C6 to possibly have titanium connecting rods...
C6 to possibly have titanium connecting rods...
Registered User
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 2,472
From: South Bend, Indiana
That guy talks about other cars getting titanium connecting rods too, is there any right now that have them?
BTW, what are the benifits of titanium over aluminum?
BTW, what are the benifits of titanium over aluminum?
Last edited by Meccadeth; Dec 13, 2002 at 01:31 PM.
Registered User
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 2,472
From: South Bend, Indiana
``Titanium, the worlds 4th most abundant structural metal, exceeded
only by aluminum, iron, and magnesium.
only by aluminum, iron, and magnesium.
Incidently, Titanium connecting rods
save about 30% in weight over steel rods.
save about 30% in weight over steel rods.
It doesn't say anything about it being stronger though.
Any experts around here?
Registered User
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 1,022
From: Newhall, CA USA
Aluminum is a relatively soft metal that deforms easily. In Top Fuel dragsters, this is necessary to keep the rods from simply snapping. Soft = bend, hard = break. Titanium is stronger and more brittle than aluminum, more like steel. Therefore, probably better for a street engine.
Registered User
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 2,979
"Titanium is stronger and more brittle than aluminum, more like steel. Therefore, probably better for a street engine."
First, we need to explain something here...
Any metal you pick has a large number of alloys associated with it. There are dozens upon dozens of alloys for steel and aluminium, fewer for titanium.
Regardless of alloy, the following things are true:
Aluminium is not heavier than titanium for a given volume. Titanium is roughly half as dense as steel, aluminium is roughly 1/3 as dense as steel.
Steel is three times as stiff as aluminium, and twice as stiff as titanium.
Aluminium is less formable than any equivalently hardened steel - meaning more brittle. Aluminium does not like impact loading, has generally poor fatigue characteristics, and tends to spall in wear.
Titanium, on the other hand, has excellent impact properties - similar to steels, although at the extreme upper end of loading (like ballistic steel armor) steel retains its advantages due to the ability of steels to be case-hardened.
Aluminum is difficult to weld, titanium is HORRIBLE to weld (it must be welded in a vacuum or inert gas bath), steel welds easily.
Titanium is generally not formed using stamping processes like steel is, but is usually machined - this is not because it is brittle, but generally because few high volume products use titanium, meaning that stamping is not competitive price-wise. Aluminium can be stamped, but is more difficult than steel, and wears tooling out more quickly (due to its tendency to flash-form a ceramic layer when exposed to oxygen - ceramics are harder than most steels used to form metal).
In terms of yield strength (what really matters in connecting rod design), titanium has specific advantages in terms of strength vs. weight when compared to steel and aluminium. Connecting rods can be made stronger and lighter out of the premier titanium alloys than they can out of any aluminium or steel alloy - short of some really rare (and expensive) steel alloys like 560 TiV.
First, we need to explain something here...
Any metal you pick has a large number of alloys associated with it. There are dozens upon dozens of alloys for steel and aluminium, fewer for titanium.
Regardless of alloy, the following things are true:
Aluminium is not heavier than titanium for a given volume. Titanium is roughly half as dense as steel, aluminium is roughly 1/3 as dense as steel.
Steel is three times as stiff as aluminium, and twice as stiff as titanium.
Aluminium is less formable than any equivalently hardened steel - meaning more brittle. Aluminium does not like impact loading, has generally poor fatigue characteristics, and tends to spall in wear.
Titanium, on the other hand, has excellent impact properties - similar to steels, although at the extreme upper end of loading (like ballistic steel armor) steel retains its advantages due to the ability of steels to be case-hardened.
Aluminum is difficult to weld, titanium is HORRIBLE to weld (it must be welded in a vacuum or inert gas bath), steel welds easily.
Titanium is generally not formed using stamping processes like steel is, but is usually machined - this is not because it is brittle, but generally because few high volume products use titanium, meaning that stamping is not competitive price-wise. Aluminium can be stamped, but is more difficult than steel, and wears tooling out more quickly (due to its tendency to flash-form a ceramic layer when exposed to oxygen - ceramics are harder than most steels used to form metal).
In terms of yield strength (what really matters in connecting rod design), titanium has specific advantages in terms of strength vs. weight when compared to steel and aluminium. Connecting rods can be made stronger and lighter out of the premier titanium alloys than they can out of any aluminium or steel alloy - short of some really rare (and expensive) steel alloys like 560 TiV.
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