I don't think I'm going to be out in the shop working on the LJ today. I'm going to help a neighbor with a project this afternoon instead. However, I have one other post to make today - regarding vehicle weight - that was spurred by a conversation with Mr. Blaine yesterday. As you can tell if you look at the first post in this build thread, I pay very close attention to the weight of a vehicle. It's something I learned in my racing career. I may have said it in other posts on here before, but paying attention to the weight of every part pays off in huge dividends.
Vehicle weight has an effect on your ability to speed up, slow down, and change direction. It also affects component durability. As a vehicle design engineer, you have to learn to ask yourself, "what can I do to reduce the weight of this part?" for every part that you design in order to be a good designer. If you only look at the weight of some components, you are missing many opportunities to improve your vehicle by making it as light as possible.
I keep track of my LJ's weight by tracking each modification's effect on the weight of the part using a spreadsheet. Currently, there are over 500 entries in my spreadsheet! Let me use excerpts from this spreadsheet to walk you through one evolving modification I recently completed (the body lift) to show you how weight was a constant part of my build strategy. For tire clearance, to fit the Atlas transfer case with a 1" drop skid, and to install the Mr. Blaine-designed Savvy mid-arm kit, I needed a 1.25" body lift. Initially, I bought and installed the Savvy kit to do that. Here's the effect of the Savvy kit on vehicle weight:
So, the LJ gained almost 8 lb by adding the Savvy body lift. Next, I raised the rear of my LJ's frame and incorporated the bumper into the frame, eliminating the rear Savvy lift bolts and pucks. Although the rear frame raise project added over 2-1/2 pounds to the vehicle (mainly because Mr. Blaine recommended making it very stout since a bent frame from a bumper impact sucks), removing the two rear Savvy lift bolts and pucks was a give-back of about 1-1/4 pound:
The next evolution was to replace the OEM body mounting brackets with the raised Genright brackets for more clearance. But how did that affect vehicle weight? Check the spreadsheet:
What a nice surprise - a savings of about a third of a pound! Less "hangy downy things," and a weight savings!
The final evolution was when I realized I could save even more weight by replacing the aluminum Savvy pucks with Mr. Blaine's acetal pucks. I looked up the densities of the two, and acetal is a little more than half the weight of aluminum - not too shabby! Here's the spreadsheet showing the net results:
By paying attention to weights, I was able to reduce over two-and-a-half pounds of weight gain with my body lift and simultaneously increase ground clearance outside the frame rails. It's a win-win!
And, just to close this out, here's a comparison showing that you can save over three pounds with the Black Magic Brakes body lift kit compared to the Savvy kit:
If you are diligent in comparing weights of every modification, you will reap many rewards as you use your rig! Lighter is better!
Vehicle weight has an effect on your ability to speed up, slow down, and change direction. It also affects component durability. As a vehicle design engineer, you have to learn to ask yourself, "what can I do to reduce the weight of this part?" for every part that you design in order to be a good designer. If you only look at the weight of some components, you are missing many opportunities to improve your vehicle by making it as light as possible.
I keep track of my LJ's weight by tracking each modification's effect on the weight of the part using a spreadsheet. Currently, there are over 500 entries in my spreadsheet! Let me use excerpts from this spreadsheet to walk you through one evolving modification I recently completed (the body lift) to show you how weight was a constant part of my build strategy. For tire clearance, to fit the Atlas transfer case with a 1" drop skid, and to install the Mr. Blaine-designed Savvy mid-arm kit, I needed a 1.25" body lift. Initially, I bought and installed the Savvy kit to do that. Here's the effect of the Savvy kit on vehicle weight:
So, the LJ gained almost 8 lb by adding the Savvy body lift. Next, I raised the rear of my LJ's frame and incorporated the bumper into the frame, eliminating the rear Savvy lift bolts and pucks. Although the rear frame raise project added over 2-1/2 pounds to the vehicle (mainly because Mr. Blaine recommended making it very stout since a bent frame from a bumper impact sucks), removing the two rear Savvy lift bolts and pucks was a give-back of about 1-1/4 pound:
The next evolution was to replace the OEM body mounting brackets with the raised Genright brackets for more clearance. But how did that affect vehicle weight? Check the spreadsheet:
What a nice surprise - a savings of about a third of a pound! Less "hangy downy things," and a weight savings!
The final evolution was when I realized I could save even more weight by replacing the aluminum Savvy pucks with Mr. Blaine's acetal pucks. I looked up the densities of the two, and acetal is a little more than half the weight of aluminum - not too shabby! Here's the spreadsheet showing the net results:
By paying attention to weights, I was able to reduce over two-and-a-half pounds of weight gain with my body lift and simultaneously increase ground clearance outside the frame rails. It's a win-win!
And, just to close this out, here's a comparison showing that you can save over three pounds with the Black Magic Brakes body lift kit compared to the Savvy kit:
If you are diligent in comparing weights of every modification, you will reap many rewards as you use your rig! Lighter is better!
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