I was on here before talking about weight but discussion kind of got side tracked and people just wanted to know why I cared about weight. It matters to me. So in a 4x4 quad what is the best route to start trimming lbs off. How much do racks weigh on average? How much can you loose from alloy wheels and a good set of tires?

 

You've listed the best ways to loose weight in a 4x4. Remove the racks, go from steel to alloy wheels, maybe shave some plastic, but that's probably not worth much. Aftermarket tires will usually add weight as compared to stockers. Beyond that it's usually a better choice to mod for more power. I've read some articles of race ready 4x4's that dropped about 50 pounds.

Now, if money is no object, then you can refab steel parts out of aluminum or other alloys.

Jaybee

 

You could save some weight by taking off whole the front drive system. I think you'll want to keep the radiator and water pump but they're pretty heavy. If money was no object I'd get a frame made of carbon fiber. Since I'm not rich and need my racks and fenders I leave it stock. You could shave most of the lugs of the tires to save some weight. You could take off the skid plates and remove a few frame members. Who needs a frame that strong anyway?

 

Most aftermarket alum rims are heavier than most stock alum rims. Same with tires.

Take off racks, skids, bumpers, trim the plastics, rip out the lights & asssembly, that might make a difference.

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: jumbofrank

You could save some weight by taking off whole the front drive system. I think you'll want to keep the radiator and water pump but they're pretty heavy. If money was no object I'd get a frame made of carbon fiber. Since I'm not rich and need my racks and fenders I leave it stock. You could shave most of the lugs of the tires to save some weight. You could take off the skid plates and remove a few frame members. Who needs a frame that strong anyway?</end quote></div>

WTF? Please tell me just where you are going to get a frame made of carbon fiber?

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: DesertViper

WTF? Please tell me just where you are going to get a frame made of carbon fiber?</end quote></div>


I bet this place would build you one - provided you could come up with the proper coinage.

 

sandec,

Tires are likely going to be your biggest area for improvement. Almost all aftermarket tires are heavier than the OEM tires, because they are built better, and typically have a six ply rating instead of the two ply rating of the OEM tires. So in that matter it will be difficult to trim weight if you still have the light weight OEM tires. But if you already have a heavy set of aftermarket tires, changing to a lighter set of aftermarket tires has a big impact on performance, because not only are you reducing weight, you are reducing rolling mass that the engine needs to get spinning each time you hit the gas. For every pound of rolling mass that is removed it is roughly the equivalent of three pounds of non-rolling weight being removed. My Can Am Renegade 800 R has 25" Holeshot ATR tires on it from the factory, and they are excellent tires. But when they wear out I will be changing to 25" Maxxis 4-speed tires that have pretty much the exact same tread pattern, and for an equal size tire they are 5 lbs lighter for each tire. That means I'll be reducing 20 lbs worth of rolling mass from the ATV.

Another area where improvement can be made is in the exhaust system. Most OEM exhaust systems are made of steel and are very big and heavy, and don't flow all that well either. I changed to a Ron Wood full exhaust on my Can Am, and it weighs 3 lbs less than the OEM exhaust. Other brands of exhaust that are made of aluminum or titanium will result in even more wieght loss, and it is not unusual to be able to shed 10 lbs off the ATV by changing to an aftermarket exhaust. And an aftermarket exhaust also improves performance at the same time. I changed from the OEM exhaust to titanium Akrapovik exhaust on my KTM Super Enduro, and because the stock exhaust system has dual silencers that are stainless steel and contain heavy catalytic converters in them, and the aftermarket dual silencers are titanium without catalytic converters, I was able to reduce the weight of the KTM by a whopping 17 lbs with just an exhaust change. And that extra weight of the exhaust is way out back beside the rear fender, as far away from the center of mass as you can get. Decreasing mass that is far away from the center improves handling and makes the machine feel lighter than it really is.

Centralizing mass improves handling and is an important aspect that needs to be considered. For that reason, removing the front and rear racks on a 4x4 ATV is worthwhile for more than just the small amount that the racks actually weigh. If you have a winch that you never use, ... remove it. Same thing goes for aftermarket heavy steel bumpers, if you don't need them, take them off.

Other weight savings techniques start to get expensive, such as aluminum or titanium nuts and bolts, etc. And still other weight savings techniques start to decrease the versatility and functionality of your ATV, such as removing the headlights, tail lights, and accompanying wiring harnesses. Although I did remove the lights and wiring on a DS 650 I desert raced in 2005, and that decreased weight by six pounds on that ATV.



DV

 

Hmm I know you don't want to have this discussion sidetracked on why you want to cut down weight, but maybe if you told us we could highlight key areas that wouldn't affect performance. Like DV said, some will decrease the functionality but it depends if you need that functionality or not. Also what atv do you have? Different models will have different areas that are particularily heavy.

Lighter handlebars, wave disc rotors, lighter axle(s), trim the seat foam. I'll chime back in when I can think of other ways...

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: DesertViper

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: jumbofrank



You could save some weight by taking off whole the front drive system. I think you'll want to keep the radiator and water pump but they're pretty heavy. If money was no object I'd get a frame made of carbon fiber. Since I'm not rich and need my racks and fenders I leave it stock. You could shave most of the lugs of the tires to save some weight. You could take off the skid plates and remove a few frame members. Who needs a frame that strong anyway?</end quote></div>



WTF? Please tell me just where you are going to get a frame made of carbon fiber?</end quote></div>

<u>There have already been bikes, motorcycles, cars, planes, and ATVs made with carbon fiber frames.</u> You just need to track down someone who has an ATV with one and ask where they got it. Anything can be made of carbon fiber if you have the budget for it.

 

If you have a recoil starter as a backup to an electric, you can save a good amount of weight by removing the electic start, battery and tray, and all associated wiring.