I have a question about basic vehicle weights. If you look at similar vehicles, say a 911 or a Corvette, the Corvette comes out heavier. If you look at a 4-door econobox, say a Civic, the Corvette comes out heavier. Corvettes have a reputation for being lightweight or heavy depending on who you ask.

I know that vehicle weight stacks up with its capabilities and to some extent component size means weight; a Corvette needs powerful brakes, engine, tires, wheels, drivetrain, etc. and these all add weight. Certain things are pretty amazing, like the fiberglass body or the balsa sandwich floorboard etc. But if you stand say a 911 against a Corvette, it comes out several hundred pounds lighter, yet is pretty much the same vehicle. Granted, the Corvette is slightly larger with a bigger trunk and that sort of thing, but basically where is all this weight hiding? It's got that lightweight frame, body, alum. engine, etc. to keep weight down. So where are all these hundreds of pounds?

 

ughhhhh......

C5's weigh around 3250 pounds...Thats pretty light as far as AMERICAN sports/muscle cars go...

Vipers are around 3400 pounds...

Ford GT's are around 3500 pounds....

Camaros are around 3450 pounds.....

Mach 1's are around 3400 pounds....

2005 350Z's are around 3300 pounds.....

Supras are around 3550 pounds......

UNLESS YOUR COMPARING IT TO A LOTUS ELISE....IT'S A PRETTY LIGHT SPORTS CAR..

 

Im not exactly sure what your talking about

911s weight in at 3388
http://www.edmunds.com/used/2003/por...244/specs.html


My car weighs in at 3116
http://www.edmunds.com/used/2003/che...133/specs.html


The Z06 weighs 272lbs less then the 911.


Im speechless on the comparison to the honda

 

Honda Civic.

 

how much does a LSx engine weigh? that has to be alot of weight there too.

 

Not sure on the exact weight, but it's got an aluminum block which is over 100 lbs less than a standard small block Chevy. All aluminum plus a plastic intake and it doesn't have a DOHC design so it's even lighter because of the single cam pushrod design = the lightest v-8 possible.

 

Fully dressed engine is about 457 lbs. (source - corvetteactioncenter)

 

I'll agree with you guys that the heavier engine and accessories like brakes, tires, etc. all stack up weight. Weight will come with the greater capabilities required. And good call on a comparison in weights to other vehicles in its class.

But the 911 vs. Z06 comparison is wrong. The 911 Turbo is what that edmunds was sourced from. The Turbo is a "super-fast grand touring car" and the Z06 is practically, for street Corvette standards, built for the track. There's a great difference. I would compare a Z06 to a GT3 probably in that each is stripped down. A 911 Turbo IS ~3400 pounds, but it's heavier because of front wheel drive, an extra differential, blowers, intercoolers, more and bigger radiators, more creature comforts (the seats are to die for), etc. Again, the capabilities, and in this case extra luxury, adds weight. The 911 Turbo is basically the porker of the 911 models (except for that Porsche truck they make nowadays). The brochure for a 911 I have from Porsche says a coupe is 2,965 pounds with a manual.

I guess it would stack up about like this:
911: ~3000
Z06: ~3100-3200
Corvette: ~3200-3300
Turbo ~3350-3400

In approximate weights. But the bottom line remains that a Corvette is still a comparatively heavy car. Yet still light...a z28, or even an SS feels immensely heavy compared to a Corvette when driving it...the numbers are similar, but the experience is such a far gap, and it's the lighter weight that does it.

Factory Five makes a Corvette-based kit-car called a GTM that is supposed to weigh in with an LS1 at 2300 lbs. You've still got the body, frame, seats, tranny, motor, etc. and everything else that a normal Corvette has, but it is half a ton lighter. So where is the weight hiding?

 

Didn't mean to upset with the Honda comparison. It came about because of a thread I started questioning/complaining/curious about MotorTrend picking it as the Car of the Year. I mostly questioned b/c the article said it pulled .9g on the skidpad. Granted, it's one measurement, the cause is its lighter weight, its overall capabilities are far less than a Corvette's - no argument there.

