bumper weight
 

Just out of curiosity has anyone taken off the actual bumpers from an FC ....not the plastic bumper covers that you see from the outside, but the actual bolt on metal bumper frame that lies underneath...and weighed them?

Im curious to know how much they weigh. They seem hefty as hell.

Yes, taken the bumper covers off numerous times. No, have not taken off actual bumpers (the things under the aesthetic plastic covers) and weighed them. The front bumper though is not metal, it's some type of composite material so I don't think it weighs that much. I don't remember specifically on the rear, but IIRC it is also the same composite material. I wouldn't want to race without the bumpers in place.

You are talking about the black thing in the picture below, right?

http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/9877/a3b3eb8.jpg

Good question! Since I happen to have one sitting out in the garage right now, I grabbed the bathroom scale and went out to weigh it. According to my scale, it weighs in around 18 lbs. That includes the two large steel brackets that are used to mount it to the frame.

This is off an S5.

-bill

Depending on how "enthusiastic" your fellow racers are, I'd leave them on, as they'll help minimize damage to the bumper covers and to the frame in case of contact (such as bump drafting).

yeah the front one is pretty light. the rear one is aluminum and is a little heavier, but you want a little weight on that end of the car anyways, right?

and then for saftey reasons i'd leave em in too, swiss cheesing might be an option for the rear though