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Put your Blazer on a diet

This is the best method:
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And the firewall and windshield are going too.

The only real way to lose enough weight IMO is to tube it out. Mine will still have bolt on body panels/windshield, and button on doors for the winter.

It's hard to make a decent weight building off a fullsize platform. Even building a buggy with "One Ton" parts, results in a relatively heavy vehicle.

Most of us follow the same formula for building which goes D60,14B,Doubler, Sm block, etc. There is no way to build light with that stuff.

I've wheeled mine a lot since EJS and started cutting it last week. The main reason is that I have wheeled with several buggies and toyotas since EJS, and they simply spank my truck on the vertical stuff. And I'm running 125" wheelbase to help with climbing ability. I had two fairly built toyotas with full sheetmetal and 35/36" tires drive circles around my truck. When you can drive up the right side of dump bump (next to the fence /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif) then you've got a vehicle that can really climb. Or drive out of the carwash hottub easily. Both of these guys said they weighed 3600-3700 lbs.

Anyone that ran with the ORD crew on Hell's revenge saw what light weight can do. Stephen made several full throttle runs with his 468 big block and finally made it out of the car wash hot tub. Brandon hit it several times and finally made it (Thanks for the ride /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif) And after this a guy that goes by Rocksforbrains on Pirate WALKED up in his buggy. He had also walked up it before them. He also drove the last waterfall on upper helldorado that week with no strap or cable. I was talking to him and he said his rig weighed 3100-3200 lbs. 401 AMC?, 727, Dana 300, with red label Krawlers.

I'm building a light weight buggy next.

Ryan
 
I'm already running it with a Warn 8000i so thats about as light as I can go there and still have a reasonably sized winch.

I guess it could be addressed a little deeper and also look at where the weight is. Like people have already pointed out, weight balance is also important. I've seen how moving the gas tank forward can make a difference in climbing but what about going down? Also the center of gravity (sound familier /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif) is also affected. 75 pounds off of the roof makes a bigger difference then 75 pounds down low.

Thats why I was thinkg about running lexan for the windshield. It may not be much weight change, but its up high where it has a bigger effect on things.

I guess this sport is all about compromises and I do not want to lose the ability to run doors and have a backend to haul stuff and be able to wheel in the snow with my kid. So I have my limits. I think the majority of the people here are in similar situations.

Maybe we can start figuring out some weights. Like how heavy is a fender or the hood? How much does it weigh after being skinned out so is it worth the effort? /forums/images/graemlins/thinking.gif
 
Ryan, keep us posted on your progress. /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif
 
Heater? Hell, you can throw that away and just use a can of Sterno.... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif...while your at it, chunk those wipers... /forums/images/graemlins/deal.gif /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
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I think the key is suspension. Giving up heavy leaf springs for links and coilovers will free up a whole bunch of weight.


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I can't see how a link suspension could be any lighter then a leaf spring. With links strong enough to take some pounding on and 16" travel coil-overs with a hoop to mount them on I think a link suspension will weigh a good amount more then the a set of lift springs and RS5000 shocks.
 
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I think the key is suspension. Giving up heavy leaf springs for links and coilovers will free up a whole bunch of weight.


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I can't see how a link suspension could be any lighter then a leaf spring. With links strong enough to take some pounding on and 16" travel coil-overs with a hoop to mount them on I think a link suspension will weigh a good amount more then the a set of lift springs and RS5000 shocks.

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I'm in agreement. A good hefty link suspension won't weight much less if at all less than a simple leaf setup. I mean a set of 52" leaf springs can';t weigh much more than 50 or 60 pounds. My lower links weighed in probably at around 25 pounds each and they were not as hefty as I would have liked.
 
I think it will come down to what you feel you have to have and what you can do without which will vary a little from person to person.

Your lexan is a good idea. I'd thought of that one myself and will eventyually get there. In the end I think this quest will determine how serious each person is about losing weight. Like the drag racers it gets to the point where they are shaving ounces and hoping for the day it equals a pound. Now that is serious. You could pull your motor out and start grinding down the flashing areas and smoothing the whole thing down. Rip it apart and do the same on the inside. I bet you could be a couple pounds lighter. Is it worth the effort? Not to me at this point but maybe someday I'll be really bored. /forums/images/graemlins/grind.gif


gun drill your axle shafts.
cross drill your brake rotors.
drill lightening holes in the webs on your axles.
From now on when you build a bracket dump the thought of steel and focus on aluminum. Although sometimes to get it strong enough you end up with too much aluminum and would have been better off with steel. A good place for aluminum for me was my dual battery box.
Start looking into carbon fiber accessories. valve covers and the like.
 
