alfredov6

how much weight do i have to cut on a stock 2002 3.8 automatic stang to notice better acceleration?

will just gutting the trunk help any?

ESG-642T

100lbs = .10 off et

or its supposed to be around that.

JKs95stang

Yup, thats about right. For every hundred pounds, is like getting an extra 10hp. So say you shave 500 lbs off the car(hypothetically), that's like adding 50hp per weight to power ratio. I know a few who have said I'm full of **** for saying 100 lbs equals about 10hp loss, but it's true. If you have an auto convert that is a little over 200 lbs heavier, you can pretty much shave 20hp to the weight to power ratio.

Tee_Whet

one hp is the energy it takes to move 3300lbsone foot per minute or 550 lb-ft/second.

So 100 = .10 off et is the general saying in the racing world.

**Edited to answer question**

If you gut on the the trunk you wont gain much.
Spare tire is ~ 25lbs
Panels ~ 7lbs (generous)

If you remove the back seat then you pick remove maybe another 50lbs.

The Yellow Pinto

i wouldnt worry about gutting it too much. i gutted my 2nd car, to make it faster cheaply, and i was deaf from the cabin vibes within a month. :P it looked terrible, sounded terrible inside, and lowered the value of the car. i say just keep all of the extra crap out of it (limit to one, or no passengers, keep it clean, i.e., no dirty laundry loads or textbooks in the trunk, lol), and leave the gutted cars to the drag racers.

JKs95stang

Either that, or go on a diet!!

tuflehundon

Think about it this way, I have driven my car with 4 adults in the car, that's about 400lbs extra than usual. I noticed a huge difference in power. If you are trying to shave wieght you need to shave hundreds of pounds not 20 or 30. Do the back seat delete. Think about replacing some parts w/ carbon fiber. A couple hundred pound lose would be a big difference.

JKs95stang

I'd say 4 adults in the car is WAY MORE than 400 pounds. I bet that stang will barely move!! [sm=icon_rofl.gif]

crash

I coulda swore it was like for every 60lbs you lose one tenth of a second off your 1/4 mile but i guess i could be wrong. ya know every bit counts and begins to add up.

Ducky

100lb's makes a big difference in acceleration and handling, probably one of the single most things ya can do to improve a cars overall performance if ya can lose it. When loaded i can tell it is definatly a slow start until the rpms jump up a bit. I dunno if i would go as far as gutting the car makes for a not so great ride which race cars usually are.

Relocating the weight might not be such a bad idea. think about it this way the car's weight is more front biased which means that the there is more weight in the front and the front tires are going to grip more than the rear when standing still. on take off weight transfers to the rear to maximize the traction on the drive wheels. but how much is determined how much the car leans back and where the weight is. if you can shift this weight from the front to the rear you will get more weight transfer maximizing the grip on takeoffs etc. If you ever taken off in the rain, probably noticed the tires tend to lose grip by a unusually high margin when compared to the loss in braking, my setup does anyway, thats because there isnt enough grip to roll the car back to maximize the weight on the rear tires and gain that grip.