RHO Weight & Reduction Thread

[Eighty]

He tried leaving the brake rotors off entirely, to save weight. And it didn't end well.

 

[Mikey Swift]

He tried leaving the brake rotors off entirely, to save weight. And it didn't end well.

Just line all roadways with hay bales.

 

[itsmekylep]

I mean, he did say some stupid shit for no reason...then doubled down on it.

Don’t we all??? Lol

 

[TT BeastMode]

Figured I would start a thread related to vehicle weight and things that help reduce weight. As I take apart my RHO I plan on weighing a few things and documenting it here. I have a shipping scale, Intercomp scales (rated at 1,500 per scale), and I stopped at a certified scale on my trip across the US to get the total vehicle weight... with me and all my stuff ~320lbs. 6620lbs - 320lbs = approx. 6,300 with a full tank of fuel. The shipping weight was 6,095 pounds (5 gallons in tank tank (33 gallon tank) 6 pounds per gallon at 28 gallons ~168 pounds) ~ 6,262lbs. So by my best estimates and measurements It's between 6,262lbs and 6,300lbs.

View attachment 7110

First mod will be a set of Volk TE37's... theoretically weigh 19.4 pounds, but I'll scale them against the factory non-beadlock wheels (supposedly 27 pounds) Might even save some weight with the lug nuts.

You still have the RHO ?

 

[Scottie2Hottie]

to each their own. As an engineer, weight is a killer. Lighter components (especially rotational mass) increase efficiencies without redesign an/or serious modification. I am willing to bet reducing 10-15 lbs per wheel/tire at each corner, along with the East Coast all aluminum driveshaft would improve acceleration, 0-100, braking and suspension responsiveness. Sure, most owners don’t buy trucks thinking weight reduction. But for the minority that do, you understand that reducing weight ENHANCES the existing capabilities. I would also assert that lighter components on the drivetrain REDUCES stress; increasing longevity. If you have ever spent time around a Motorsport team, reducing weight is not always about chasing lap times. That may be a byproduct but sometimes its focus is increasing reliability. For instance, I did not option a sunroof on my L1 because I wanted to increase reliability of water infiltration. Reducing weight was a nice byproduct.

 

[RamFan]

to each their own. As an engineer, weight is a killer. Lighter components (especially rotational mass) increase efficiencies without redesign an/or serious modification. I am willing to bet reducing 10-15 lbs per wheel/tire at each corner, along with the East Coast all aluminum driveshaft would improve acceleration, 0-100, braking and suspension responsiveness. Sure, most owners don’t buy trucks thinking weight reduction. But for the minority that do, you understand that reducing weight ENHANCES the existing capabilities. I would also assert that lighter components on the drivetrain REDUCES stress; increasing longevity. If you have ever spent time around a Motorsport team, reducing weight is not always about chasing lap times. That may be a byproduct but sometimes its focus is increasing reliability. For instance, I did not option a sunroof on my L1 because I wanted to increase reliability of water infiltration. Reducing weight was a nice byproduct.

Unsprung weight is one of the most important things without a doubt.....but since I sprung for the beadlocks, which I still adore....I dont see myself ever swapping out the wheels

But yes, there are somethings you can do to absolutely help performance without worrying about failures, but with these trucks, if you plan on doing anything serious with them, especially offroad....the rims IMO should be forged and have the appropriate weight rating.

Chris

 

[IdealRace]

Yep - still have the RHO. Developing some parts for it that have taken for ever. Developing an ECU Flash still. Got the instrumentation all sorted... Got started on my single turbo upgrade. I did however add the Mopar steps to the truck - so it got heavier, but makes it far more enjoyable to get in and out of. I'll probably do some titanium exhaust work to get it back.

 

[TT BeastMode]

Yep - still have the RHO. Developing some parts for it that have taken for ever. Developing an ECU Flash still. Got the instrumentation all sorted... Got started on my single turbo upgrade. I did however add the Mopar steps to the truck - so it got heavier, but makes it far more enjoyable to get in and out of. I'll probably do some titanium exhaust work to get it back.

Oh wow, didn't realize you had the expertise for all of that, specifically the ECU flash. Coming from BMW, they have extremely locked down DCMs, so only one or two sources for a true ECU unlock.

And you're going to a single large turbo? Nice.

Do you have a website or YouTube channel or anything, to follow along ?

And how has the Antigravity battery held up so far ?

 

[IdealRace]

www.idealrace.com or check out my IG ideal_race

Yeah I used to work for APR as their lead calibration engineer for about 8 years. Helped Dinan get their port flash back after Holley acquired them. So I'm familiar with the bootloader changes from BMW, Femto unlocks, and now Autotuner coming stateside to (Auburn Alabama - where I live) They aren't the only people who know how to do the few types of unlocks - just the ones that are promoting it. Antigravity battery has been great. It has shutdown on my twice in a year+/15k miles. So pretty solid IMO. The Alfas used to do it every month and sometimes twice a month. Crawling through the trunk to hit the reset sucks compared to popping the hood.

 

[TT BeastMode]

Very nice. Looking forward to your upcoming RHO endeavors, especially the turbo and ECU work.

 

[BackinaRam]

www.idealrace.com or check out my IG ideal_race

Yeah I used to work for APR as their lead calibration engineer for about 8 years. Helped Dinan get their port flash back after Holley acquired them. So I'm familiar with the bootloader changes from BMW, Femto unlocks, and now Autotuner coming stateside to (Auburn Alabama - where I live) They aren't the only people who know how to do the few types of unlocks - just the ones that are promoting it. Antigravity battery has been great. It has shutdown on my twice in a year+/15k miles. So pretty solid IMO. The Alfas used to do it every month and sometimes twice a month. Crawling through the trunk to hit the reset sucks compared to popping the hood.

Just followed you on IG and looking forward to seeing what you develop for the RHO.

 

[UTDgreat]

I would like to see you guys post options for light weight wheels. Looking to shave some time off my 0-60!

 

[Thekingofkings]

This was a cool thread to look back at. He was really dropping a lot of weight from the truck, and I was interested to see if the factory beadlocks were really over 40lbs each.