Putting the Tahoe on a diet

[egrippe]

I figured the fastest and cheapest way to get some better performance out of my Tahoe would be to drop some weight. I have already pulled the bumper and added a roll pan, pulled the tow hitch, spare tire, rear wiper and motor, the hoist for the spare tire, spare tire "saddle", jack, tire tool, mounting brackets for jack, running boards and roof rack. I plan on pulling the tow hooks and the hood insulation, but what else can be removed without totally getting rid of the creature comforts or messing with the structural integrity of the truck?

 

[M Hankel]

Headers are lighter than the cast iron exhaust manifolds.

Front coilover conversion will drop 30-40 lbs.

If you're really serious you could convert to 2wd and drop 300-400lbs.

Fiberglass Hood would drop 20-30lbs.

Mike

 

[docster]

Biggest difference you will feel is unsprung weight loss. Go lightweight wheels and tires. Expensive. But you will notice it.

 

[fiatdale]

Whats your ultimate goal? Dropping weight is good, yes, but what will you gain by losing all of that? Maybe 1 mpg? Faster times? Doubtful. Seems as though you would have to drop significantly more weight than what you have done for anything worth noticing.

 

[egrippe]

From what I understand I can gain around one tenth of a second for every 100 pounds I can drop. So far I have dropped about 200 pounds or so. I'm not trying to build a race truck or anything, just trying to build a really fun daily driver. Coilovers are on the list in the near future and so are the long tubes. Light weight wheels would be awesome, but they are really expensive.

 

[FrankU]

Find a set of Tahoe Hybrid wheels. 18" and made from magnesium , very light.

 

[fiatdale]

You're going to run out of things to take off, and then its going to be so marginal on removing parts to the outcome of what you want. I think I would concentrate on suspension - that will give you your fun. Even if you just did springs and spindles, it will perform better. In terms of speed, do some motor work rather than take a 5 pound roof rack off, or trim panels.

 

[Goodinblack]

Remove all seats and replace with milk crates.

Lol

 

[egrippe]

Honestly the roof rack, roll pan and running boards were just for looks, but I got the added benefit of weight reduction. The milk crate mod sounds promising though!

 

[M Hankel]

Honestly the roof rack, roll pan and running boards were just for looks, but I got the added benefit of weight reduction. The milk crate mod sounds promising though!

Actually, if you don't mind giving up the lumbar adjustment and heated portion, the factory front buckets are VERY heavy. You could switch to an aftermarket bucket like Corbeau. I bet the stock buckets weigh a good 70-80lbs,,, EACH!! An aftermarket bucket would be in the 20-30lb range.

Whats your ultimate goal? Dropping weight is good, yes, but what will you gain by losing all of that? Maybe 1 mpg? Faster times? Doubtful. Seems as though you would have to drop significantly more weight than what you have done for anything worth noticing.

I will guarantee that if he loses 3-400lbs from the vehicle, it will be a very noticeable difference in the way the vehicle drives, accelerates and stops. The slight gain in gas mileage would just be a bonus IMO.

Mike