what makes our cars soo damn heavy??

[ayousef]

Trying to find excuses for why our cars are pigs but I cant, where is all the weight coming from? I come from a world of Corvettes, and those are some of the lightest sport cars you can buy without having to rob the bank, so what happened on the Camaro?

I was doing a power to weight calculation and for a corvette to hang with a 1000bhp camaro, it only needs 800bhp, and this is not even factoring in for aerodynamics and other variables.

what do you guys think? Has anyone done anything for a STREET camaro as far as weight reduction goes? I know there are some threads but those involve making it more of a race car.

[Angrybird 12]

It's been asked a zillion times already. But basically 2 reasons. 1. They took an existing heavy platform and created the Camaro out of it, 2. safety regulations for crash protection.
Next gen will be based on a lighter platform and will probably be 5 to 8 hundred pounds lighter.

[ayousef]

Originally Posted by Angrybird 12

It's been asked a zillion times already. But basically 2 reasons. 1. They took an existing heavy platform and created the Camaro out of it, 2. safety regulations for crash protection.
Next gen will be based on a lighter platform and will probably be 5 to 8 hundred pounds lighter.

Okay, so what makes it heavy, is it something that could be worked on to take weight off the car? Im stilll looking at a full dry carbon body but that will cost the price of a new car itself.

[Juiced1]

The platform is designed for larger cars. Larger sedans and such are usually built off if it. The next Camaro will share a platform with the ATS Caddy which is much lighter then the current Camaro.
Basic weight reduction is possible but it depends on what you feel you can take out of a car and still live with. Living in Dubai I doubt you want to live without the A/C but removing it saves a ton of weight. If you plan on drag or road racing the car and don't car about its drivability you can remove tons of weight. The radio, speakers, carpet, padding, rear/passenger seats, spare tire/jack, bumpers, heater core, power steering (add a manual rack), airbags and plenty more. Do a search on weight reduction. Pretty sure there is a post where someone listed the weights on most of these items as well as a bunch of other stuff you can pull out.

[Angrybird 12]

Originally Posted by ayousef

Okay, so what makes it heavy, is it something that could be worked on to take weight off the car? Im stilll looking at a full dry carbon body but that will cost the price of a new car itself.

I guess if you're not concerned about wercks you could remove the bumper bars.. and then you could also change out the exhaust for a aftermarket, i heard many will save from 50 to 75 pounds in weight. even an Axel Back system will save weight because the big stock mufflers weigh so much.
You could remove the back seat if nobody uses it and make a carpeted panel to go in its place.. if you have the air compressor remove it.... you can remove as many of the creature comforts you could bear to do without.( being your in Dubai I doubt you would want to remove the AC.).. You could change the front buckets to Carbon Fiber Racing Seats... Its all what you decide what you don't need...

[hognutz]

Originally Posted by ayousef

Trying to find excuses for why our cars are pigs but I cant, where is all the weight coming from? I come from a world of Corvettes, and those are some of the lightest sport cars you can buy without having to rob the bank, so what happened on the Camaro?

I was doing a power to weight calculation and for a corvette to hang with a 1000bhp camaro, it only needs 800bhp, and this is not even factoring in for aerodynamics and other variables.

what do you guys think? Has anyone done anything for a STREET camaro as far as weight reduction goes? I know there are some threads but those involve making it more of a race car.

it is the chassis. very safe and rigid platform but very heavy. that extra 1000lbs is going to need 150-200hp vs a vette.

the truth is that adding power is way cheeper than reducing wieght.

[KKreme15]

Originally Posted by Angrybird 12

I guess if you're not concerned about wercks you could remove the bumper bars.. and then you could also change out the exhaust for a aftermarket, i heard many will save from 50 to 75 pounds in weight. even an Axel Back system will save weight because the big stock mufflers weigh so much.
You could remove the back seat if nobody uses it and make a carpeted panel to go in its place.. if you have the air compressor remove it.... you can remove as many of the creature comforts you could bear to do without.( being your in Dubai I doubt you would want to remove the AC.).. You could change the front buckets to Carbon Fiber Racing Seats... Its all what you decide what you don't need...

ZL1 mufflers aren't big and don't weight a bunch

[KKreme15]

Originally Posted by Juiced1

The platform is designed for larger cars. Larger sedans and such are usually built off if it. The next Camaro will share a platform with the ATS Caddy which is much lighter then the current Camaro.
Basic weight reduction is possible but it depends on what you feel you can take out of a car and still live with. Living in Dubai I doubt you want to live without the A/C but removing it saves a ton of weight. If you plan on drag or road racing the car and don't car about its drivability you can remove tons of weight. The radio, speakers, carpet, padding, rear/passenger seats, spare tire/jack, bumpers, heater core, power steering (add a manual rack), airbags and plenty more. Do a search on weight reduction. Pretty sure there is a post where someone listed the weights on most of these items as well as a bunch of other stuff you can pull out.

ZL1 doesn't come with a spare tire/jack

[HDRDTD]

The Vette also makes use of higher tech and lighter (and more expensive) materials to help save weight.

[Ciscokid]

Get new doors.....sorry just had to toss that out.

[midnighter]

Our big butts.

[DrkPhx]

As mentioned above the 5th gen is inherently heavy because of the platform; however the extra weight of the ZL1 comes from the supercharger and related hardware along with the beefier rear end/suspension, diffuser/splitter/rocker panels, brlly pan and MRC components.

[knowitman]

The overall dimensions of the car make it heavy. It is a very wide car and has a long wheelbase for a coupe. Just a couple of inches on length and width can add a lot of weight. Compare the width and wheelbase to that of a 4th gen. The wheelbase is nearly a foot longer, and the car is over an inch wider. Since that era, safety regulations have added to the weight as well as the fact that the Zeta platform is a much stiffer platform. The independent rear suspension adds a lot if weight over a solid rear axle.

[Mick1]

IMO, American muscle cars are supposed to be big. That's what so cool about them