To give you another veiw Stephens blazer weighs in at around 5500 lbs. With only skins. And probably to much tube work agian.
IMO these guys that are getting below 3500 lbs are really using the art of cage building and vehicle building to their advantage. Those chassis are light and most of them are built around 1 person design. I also think that these light weight rigs are designed almost as a throw away chassis. It will take several roles but 1 good one and the thing crushes and becomes unusable.

One the other hand we all look at tubing work as what we want to save our a$$es time and time agian.
These tube frame vehicles only have to perform three main duties, hold the drivetrain up, pick up suspension loads, and protect the driver. Our vehicles are intended to keep the driver warm/cold, dry, and generally happy. While having protection for fenders, doors, hoods, roofs, you get the idea.

IMO if you want the super light weight be prepared to have a bunch of money invested in parts that are different than what we use. Also be ready for good fun just don't role it hard because what I have seen says rebuild or throw away that chassis.
 
My 4.3 Atlas II weighs in at 110 pounds. What does a doubler weigh? Of coarse I understand cost issues here but in all honesty I have the same money in my Atlas that a friend of mine has in his doubler.
 
Aluminum runs along the lines of what Miniwally was talking about. Sure you can build it to take some abuse but in a real big problem its just going to break down and fail. For us that aren't building comp rigs and just want something thats going to be fun and safe steels is the only way to go. I've considered redoing fenders and body panels in fiberglass, but that was on my buggy project. And even then I decided thing say 20 guage sheetmetal is a much better idea. Body panels take mounds of abuse in this sport, fiberglass would have to be built heavier to take such abuse. Some thin easy to replace sheetmetal is a better option in my opinion. Maybe aluminum pin on material would be good here. I've toyed with when I cage my rear section, making the rear fenders pin on for road use(like willyswanter's) but I'd have to remove more front end weight to make this a good idea. Ask Supersize, if you remove lots of rear weight and go play you will find it might not have been such a smart move. I'm running a 2 core Aluminum radiator, its definetally lighter than a hefty 4 core brass/copper, but when filled and all I'm not sure what the weight savings will be. I got it for the buggy since I planned on rear mounting the radiator to get a closer to 50/50 bias. I still could do that on the K5 but don't believe I will bother.
 
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My 4.3 Atlas II weighs in at 110 pounds.

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THis is exactly why I'm strongly considering an atlas. I don't have too much horsepower so it will definitely survive my truck. I am sure 110lbs is lighter compared to 203/205 setup. I wonder how much.
 
my guess would be 200 lbs lighter but I have no real experience with it so I don't know. I'm running the 241, one of the reasons is the weight issue. I don't want the weight of a doubler, though it would help lower center of gravity. I'd like an atlas for the gearing but can't afford it right now. I think the 241 and 5.13 axles will suit me for now.
 
Whats the weight of a complete 14 bolt? How about a Complete rear 60? I've considered switching rear axles. If I ever go coilover out back I may well do it. Shave the 60 housing up a good bit, truss from outside flange to outside flange and go. I wouldn't be surprised if even trussed it wasn't that different from a 14 bolt. I could be quite wrong of course.
 
I think the Atlas is only like 100 to 125 lbs lighter than a doubler. My only problem with the atlas is the lack of gearing choices that the doubler offers.
I used every Transfer case gear I had this year at EJS. I like having the selection.
A single transfer case is however on the light weight buggy list.
Ever wonder about an all Aluminum Buggy? Cage everything.
 
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Ever wonder about an all Aluminum Buggy? Cage everything.

[/ QUOTE ] I've thought about it as well, its a thought. I would think the amount of aluminum needed to make it anywhere beyond what you were talking about before with throw away chassis would negate the weight savings.
 
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But how much does it weigh? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[/ QUOTE ] probably around 4500.
 
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To give you another veiw Stephens blazer weighs in at around 5500 lbs. With only skins. And probably to much tube work agian.


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That heavier than I though it would be. My last EJS trip before the narrowing and skining but with the doors and tailgate off, no tools or spare, I was at about 5400 pounds.

If I have time this weekend, I'll take it over the scale and see where I'm at. My target is to get below 5000 pounds and still have heater, windshield and all the stuff that separates us from a buggy.

Also, how relevant is the weight saving ratio? Is 50 pounds not worth it or worth it a lot? I think 300 pounds would make a noticable difference. What would be the ideal target weight to hit and still have most of the body and 1 ton setup? 4800 pounds maybe? There would have to be a reasonable cost effective ceiling there somewhere.

Does anybody know the weights of different axles and stuff? I might start some searching around and list them at the top for a reference.
 
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