"LSXforYourSuperCar" (LSXforYourSuperCar)
01/27/2014 at 20:16 • Filed to: None
0
7|
"LSXforYourSuperCar" (LSXforYourSuperCar)
01/27/2014 at 20:16 • Filed to: None | 0
| 7 |
The fact that America's best selling vehicle (by unit and by weight) will be constructed largely from aluminum is a huge boon to enthusiasts everywhere!
A little back story is necessary. When you consider it's properties, aluminum is lighter and stronger than iron/steel. Aluminum is also one of the most common elements of the dirt we stand on, every country on every continent has a nearly unlimited supply of aluminum. Ford has decided to build it's heaviest and most prolific vehicle of this metal and subsidize it's own dealers the cost to repair aluminum intense vehicles.
Thanks to iron's ease of extraction it's standing as the metal of choice among auto makers, the steel car has become the industry standard among suppliers, tool/die makers, stamping plants, body repair-techs/shops, et-cetera. No business wants to throw away the expertise they have developed over decades and begin learning a new one.
Sadly, it costs a lot more to extract aluminum from it's ore than iron/steel, but once the aluminum is extracted, thanks to it's low density it takes far less energy to recycle than iron and, for reasons I do not understand yet, recycled aluminum is as pure as newly refined aluminum and is endlessly recyclable, after aluminium has been recycled, it becomes cheaper with every ounce that is produced and recycled.
Once we have 5,000,000 tons of junked aluminium Ford F-150s in scrap yards, every manufacturer will be forced to build lighter more efficient, better performing aluminum cars.
.
Formula4speed
> LSXforYourSuperCar
01/27/2014 at 20:22 |
|
What I don't understand is why they went with aluminum instead of high strength steel: http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2013/01/volksw…
Victorious Secret
> LSXforYourSuperCar
01/27/2014 at 20:28 |
|
This only means that Ford has serious plans to inject aluminum love into their ENTIRE lineup.
Would you like a Mustang that sheds 300-500 pounds if not more just because they went aluminum? I would. Everyone would. Would you like a sub 3000 pound Focus ST? Cause I would too.
Its where the industry is headed and while high strength steel is nice is just old and outdated when you have better and have the chance to make better.
Ford can subsidize the HELL out of aluminum stamping and manufacturing through the F series and then proliferate their entire automotive lineup with it. Driving down costs so much it isn't even funny.
What is next? CFRPs. Starting with the F150 most likely. BMW is already bringing it to the i3 and thats where the industry is headed next for mass production use.
TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts.
> LSXforYourSuperCar
01/27/2014 at 20:31 |
|
Simplify and add lightness.
Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies
> LSXforYourSuperCar
01/27/2014 at 20:34 |
|
No, because you're fucked if you actually use it as a truck.
|
LSXforYourSuperCar
> Formula4speed
01/27/2014 at 20:38 |
|
Steel, after it is is extracted, becomes increasing difficult to refine and recycle. Where-as extracted aluminum is always aluminum.
The more pounds of aluminum that exist/extracted and then recycled, the cheaper aluminum gets.
|
Formula4speed
> LSXforYourSuperCar
01/27/2014 at 21:30 |
|
Yes. But until this point it looked like the cost/benefit ratio was leaning toward HSS and away from Al despite those benefits. As much as I'm sure ford appreciates those "greater goods", their primary concern is almost certainly not benevolence—it's their bottom line, followed by vehicle performance. HSS is stronger per gram than al, meaning it can be made lighter and stronger and cheaper than aluminum and doesn't require tons of subsidies on ford's part to make sure the repair infrastructure is compatible with their choice. The recyclability appears to offer little short or medium-term benefit to ford. The industry, as a whole, was moving toward aluminum until HSS became widely available, at which point we began to see an overall trend of moving away from it again. I'm curious what cost or performance benefit ford itself is seeing, as that's the only way they would invest in it this massively.
|
LSXforYourSuperCar
> Formula4speed
01/27/2014 at 22:38 |
|
In the short term, yes steel is where it's at.
What I'm trying to say, after Ford announced the F-150 is going to be a AIV it is committed to building at least 500,000 4500lb vehicles a year made mostly of aluminum. Since it is way cheaper to to recycle aluminum than produce more steel, Ford will make it's own weather. In the future aluminum will be (relatively) cheaper and better than steal. By creating this new order Ford will also be in the best position to capitalize on the lower cost of aluminium because it will have already made the necessary changes today instead of tomarrow.