lbs off the most forward part of the car
 
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Does the electric conversion do away with the springs? I believe this conversion is 5 lbs less than the original setup
 
69427, tubular a-arms and light weight rims might not be too obvious. Get some bassets and bolt in a factory center cap.
 
Was looking at the car trying to figure out where I can pull a few more pounds off, and it occurred to me that on track days I'm hauling around a 22# passenger seat that never gets used. I pulled it out, and welded up an additional fire extinguisher bracket to hold a bigger (second) extinguisher. The bracket and bottle are about 10#, so about a 12# reduction for track days. And, I sincerely hope that the additional extinguisher is as unneeded as the seat was.
 
Valve cover weight.

I forgot about a pair of (GM) aluminum valve covers sitting in a box buried under some other boxes. The aluminum covers were 3.25# each, while the stock steel/chrome valve covers were 2.25# each. I would have liked to have taken some additional weight off the top of the engine, but what I've already got is the lighter of the options, and I do like the stock look of the chrome valve covers.
 
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