But if you stack a Corvette against a 911, the sheer extra size can't account for the greater amount of weight. After all, if you stack a Corvette against a Civic, the Civic has greater size but is lighter (ever so slightly narrower and shorter, but its huge & tall - a Corvette looks smaller and more agile just sitting there). Just meant to place it in perspective against a car that is physically larger but lighter as opposed to physically smaller and lighter (911).

 

911GT2 3131lbs 175"long x 72" wide x 50.2" high 2WD

911 Carrera 3311lbs

911 Turbo S 3504lbs

C6 Corvette 3179lbs 174.6" long 72.6" wide 49.1 high

C6 ZO6 3132 lbs 175.6" long 75.9" wide 49.1 high I just don't see a heavy Corvette here in relation to the others??????

 

Not sure where you're getting your info Hal. Maybe the 911 comparison was bad because it means something specific to bet against.

At any rate, those weight numbers are wrong. GT2 is about 100 lbs lighter than a Turbo, but still heavier than a Carrera for the same reasons of all the blowing, intercoolers, etc.

I don't really care about a few inches in height or width. I'm looking for an answers simply to why its heavy. Question still remains.

 

Thats the thing. The Z06 isnt heavier...its lighter.
See my post #3

 

I got the information from Porsche' site. You can get it at any number of sites. Just type in 'Vehicle Specifications' and you will also find a site that lists most any popular vehicle you would care to see. I crossed the weights from 3 different sites and they all came out with basically the same numbers.

 

And don't forget that porsches aren't really that good at handling compared to other 'race' cars. Just watch the GTO-R's race against the GT3s. The couple races I've watched the GTOs took them in the corners but the porsches pulled on the straights. Heck that last race the porsche had to t-bone the gto in the middle of the corner to get in front.

 

I think it's because it's American!!!

No seriously, what you guys often refer to as lightweight would be considered a tank in Europe.

The Corvette is light, for an American car. But the recent Porsches are rather porky themselves nowadays.

Fibreglass isn't that light weight, and the Corvette has all the goodies, plus the engine is still quite heavy when compared to alternatives, the gearbox is pretty heavy too and the car really isn't that small.

I mean a lightweight sports car would be more like this:

Caterham ~1400lb


Ariel Atom


Lotus Elsie


Vauxhall VX220


But all of these have 4 cylinder engines, which are all a heck of a lot lighter than any V8.

There are some lightweight cars out there though, with big engines (most faster than a C6 as well).

TVR T350 (2500lb)


Noble


TVR Tuscan


TVR Cerbera


TVR Sagaris


Marcos TSO (This even uses a 420bhp LS1 engine, ~2500lb)


Morgan Aero 8


Dax Tojeiro


Gardner Douglas G350 (another one using the LS1)


But having said that, so what is a Porsche or other is 100lb or so lighter. What gains does it really get??

None.

 

The porches you which you refer are heavier than the corvette....There is no argument or question for that matter....

 

You don't want to go 180+ mph in a sub-3000 lb. street car. I've read the original post over twice, and I don't see what the moral of the story is??

 

eh?

Lightweight means far less inertia and better stability.

Take the TVR Sagaris, wieghs in at ~2400lb. Has 406bhp and will top 195mph. 0-62mph = 3.7 seconds, 0-100mph = 8.3 seconds.

But it's also one of the only production road cars that has an FIA approved integral roll cage as part of the cars main chassis. You could take the thing racing and only need the appropriate clothing as extra.

I'm assuming you know what the FIA is of course.

 

My nuts weigh more than a Porsche! Who cares!!?!!

 

Some good posts all. Let's get away from Porsche though. They were a simple example, and since the discussion is now coming to down to who is fatter, it could go on forever. The concept is the weight, albeit though light. I think 300 bhp is getting more along my thought patterns - there are a lot of European cars or sports cars in general that are pretty lightweight. I'm not necessarily talking about the Caterham, etc. or anything that tiny in specific.

The big question is simply where the weight is hiding. Is fiberglass not that light? Is 400-500 lbs for an engine too much? Is the gearbox too heavy? Is the glass too thick? That's the thinking I'm trying to get out of you guys. Of course, not simply attacking our beloveds as being too porky. But when I stack it against other cars (say non-American), it just seems heavy.