GM is going aluminum
According to an article in the Wall Street Journal Chevy and will GMC will going aluminum 4 years after Ford. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/gm-readying-aluminum-body-trucks-032223285.html It wil...
Forum Discussion
FishOnOne wrote:
I'm not sure I agree with all this... Ever compare the weight and strength of titanium to Stainless steel.
In addition removing weight from a vehicle will improve highway fuel economy. Try a highway fuel economy test with your current truck with and without 1k pounds in the bed of the truck.
Titanium benefits on some things but doesn't pay off on others. See post above. As an example, Titanium works for MX bike axles (unsprung mass), valves and rods. Aluminum would improve some of these high reciprocation cases except it fatigues where steel and titanium don't. Magnesium, at 25% less mass than aluminum, helps for engine covers and once in a while wheel hubs (unsprung mass again). These more expensive materials are all used only where the payoff is greatest.
Highway mileage will improve with lighter weight but not as much as city driving where a large percentage of fuel is used to heat brakes in stop-&-go. That's why a Prius Hybrid (with brake energy recovery) might get 60 mpg in town as opposed to my old '94 Escort that got only 31 mpg. A 10% decrease in rolling resistance nets about 2% better highway economy at best, so a 15 mpg truck becomes 15.3 mpg. In town 1k less might be good for 3 mpg instead of .3 .
Wes
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