How to loose 200kgs?....

[Gareth]

Damn, you have done a decent job on that indeed.

I'd concur and say you largest weight savings now would by a molly cage instead of steel.

Get rid of that bonnet strut and hinges, just lift the bonnet of completely when you need to work on the engine. A carbon fibre bonnet would save a few kg's for sure.

Run without the passenger seat etc

Thanks
Roll cage will mean a whole new car
They are on the cards to do, the reason we use metal panels is because they are easy to fix and don't explode on impact
The scary seat actually aids quite a bit in handling

[Gareth]

what about changing the car to a VN or VP? They are 1330kg in factory form and easy get under 1 ton with the interior, deadener and trimmings removed.

no, VH is lighter, yes we can use VN-VP, we can use any model ever made...

[Gareth]

Are you comparing apples with apples when you say the front runners are circa 1000kg? Have you looked to see what they are doing to loose weight?

Most guys run VL with a six, VN with LS1 or XF with twin cam six... Its hard to get a good look at others cars, most guys are pretty protective of what they have done to get ahead

Which diff are you using (large or small Salisbury or BW)?

Also, what rear suspension are you using? Considered doing a proper rear coil-over design and replace the standard lower pressed steel arms with a tubular arms

Diff is BW, Rear suspension is as follows - weight jackers above rear springs, Good quality alloy shocks, Rear lower arms are boxed (break them often) and uppers are adjustable tubular. Front suspension is coil over. Front lower arms are boxed also (break them often too).

[immortality]

Have you tried to see if you can adapt some large Salisbury axles into the BW diff? The Salisbury axles are 28 spline but not as thick, be lighter for sure.

I'd think going to a full rear coil over with lower tubular arms would save some weight and probably be stronger to boot and possibly handle better as well, more tune-ability.

Out of curiosity, where do the rear lower arms tend to break/fail?

Any idea on comparative power figures? LS1 probably weights no more than the ecotec but more torque, the XF twin cam is probably heavier but also win in the torque stakes?

[Gareth]

Out of curiosity, where do the rear lower arms tend to break/fail?

where the bush is pressed in, the hole gets larger everytime, arm starts to walk on the bush, them you have a fucked arm..

Any idea on comparative power figures? LS1 probably weights no more than the ecotec but more torque, the XF twin cam is probably heavier but also win in the torque stakes?

No idea, not standard is all I know, Im sure someone would know the LS1 weight, torque is comparable

[immortality]

A quick search online suggest an LS1 engine is about 400-430lbs or 181-195kg. Non seem to say exactly what that entails (wet or dry, exhaust manifolds etc).

That's not a lot of weight for the power/torque when compared to the Buick V6.

edit: It's hard to believe that someone has a Commodore with any engine and driver around the 1000kg. Having a look online, I'm seeing that the difference between a mild steel cage and chromoly is about 36% so there is no way that a Chromoly cage would even get you half of the 200kg savings your looking for

At 1260kg or 2772lbs gross I think it's already a fairly respectable weight. Your effectively trying to loose the equivalent weight of your engine/transmission, Flintstones anyone

[Gareth]

At 1260kg or 2772lbs gross I think it's already a fairly respectable weight. Your effectively trying to loose the equivalent weight of your engine/transmission, Flintstones anyone

agree totally, the people im getting this info frompeople that are very much in the know, so I don't doubt it at all.

Here is a short video to help you guys understand the conditions the car works in

[immortality]

That does look awesome

How much time are you looking to make up per lap?

[delcowizzid]

think we saved 9kg in the fibreglass bonnet.steel wheels were lighter than any factory alloy we weighed by a lot.

[Gareth]

How much time are you looking to make up per lap?

as much as possible, in the final I was only.06 sec off the fastest lap in the final!!! (was stuck back in the traffic..)

think we saved 9kg in the fibreglass bonnet.steel wheels were lighter than any factory alloy we weighed by a lot.

9kgs doesn't surprise me, a lot of work for little gain, we have already got more out of the diff, Im surprised about your thoughts on steel wheels, one reason we don't like running steel is that they buckle really easily, bang wheels or hit a rut the wrong way and its wobbles to the finsh line