Weight Reduction

[drew22]

Does anyone have ideas on how to loss some weight from a 95' and up explorer? Fiberglass hoods, fenders, etc.

Thanks,

Drew

 

[MeatyCrab]

I know this one...

I hear that pesky metally thing under the hood that makes a lot of noise is pretty heavy.

Just get rid of it, how important can it be?

If you ask me though, if I had the money, the roof would be the first thing to go...but how much would this change the truck, in terms of rigidity, torsion twisting and felx?

Just my 2.2 cents (accounting for our stupid new GST in Australia).

BK

 

[Diff Whack Daddy]

Does anyone know if it is possible to chop the top and convert it to a hard/soft top convertible. I have thought of this before and it would be an interesting mod.

 

[Char]

I know that Perry McNeil makes fiberglass front ends for :exp: s, but I don't know what years. I was talking to someone at the gas station and he wanted to remove the top also. I would think you would definitely have to do some kind of roll cage. You're probably going to need it for the rigidity, torsion twist, and flex. IMHO. If I see that the guy did it to his :exp: I'll ask him about it. At this point it was just something he was thinking about.

 

[mattadams]

While I've never seen an Explorer convertable, I don't know why it wouldn't be possible... I believe HIX is thinking about doing that shortly, and once he does I'm sure everyone else will want to do it too, heh heh. I agree though, you'd need a roll cage.

 

[donkey boy]

Cheap things first

If you don't care about luxury and just need your Explorer for 4wheeling, get rid of all insulation (soundproofing) material first. You will be amazed how havy that stuff is. The same for the rear bench, if you don't need it.

 

[Frank-D]

Hey Drew,

I think Michael is right!

As my second car (for daily use) I have a `88 VW Polo-
small car.
I don`t need any comfort at this car so I took all the things out of it(Soundimproofment,Backseats,...).
Before I began the car-weight was about 780kg-now it`s about 600kg!


Frank
Stuttgart/Germany

 

[drew22]

No roof!?

In terms of losing weight it may be a little much but it is an interesting idea. Who else out there has thought about losing the roof? There is one thing for sure; you defiantly need to put in a roll cage for support. Any ideas on how much $$$ the whole process would take?

Later on,

Drew

 

[newbz]

Maybe put it on a low fat diet and make sure it drinks lots of water.....

 

[mike91]

to be honest with you.......

the best way to lose the most weight is to get rid of all/any aftermarket stereo equipment that you add to your truck. When you start adding up all the amps and subwoofers/sub boxes, the weight adds up.
Also, I personally don't use my rear windshield wiper - if you had a sedan you wouldn't have a windshield wiper to use. They are not a necessity. You could remove the motor for the wiper to shed a few pounds.
One last thing, like other people have said, remove the spare wheel and get AAA so that if you have a tire problem, they'll help you out!

 

[Paul Gagnon]

Re: to be honest with you.......

Originally posted by mike91
One last thing, like other people have said, remove the spare wheel and get AAA so that if you have a tire problem, they'll help you out!

That is pretty foolish advise if you ask me!

 

[flyguy]

I shed my spare. Just extra wieght... could get rid of the jack and that long stick thingy for the jack thats under the hood. I have AAA and odds are that Im gunna call them before bothering to stick the spare on. (Acually the real reason I "took" it off is that I lost it. I left it somewhere.... )

Nick

 

[mike91]

Re: Re: to be honest with you.......

That is pretty foolish advise if you ask me! [/B]

Being that I hate it when opinions are made with no support to the statement, I will justify my words.

I believe that the thread was started for acceleration means and not for offroading weight reduction purposes. Shedding more weight will assist in the acceleration of the truck - as such, removing unecessary items will assist in the trucks performance. By all means I would agree with you that removing the spare would be "foolish advice" - that is under the following scenarios:
1. You live in Guam or no where near civilization.
2. You live in a desert (much like number 1).
3. Your tires have little to no tread or are bald.
4. You plan on embarking on a vacation or long journey with your vehicle.
5. You plan to do some offroading.
6. Too cheap to fork over $40 or just don't care for a vehicle assist service such as AAA or Allstate.

If you are just searching for everyday performance and have a vehicle assist service (like I specifically stated) then you should have no problems or worries. Nowadays a truck is dispatched and arrives to whereever you are in less than 30 minutes and even a couple cans of fix a flat can get you to a nearby gas station with no problem.

my $0.04 cents

 

[flyguy]

Thats what Im sayin! Hehe.

Nick

 

[Paul Gagnon]

If you want to place your safety in the hands of someone else then go right ahead. Sure most of us may be able to drive for years without ever having a flat tire but does that mean it will never happen? No it does not. If you read the fine print of your roadside assistance it most likely says that you must have a proper spare tire or you will be charged extra. Unless of course it is a slow leak and if it is a slow leak then it is your own damned fault for not noticing it.

Tires do fail for other reasons than slow leaks. I am sure that one day when you have a sidewall collapse or the tread separate from the carcass on what seemed to be a perfectly good tire you will change your mind. Maybe you like being stuck.

I like to go fast on the street too but I don't like to be stranded because I could have saved 40lbs by removing the spare tire. If you knew anything about drag racing you would know that a 100lb weight saving equates to a 1/10th of a second reduction in 1/4 mile ET. If you can notice a difference on the street of 4/100ths of a second then go ahead and remove your tire. Hell, if you can prove to me that it is noticable I will throw away my spare tire and my jack and my tire iron.

Someday you may be somewhere where there is no telephone or maybe you will be somewhere that you shouldn't be. And you will be sitting on the edge of the bumper wondering why you have no spare tire and how you are going to get out of this mess.

 

[drew22]

Chill

Chill please! I am assuming everyone who visits this site is intelligent human beings and can use their own judgment on carrying a spare or not. I was just interested to see if anyone had some innovative ideas on shedding a few pounds.

Peace out,

Drew

 

[flyguy]

Yeah no kidding! Sorry mom!

 

[mrboyle]

In all reality, removal of the roof and the nessity to install a roll cage your Explorer will proably end up weighing the same in the end. If you are dooin it for the open air of a topless vehicle go for it! If you are looking to loose weight it may be a waste of money.
The easiest way to remove weight from a vehicle is to start removing things that are not necessary for the vehicle to opperate. If it is a off-road/race only your options aer endless. You could start with the interior, stereo, a/c, doors, and the list goes on. If the vehicle is a daily driver and you don't want to loose too many creature comforts start with the bumpers. replace the stockers with a set of custom tube prerunner style. A front prerunner bumper that is made out of 2" chrome molly could shed a few pounds, same goes for the rear. Another weight saver would be to switch to a set of light weight aluminum wheels (spare included). It all depends on what you are looking for, and what you are willing to sacrafice to get there.

 

[Peter Weber]

Taking the roof off an Explorer and make a convertible out of it isn't an advisable thing to do. Like Char said, once you take the roof off, you're loosing the rigidity against body flexing and twisting provided by the roof. The biggest portion of antiflex in a vehicle body (especially a 4 door) is provided by the roof attached to the roof pillars(windshield, between the doors and the back body panel). Why do you think there are no 4 door convertibles manufactured.
Our other car is a 328iC BMW convertible. It's over 200 lbs heavier than the 2 door coupe because of extra cross-bracing and reinforcements required in the lower body to maintain rigidity.
I'm not saying it can't be done. But by the time it's done in a way to avoid the vehicle to twist and shake itself apart, you certainly won't save any weight.
Just my 2 cents worth.

 

[donkey boy]

And now ...

Drew

After all this more or less usefull imput, what are you planning to do now?