spare tire?

[cre]

Originally Posted by bryanf89

yes but where do i find a one piece lighter drive shaft?

Have one built at a GOOD drive shaft shop? Just a thought.... There are a few places that sell them online, they're also made to order as you have to measure for a precise fit.

I had these guys build me one: http://www.jawsgear.com/ It's superbly balanced!

I'm not fond of 18's on MKIIIs with lowered suspension... too rough of a ride on Colorado roads for my tastes. They do look good though.

Electric fans aren't much of an upgrade (if any). They add just as much resistance to the alternator as the stocker does to the water pump.... If you want to lighten the load get a flexible aluminum fan (and of course the proper fan clutch, a stock fan clutch would spin it so fast the new fan would explode). The flex fans flatten out the faster they spin and thus there's less resistance, that combined with the fan clutch at highway speeds you're barely using any power to keep it moving and it's really just the oncoming air that's cooling the rad.

Performance aluminum radiators aren't any lighter in the end... a lot of the time they weigh more due to the extra coolant capacity. The extra coolant capacity and additional area for heat transfer is the reason you run one, no weight. An aluminum OEM replacement would be a weight reducer, but there's no other benefit.