Ultimate F-Body Camaro and Firebird Weight Reduction List

Every key component of the LS1 Camaro and Firebird has been weighed.

If you want to make your fourth generation Chevrolet Camaro or Pontiac Firebird with the LS1 V8 faster or quicker, you can add more power or you can remove weight. Adding power will generally cut into the budget, but many items can be removed from the 4g F-Body to reduce the curb weight without spending a cent. Lots of things can be removed to improve performance, but how much impact will removing certain items have?

Fortunately, we have a thread in the forum with an unbelievable list of components from the fourth generation Chevy Camaro SS and Pontiac Firebird with the weight for almost every item. The list includes everything that can be removed, along with some items that can be replaced with aftermarket components, so there are weight-saving measures in this thread that are free while others will have to come off of the budget.

The Introduction

The thread begins with “fasttagurl” explaining the thread in the Drag Racing Tech section.

“Consolidated all 22 pages from previous “Weight Reduction” list. Please post with weight facts/figures as you get them. Thanks to all! Enjoy! Now go get the car on that diet and let’s go racin’!!”

She then listed hundreds of items from the 1993 through 2002 Chevrolet Camaro and Pontiac Firebird and their real world weight in pounds. The long list is broken up into two slightly-less-long lists, one called “Free Stuff” and a second called “Wallet Mods”.

Since the thread was started years ago, it has carried on for 15 pages as members posted the weight of new items for the list and over time, it has become what we believe to be the most comprehensive list of 4g F-body component weights online. For anyone building a car from this era to go fast, this is a one-stop resource when it comes to questions about reducing curb weight of your Chevy or Pontiac muscle car.

The list is far too long for us to include here, so instead, we will touch on some of the basic items of each category.

Free Stuff

The free stuff category is all of the things that you could conceivably remove to cut weight from a 4g Camaro or Firebird. Say that you were thinking about removing the interior parts that you don’t need to go fast. This would include the rear seat and passenger seat, the heating and air conditioning items, the sound system items, the door panels, the headliner and all of the carpeting.

Removing all of the heating and air conditioning components cuts 45 pounds from the front of the car while removing the wiper assemblies cuts another 10 pounds from the same area. Next, removing all of the unnecessary cabin parts cuts at least 205 pounds based on the following breakdown:

14..Airbag and bracket, passenger’s
4…Airbag, driver’s
41..Carpet & Sound deadening
8…CD Changer (stock)
10..Center console
18..Door panel (TA, both)
5…Floormats
2…Headliner
17…Radio (stock in center panel)
9…Seatbelts (rears and passenger’s)
30..Seat, passenger’s (cloth)
41..Seat, passenger (Trans Am leather w/ lumbar pump)
28..Seats, rear (leather)
4…Seat mounts and brackets (rear)
15..Speakers

This list also includes things like the rear hatch, which varies from 40 to 60 pounds depending on the vehicle and options or the stock brakes that weigh 16 pounds, but of course, you cant really go racing without the rear hatch and brakes, so that isn’t weight that you can cut without spending some money to replace them with something lighter.

Wallet Mods

In the “Wallet Mods” section of the list, there are stock items from the fourth generation Camaro and Firebird, along with the weight of aftermarket components that could be used to replace stock items. For example, stock A-arms weigh 13 pounds each while BMR units are just 10 pounds while Aerospace brakes to replace the stock stoppers weigh just 8 pounds.

This section also lists lightweight wheels, body parts, chassis components, so literally anything that could be remove or replaced from a stock LS1 Camaro or Firebird is found on this list, along with many of the most popular aftermarket performance parts for every area of the vehicle.

If you have been looking to cut weight from your 4g F-body and you want to see what will make the biggest impact, click here to check out the complete thread in the forum.

Join the LS1tech forums today!

Patrick Rall

"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.

"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.

"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.

"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.

"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.

"Being based on Detroit," says Rall, "I never miss the North American International Auto Show, the Woodward Dream Cruise and Roadkill Nights, along with spending plenty of time raising hell on Detroit's Woodward Avenue with the best muscle car crowd in the world.

Rall can be contacted at QuickMirada@Yahoo.com