Weight Reduction

SLR brake rotors, lightweight wheels(SLR Wheels are light and reasonably priced used), smaller tires can save a lot of weight, smaller battery, unneeded plastics, mirrors, lighter weight steering wheel, remove any accessories that are just for looks and then start replacing stock bolts with titanium bolts. Newer Roll Hoops are lighter than the early ones, have not checked the weight of Assault Hoops, Assault Hoops you lose some plastics also.

Rotors, wheels and tires with save a lot of weight without drastically changing the overall appearance.

The biggest weight reduction will also be in the hood. The double structure is very heavy. A single pcs fiberglass or CF will be a huge weight saver.

Just before i got my 18 S/S I lost 25 pounds, So i don't think i have to 86th any parts off my S/S...
As far as changing the appearance of the S/S....Still looks looks the same.... But i look ,

''FABULOUS''....

Changing out the seats to lightweight racing seats would save some pounds.

Weight in the Slingshot is an interesting subject and one I have thought about quite a bit. the stock weight to power ratio of right around 10 to 1 is rather impressive, right in their with some of the Porsches

but the issue of changing the weight and what your goals are poses some interesting issues - for instance lets say you could shave 100 pounds of weight - - okay that would look great on paper but what does it actually do for you and what is your goal? if your goal is faster acceleration I would think where the weight was taken off would be very important - if it comes totally off the front - you might get better acceleration, but if it comes off equally or from the rear then you probably have even more traction issues hooking up the rear tire than you had before so it could actually hurt

in the end I came to the conclusion that if improving the weight to power is my goal then probably the best thing I could would be to loose weight - trimming 10 or 20 bounds off the Slingshot might look good on paper, but what real impact is it going to have when I put my 195 pound ass in the driver seat - or worse yet my ass and a passenger

having addressed weight to power I have also been thinking about changing the distribution of the weight - trying to think if there are realistic things I could do to lower the center of gravity to improve handling. The easiest way would be to adjust my coil overs and lower the slingshot, but even though it is probably the easiest it probably isnt practical when my sling is my daily driver - I suspect the front would not last long. The other thing I have wondered about once again relates to my fat ass - I am not sure if it could be easily done, but lowering the seats would put my weigh and the passengers weight lower in the vehicle which would probably have a positive impact on the balance of weight

I really cant think of much else that could be done to shift weight lower, I guess you could actually add weight below the center of gravity and that would shift things lower, it might help handling but it would have a negative impact on other performance aspects so probably not a good idea

in the end with all of the things I have thought about in regards to lowering weight or shifting weight the biggest issue is probably the weight of people and cargo - shaving a few pounds off or moving them lower seems like the impact would be very small after my weight and the weight of a passenger is added into the equation

If it is reasonably doable the only thing I have come up with that might realistically have a meaningful impact would be dropping the seats down as close to the floor if it can be done - who knows it might even make the driving experience more fun by putting my big fat smile closer to the ground

Quote from hunter

Just before i got my 18 S/S I lost 25 pounds, So i don't think i have to 86th any parts off my S/S...
As far as changing the appearance of the S/S....Still looks looks the same.... But i look ,

''FABULOUS''....

probably the best thing we can all do to reduce the GVW of our slingshots

and very good for you

I stopped going to Sonic and it saved me over $100.00 so far, but I haven't noticed any weight savings

Quote from SlingDrop

I have been losing weight consistantly for the past few years, so I'm already working that angle. I'm thinking wheels and tires would be a good start. The rotars on my sling are absolutely massive at 12.1 inches. So that might be an option, but an expensive one.

With your power to weight ratio I wouldn't worry one bit.

Quote from SlingDrop

I have been losing weight consistantly for the past few years, so I'm already working that angle. I'm thinking wheels and tires would be a good start. The rotars on my sling are absolutely massive at 12.1 inches. So that might be an option, but an expensive one.

Reducing the rotational mass has huge benefits over just reducing weight. People who have installed lightweight flywheels and clutches already know this. Your big brake kit has benefits but definitely add weight, the BBK also limits what you are able to do in wheel sizes, but you should be able to get to 18” wheels which is a popular size for light weight alloy wheels. Lightweight wheels come with a healthy price tag. Depending on the wheels you already have you can save 10-15 pounds per wheel with even more with smaller tires. Pay close attention to the wheel/tire combination and the look you want to decide width of tires and wheels. With lighter rotational mass the BBK does less work also. Another benefit of reducing the wheel/tire/rotor weights is unsprung weight. Unsprung is more controversial when it come to its benefits, but your conversion kit uses it by having the rotors mounted by the differential. Reducing unsprung weight definitely reduces how hard the suspension system needs to work.

There is a maxim governing all road-going vehicles:

“Adding power makes you faster on the straights. Subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere.” — Colin Chapman, founder, Lotus Cars/Lotus Group

I was a Miata guy for a spell and the drivers who raced and/or tracked theirs were obsessive about weight (as was Chapman; “Lightweight!” “Lightweight!” was his mantra). A true racing car has no passenger seat or airbag, A/C, stereo … you get the idea. The T-top Elise my wife test-drove had all the creature comforts of a car (well, most, anyway) and it weighed only 1,895 pounds!

Audi is popular among tuners because their flagship engine, a 2.0 liter turbo, runs stock at 258HP/268 ft. lbs/torque and can be boosted to 300+ ft. HP and ft. lbs. of torque. Voids the warranty but most of these guys either don't care or purposefully buy a vehicle out of warranty. Engine weight is approximately the same as the EcoTec so that's a wash. Wouldn't these #s look great on a Slingshot spec sheet???

My 67 Lotus Europa was extremely light but it had a longitudinal mid-rear engine and 4 wheels. A 1350lb curb weight and was only 42 inches tall. Traction was amazing. Colin never worked with three wheels.