Has any one thought of any creative ideas to reduce the weight of the Cayenne. The biggest advantage that the Jeep SRT8 has over the Cayenne at the drag strip is weight. It weighs about 1,000 LBS less!

I'll never take this off-road and I'd like to prepare it for some 1/4 mile runs this spring. Much of the weight is due to it's off-road ability such as a transfer case, etc. I wish there was any easy way to ditch some of this drivetrain. A drivetrain similar to the 999tt, without a transfer case, would be perfect.

I'm also still looking at tranny upgrades. The upgrades out of Germany are about $15k+. Has anyone looked into a domestic source? A company called levelten claims that they can perform the upgrade for $6k but I've heard mixed reviews on this company.

Any help or creative ideas would be greatly appreciated. I hope that you all had a Merry Christmas.

 

unbolt those rear seats buy carbon fiber front seats or you could just take all the seats out but the driver.

take all the tools/spare tire out of the back

 

I'm well aware that the Cayenne is not an ideal drag platfrom. However, I've always enjoyed trying to make fast what isn't supposed to be fast. I've had some very odd projects in the past and have enjoyed them all. It's much easier to build a 996tt or GT2 drag car. It's going to be a real challenge to build an 11 second Cayenne but I still want to try.

The weight savings of stripping the interior,as a percentage of total weight, doesn't cut it in this case. This extra weight in this car is mostly due to the drivetrain which is engineered for off road use. I will never take this truck off road so I've been trying to think of creative ways to loose this capability and save some significant weight. I realize that you can't just "unbolt" something. But I do wonder if it isn't possible to transplant a drivetrain similar to that of a 996tt.

The comparison to the SRT8 is very valid. Jeep built this truck knowing that it would,'t go off road and they saved a tremendous amount of weight by doing so. However, I much prefer the Cayenne.

Try to understand that I'm not trying to buld something that is practical or makes any sense. I'm trying to have some fun. I've owned many high horse power drag cars, the quickest running the 1/4 mile in the 9's. Anyone can build a fast 996tt, GT2, Mustang, Corvette, AMG, etc. Building an 11 second Cayenne is going to take some creativity. That's the part that I enjoy!

Here was my effort to make a 4 banger run a huge turbo at altitude (I live in Colorado) without lag. This "twin charged' system took 18 months to design and build:

http://72.41.83.159/images/st-anima-opt.gif

We ran in the 10's with this car, it made 700awhp and had almost no lag. However, it would have been cheaper to build a GT700 911tt! But it sure was fun!

 

More info on the Evo please?

 

Let's see, here are the basics:

-Built 2.0L with 10,000 rpm rev limit
-Holset Hx50 Turbo making 40 psi
-Autoroto supercharger (Kleemann desing) built to make 15 psi
-Liquid to air intercooler system (The A/C compressor was used to supercool the liquid, remember the Ford Lightning prototype that was never built?)
-Dog Box tranny with sequential shifter
-Tilton triple carbon clutch
-Upgrade half shafts
-Roll cage, forged aluminum wheels, Autronic standalone, etc., etc.

The car took 18 months to design and build. The supercharger would disengage once the turbo was suffeciently spooled reducing parasitic loss. The dog box was custom built by Hollinger and was very streetable (for a dog box).

The car had very little lag and was capable of making about 800 driveable HP. The bypass (twin charge) system was unlike anything that's ever been developed. As fas as I know it's the highest HP twin charged car ever built. It was built by www.union7.net with some help from the guys at Kleemann.

It was a great project. There are far easier and less expensive ways to make HP but the car was truely one of a kind. We consistently ran in the mid 10's. It could have gone faster but it wasn't strictly built as a drag car.

 

Thanks for the post, great info!

This may not be possible or worth doing but it might be fun trying.

 

Evo650 you may have an 11.99 second truck the way you're sitting. 658 Ft Lbs of torque will easily move 5,000 lbs through the 1/4 mile...

 

I purchased a 2007 4 door Rubicon about 3 months ago with the freedom top. I've never been a real Jeep guy but I love this thing! We've had a lot of snow here in Denver recently and it has handled it like a champ.

My only complaint is the lack of power. Avenger superchargers is right here in Colorado Springs and, once their kit is ready, I'm dropping the Jeep off for some mods.

Thanks for the pictures. Burnsville makes some wild stuff.

 

Unfortunetly, the track here in Denver is closed until spring. I'd like one more round of mods before the track opens. Evoms is supposed to working on pistons and rods for me allowing us to turn up the boost. The truck should be going back down to Phoenix sometime within the next 45 days if the new parts are ready.

 

As far as electronics, the trans has its own stand alone ECU, the engine has its own ECU, and PSM has its own as well. The speed sensors at the wheels are integral to the wheel bearings, which is why it messes everything up if one gets installed backwards. The only unknown would be getting the power from the rear of the trans to the rear diff if the t-case was removed.

 

If no one else is in the car do we need the other seats and doors? Just shrink wrap the car to prevent the drag uou would get without the doors- it's light and cheap!

 

What brand of shrink wrap would you recommend?!

 

TechArt & Gambella must have a kit for it by now!