Being the cheap bastard that I am, I'm always looking for the cheapest way to drop some lbs off my car. I'd love to get a carbon fiber hood, but dammit, I'm not paying $400+ for a hood that his half fiberglass and half carbon fiber.

My latest scheme was borrowed from a back issue of SCC that I was reading while spending time on the can. Their project rally Focus has the stock steel hood, but it has the under bracing cut out and swiss-cheese like holes drilled into it AND it still utilizes the stock hinges. So...I'm thinking cutting out all that metal shit from the underside will possibly bring the weight down to that of a carbon fiber hood, but it would require pins to keep it down in the front.

Has anyone actually done this? Would it be worth the time and effort, or should I just go with a full pin-on fiberglass hood (eek) from Cervini (lighest available)?

People are probably thinking "what the fuck?". But like I said before, I can't justify spending $400+ on a damn carbon fiber hood.

 

Well here is a pic of the "SCC" rally car. Looks like it has 4-pins, and not the stock hinges.

 

The following plan would be a lot cheaper and probably lose you more weight off the right end of the car than fucking with the hood.

Ditch the spare tire and jack for a can of fix a flat and a plug kit.

Oh yeah, only fill up on 5 gallons of gas in the car at a time. At 7 lbs a gallon it makes a difference.

 

I already do that prior to every auto-x. But actually that is taking weight off of the wrong end on a FWD. Getting less weight off the front of a FWD car helps distribute weight a bit more evenly.

 

I would disagree since FWD is a configuration where forward weight bias has its advantages.

I understand the need for proper steering bias but having a 50/50 weight distribution is not always the right solution.

 

holes in the hood alan...

 

Got a door knob bit for your drill?

 

have u done what ur brother did yet? about the whole no backseat and covering up the trunk with a nice piece of matching grey carpet? i remember seeing that at the bbq a LONG time ago (like feb. 01). its weight out of the rear, but think about if you actually have passengers (or more than just you and one) in the car and if u really need it. i have that but the fact that my rear seat has no seatbelts now and i never carry passengers, i had no need for them.

 

I'm not talking about reaching a 50/50 weight distribution, just something a bit more towards the stock distribution. I've already taken out as much weight as I can from the back (seats, seat belts, hardware, spare, jack, etc), so my next logical step is at the front and eventually the front seats. None of this is really set in stone, I'm just shooting out random thoughts on how to cheaply get the weight down on the Focus. I figure if I can't spend the money on making it more powerful, may as well cut some lbs instead.

 

the bracing i can see but no holes in the hood, unless you made like large vents like kens supra.