Few things I've done to shed some pounds.

Replaced the steel winch cable with synthetic.
Replaced steel roller fairlead with aluminum.
Lightweight short drum 9.5K winch.
Stubby bumper instead of full width.
Removed back seat.
Swapped hard top for soft top.
Don't carry spare tire unless I'm going off road or on a long trip. (100 mi free tow or call a buddy gets me home if I really need it)
Remove doors for wheeling.
Aluminum vs. steel wheels. 18 vs 26 lbs.
Lightweight 35" tires (Mud Rovers are 58 lbs)
Long travel scissor jack instead of heavy Hi Lift jack. I found it safer and easier to use anyway.
Keep 2 shackles handy, don't need 5.
Tow straps not chains.
Gravity water filter and 2x5 gallon collapsible water reservoirs instead of 5 full jugs.
No fat chicks.

 

Composite half-doors would help too. How much do the SFZ doors weigh?

 

Most crucial part...

 

yes, a lift and tires helps with that!

 

Our hood weighs 25.5 pounds. Stock hood weighs approximately 42 pounds and almost all of the other aftermarket hoods actually weigh even more.

Its not a lot in the grand scheme of things but every little bit counts.

 

There is not much you can shed. Don't add 400 lbs of bumpers. Make mods with weight in mind. spend your weight on skid plates instead.

 

I agree ^^^^^

 

Honestly after giving this thought for a day or so, I think you could do it, but you'd have to be unbelievably anal about saving weight to save enough to make a noticeable difference.

 

Its usually the cost of getting it professionally painted that kills the projects like that...

matthew

 

On my old LJ I was able to shave almost 500 lbs by replacing heavy steel parts with aluminum ones...it made a noticeable difference. On my JKU I decided I would only go with light weight aluminum parts where I can, I did full aluminum skid plates, aluminum rocker guards, aluminum fenders. replaced muffler (saved 8 lbs), for bumpers I went with steel mostly because the weight savings was not that significant and I preferred the look/brand of the steel ones. Teraflex aluminum tire carrier, slightly smaller spare tire (still get me off the trail and home if needed but saves weight and $$). Light weight wheels, Warn RC winch with synthetic line, soft top, half doors....
On this Jeep I went with slightly heavier tires but over all I probably saved 500 lbs in additional weight by choosing aluminum/lighter components.

As far as reducing weight from a stock Jeep... Remove rear seat, remove top, half doors, no spare, carbon fiber/fiberglass body parts, remove stereo, remove AC, remove carpet, remove jack...etc etc... you can get extreme but it depends what your goals are..