GT Weight & Weight Reduction

[Doody]

WEIGHT

i find it interesting that the official Ford site that lists the specs lists the weight distribution (43/57) but not the weight.
http://www.fordvehicles.com/fordgt/specs.asp

i think the reason some data is "absent" is that there's a lot of stuff still being tweaked on the beast - which is not a knock - they should leverage all the time they have up to launch to ship the best car they can.

3,350 pounds seems to be the number that's being bandied about by the journalists. it's not clear (to me) whether that's dry weight or curb weight or fully-loaded weight (it's unlikely to be the latter).

has Ford officially released a number that simply hasn't made it to their web site?

fwiw, i found this site http://www.familycar.com/RoadTests/FordGT/ claiming 2,551 pounds curb weight. we can dream of course, but i assume they're gravely mistaken/misled.

the recent C&D says 3,429, which sounds rather random to me to be something other than an actually-weighed number (perhaps?).

this site says 3,200 lbs http://www.engine-power.com/ford/gt.html

motor trend says 3,400 (est.) in one article and 3,300 (est.) in another. note to MT: uh, guys, next time, just put it on the damn scale [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img].

WEIGHT REDUCTION

has anybody thought about how to potentially get this puppy down closer to the 3,000 number as opposed to the 3,500 number it appears to possibly be inching towards?

doody.

[Mark Worthington]

I would think that ripping out the stereo system and the air conditioning system would lose 150+ 200 pounds. If the seats are electric (shame on Ford if they are) then another 40+ pounds could be saved by removing the motors and tracks. I know Mustang guys who have pulled 40 pounds of wire alone and another 50 pounds of sound deadener from their cars, but it'll be a while before anybody does that to a GT.

I think a lot of the weight must be in the air-water intercooling system. Ford initially developed it for the Lightning and weight control was a non-issue on a truck.

Seeing as how the Enzo weighs more than 3,000 pounds, I guess we can't blame Ford too much if the curb weight comes in around 3,300 pounds...modern safety, emissions and comfort accessories really add up on any car.

Amazingly, my 1997 BMW M3 sedan with air, stereo, sunroof and power seats manages to be one hell of a car and still weighs in at not much more than 3,200 pounds.

[EarlAbsher]

Perhaps Ford is weighing all the options when it comes to weight. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

You will have your 'purists' who don't care that much about luxury items. They just want a real 'go fast' machine.

Then, you have the real old, over the hill type guys, like me, who want luxury and speed combined. The items that give luxury will certainly add a lot of weight.

[40 Bud]

It is pretty tough to build any car to meet todays fedral specs and call it a light weight. Even some of the exotics aint light.

[Gary Gibbs]

I expect the production weight to be atleast what Car and Driver measured. The final weight will only go up I would guess.

[Kalun D]

I'll never have one, (too big, too much money) but if I did, purist all the way.

all power items with wiring out.
all windows plexi except windshield
air bags out, 3" race harnesses in
bumper off
stock seats out 7 lbs. seats in
under 2500 should be doable

hp is usually a meaningless number, the real number is power to weight ratio

weight savings is free totally reliable horse power

for the price the GT is going for you could build the real thing, a MK V, which is about 2200.

[Doody]

under 2500 pounds - wow that'd be insane. you'd shoot the weight distribution to hell (30/70?), but i bet it'd be a monster load of fun on the track!

doody.

[John]

I thought I read that the new GT doesn't come with a stereo system? I seem to recall Road and Track writing that in an article not long ago.

John

[Doody]

it comes with a base stereo system, and then there's an upgrade option to get a McIntosh system.

doody.

[Rick Muck- Mark IV]

No more wait for the weight....


According to the official Ford GT product preview I have sitting here, the announced wieght for the GT is............................3350 Lbs. I will post this when my scanner decides to co-operate! [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

This is from an official Ford publication sent to all dealers. It has all the info (even if they call the Eibach spings Ebach they know what they mean.I found the luggage capacity, 1.6 cubic feet amusing, the glovebox size of a Caddy! But hey, if it goes this fast and costs this much, you don't need to pack it, you can buy it when you get there!! [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img]

If anyone has any questions about the "official" specs, let me know and I will look 'em up and post them.

Rick [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[Doody]

please scan & post!

is that 3350 dry or curb?

tia,
doody.

[Kalun D]

3350 down to 2500 might be tough, probably more like 2900 or 3000.

500 HP and 3300 should be fine for the street.

Imagine 500 and 2200 though, of course I think that was dry. And that gets to the point were you can't keep the tires hooked up.

I think the original cars were 40 60 distribution

What Ferrari is that Mr Doody?

[JP]

With Ford's quoted weight the GT gives about 329BHP/TON. Not bad, but not special.

For reference some other BHP/TON figures:

Ferrari F50 378/ton
Lamborghini Murcielago 351/ton
Porsche 911 GT2 320/ton
TVR Tuscan S 360/ton
Pagani Zonda s 441/ton
Ferrari 360 292/ton
Viper GTS-R 363/ton

Average GT40 replica 300-500/ton ??

Interesting,
J.P

[Rick Muck- Mark IV]

The weight quoted is "base curb weight" per Ford. That would be base weight with oil but NOT fuel or driver. Not a featherweight but not as heavy as say a Lambo Mucio or many other "sports" cars that come close to two tons.

Bill Gates seem to be personally keeping my scanner from working with my new XP Pro setup....even my printer requires all new drivers to be downloaded. On a dial up that's over two hours....of course the connection gets broken every time after an hour or better [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img]

I will scan it at the dealership and get it posted. In fact, I will set up all eight pages of the book.

The complete specification guide is due later this month.

Rick

[TMR2003]

Mark IV,

There is a CD Microsoft is selling that contains all the windows update.

I think that weight should be right.

[snakeeyes]

Those numbers make me feel pretty good about my Beck Lister replica. 1,992 pounds wet (per the scales in my garage), 542 hp (flywheel, per dyno). That's, what, 544 fwhp/ton or a flywheel hp-to-weight ratio of 3.68:1?

I don't know what the rear-wheel-hp number is--I've been trying to find time to get it on a dyno--but it's a rocket. What's amazing to me is how quick cars like the new GT are, carrying something over 1,300 pounds more weight than the Lister around. I guess traction has a lot to do with it, and I suspect that Ford's hp numbers may be a bit understated.

[josvdp]

UK Autocar this week suggests 550 hp & 347 bhp/ton which I think equates to 3500 lb

[Twehttam]

I'm guessing that they're guessing.

[EarlAbsher]

I'm guessing that you guessing that they are guessing is probably a good guess [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[Ron Earp]

I ain't trusting anything until an independent weighs the car - at a track certified scale.