Lightest S550 out there..

[alva8193]

Ben calimer got his s550 below 3k with him in it

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[TexasRebel]

Ben calimer got his s550 below 3k with him in it

Hydrogen in the tires.

 

[Grintch]

Those cars are full of safety equipment and datalogging gear that most enthusiasts could do without. Also stated weights are likely not exact nor considering standard fuel tanks or ballast to fit into a specific class.

True. But most enthusiasts don't need a lightweight, stripped out car either.

They are convenient but real data points, not internet guesses.

 

[D K]

Hydrogen in the tires.

Helium ;)

 

[D K]

True. But most enthusiasts don't need a lightweight, stripped out car either.

They are convenient but real data points, not internet guesses.

Im asking because Im thinking about doing the one lap of America and Im trying to see if the 550 would be a good candidate.

My other option is a C5.

 

[Grintch]

Helium ;)

Hydrogen is lighter than Helium.

How much can you lighten/strip the car before it becomes miserable for the transit stages? I can't recall pictures of One Lap cars showing striped interiors. But the distance run is shorter now than it used to be.

A C5 is much lighter to start, and if lightened with the same seriousness will always be lighter than starting with a S550. Thought the "fatter" S550 will lose more weight.

 

[D K]

Hydrogen is lighter than Helium.

How much can you lighten/strip the car before it becomes miserable for the transit stages? I can't recall pictures of One Lap cars showing striped interiors. But the distance run is shorter now than it used to be.

A C5 is much lighter to start, and if lightened with the same seriousness will always be lighter than starting with a S550. Thought the "fatter" S550 will lose more weight.

My problem is that my C5 has a full cage and is completely stripped. So I dont know if the car would be legal.

I do have an old Daytona Prototype LS that I could drop in it but I wouldnt be confidant that it would make the distance.

I really would like to try the 550 with the Aluminator and have it very stock appearing.
So remove everything but keep the dash. Carbon seats, maybe some painted carbon body panels. I think replacing the doors, fenders, seats and ac would get the car close to 3000?

 

[Grintch]

700lb is a BIG ask. Particularly for a road course type car. Which needs big cooling, brakes, and wheels and tires. I strongly suspect the 3000lb S550 claimed is a drag car, that removed everything that wasn't required to last for 30 seconds of operation.

Could it be done, sure with enough time and budget. But it don't think it would be cost effective. And it would likely require new parts be designed.

I would talk to Steeda, who developed their own T1 car. Or even Multimatic, if your budget is big enough for them to answer your calls (estimate at least half a million).

 

[D K]

700lb is a BIG ask. Particularly for a road course type car. Which needs big cooling, brakes, and wheels and tires. I strongly suspect the 3000lb S550 claimed is a drag car, that removed everything that wasn't required to last for 30 seconds of operation.

Could it be done, sure with enough time and budget. But it don't think it would be cost effective. And it would likely require new parts be designed.

I would talk to Steeda, who developed their own T1 car. Or even Multimatic, if your budget is big enough for them to answer your calls (estimate at least half a million).

Haha. My budget is nowhere near a half a million and I have already talkd to multimatic.

I have also talked to Bruce Giggs over the years on other projects.

I know I can lose 3-400 lbs pretty easily and maybe anoher 200 digging into things.
Im just wondering if anyone here has gone down that path before?

 

[Grintch]

Yes 3-400lbs was exactly what I was thinking was feasible. And right in the range of the FP350 & GT4 cars.

But if you have talked to Mutimatic who developed the ultimate S550 Mustang, why would you waste your time talking to a lot of internet idiots (like me)? The issue with what works, or what is the best plan is that is usually biased by the class the car is running. Looking at the One Lap website, the rules are not clear. Sounds like you are not clear on them either, as you don't know if a caged C5 would be legal or not. Which makes suggesting a plan difficult or even suggesting who have might have followed a similar path.

Is Griggs working on any S550 parts? Last time I checked, they didn't have anything on their website for the S550.

 

[D K]

Yes 3-400lbs was exactly what I was thinking was feasible. And right in the range of the FP350 & GT4 cars.

But if you have talked to Mutimatic who developed the ultimate S550 Mustang, why would you waste your time talking to a lot of internet idiots (like me)? The issue with what works, or what is the best plan is that is usually biased by the class the car is running. Looking at the One Lap website, the rules are not clear. Sounds like you are not clear on them either, as you don't know if a caged C5 would be legal or not. Which makes suggesting a plan difficult or even suggesting who have might have followed a similar path.

Is Griggs working on any S550 parts? Last time I checked, they didn't have anything on their website for the S550.

The issue with Multimatic is they developed a car for a specific ruleset and they started out with a body in white, so wegiht reduction from a stock car isnt really their specialty.

The rules are pretty plain - the car has to be street legal, otherwise its fsirly open.

A caged car raises a lot of eyebrows at a street car based event so I thought about doing something different.

 

[Grintch]

But street legal varies by state, and sometimes by DMV inspector.

In some states, a caged car with a stripped interior is street legal. And if you can't strip the interior there is no way in heck you are getting anywhere close to 3000lbs.

Again, talk to Steeda. I am pretty sure their T1 car started out as a production car and not a body in white. The Optima Challenge crowd might have some ideas, but like any class they are limited in what they are allowed to do. But this might give you somewhere else to enjoy the car other than a single One Lap a year.

You might also consider something like the Factory Five Daytona replica. Probably cheaper in the long run than converting a street car into a race car, and almost surely will turn out lighter. 2500-2700 lbs should be doable.

 

[sebastianmerk]

I’m very late but I believe somebody under the name shape5.0 brought their NA S550 down to 2,800 pounds with him in it.

 

[KingKona]

Im asking because Im thinking about doing the one lap of America and Im trying to see if the 550 would be a good candidate.

Thinking about doing the 1LOA is one thing. Attempting to win the 1LOA is another.

IMO, it would be faaaar more enjoyable of an experience if the car was comfortable and smooth on the road. That is a hell of a lot of road miles to cover. All I'd do is a car like mine with some more suspension mods, and the FP Power Pack on the car.

If you want to win, you've got to be a pro driver and invest hundreds of thousands of dollars for the best equipment. If you want to run and enjoy it, you can do so in a largely stock car.

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