Deanh Posted October 19, 2012 Share Posted October 19, 2012 Are your referring to the Rhode Island based metals firm NanoSteel Company, Inc.? General Motors did a round of investment into the company in August and Bob Lutz joined NanoSteel's board of directors last week. thats them I beleive...was interesting read, reduced weight steel with the same tensile strength as the "heavier" regular steel... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoonerLS Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 Increased use of HSS and AHSS (e.g., HSLA, dual phase, martensitic, etc.) in automobile body structures should result in decreased mass. World Steel Association estimates a 25% mass reduction potential to the body in white and 9% reduction potential to overall vehicle mass if AHSS is used in place of conventional (ferritic) mild steel. HSS, AHSS, meh. I'm holding out for Rearden metal. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 (edited) Anyone notice that the new bigger international Mazda 6 starts out at around 1360Kg - just under 3,000 lbs - significantly lighter than most mid sized competition. This is an example of what can happen when manufacturers really concentrate on getting weight out of vehicles. Hypothetical, a new CD4 Taurus based on a longer and wider fusion arrives but is barely 150 lbs heavier than the Fusion, selection of platforms has as more to do with lighter vehicles than trying to slim down existing vehicle types.. Edited October 20, 2012 by jpd80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edstock Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 Anyone notice that the new bigger international Mazda 6 starts out at around 1360Kg - just under 3,000 lbs - significantly lighter than most mid sized competition. This is an example of what can happen when manufacturers really concentrate on getting weight out of vehicles. It remains to be seen, however, just how well the new bigger international Mazda 6 survives repeated encounters with the good ol' American pothole. The good news is that with advanced materials as they emerge to be practical, things will get lighter and stronger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theoldwizard Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 The flip side of this is the embarrassment Ford middle management had to go through when the current Explorer that is so heavy, the 2.0L EcoBoost was held back a full year trying to squeak out a few more horsepower. Target weight for that vehicle should have been 4,000 with a "stretch objective" of 3,800. I'll bet very few of those 2.0L EcoBoost engine were sold in Explorers in 2012MY. I heard they were rather "anemic". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted October 22, 2012 Author Share Posted October 22, 2012 I'll bet very few of those 2.0L EcoBoost engine were sold in Explorers in 2012MY. I heard they were rather "anemic". Using Cars.com search feature, I found 15775 2013 Explorers (within 10000 miles of my ZIP) with only 1253 2L EB Engines in them... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 The flip side of this is the embarrassment Ford middle management had to go through when the current Explorer that is so heavy, the 2.0L EcoBoost was held back a full year trying to squeak out a few more horsepower. Target weight for that vehicle should have been 4,000 with a "stretch objective" of 3,800. I'll bet very few of those 2.0L EcoBoost engine were sold in Explorers in 2012MY. I heard they were rather "anemic". Ford release --LINK Since their introduction for the 2012 model year, sales of 2.0-liter EcoBoost®-equipped Explorer and Edge are running at 15 percent The 2.0 EB is an honest trier but is found wanting in HEAVY vehicles. Just my opinion but something like an Ecoboost 2.7-3.0 V6 would have probably suited Ford's purposes better and probably had wider use in FWD/AWD applications..Maybe a new series of engines will bring this to fruition... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FordBuyer Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Cadillac did a good job getting the weight out of its new ATS and Subaru with its new BRZ and Scion with FRwhatever. So it can be done without going to super expensive carbon fibler throughout and super high sticker prices. You just have to look at every part of car for weight savings and shave a pound here and there. It can add up to a couple hundred pounds on mid sizer and 500 pounds on big truck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Cadillac did a good job getting the weight out of its new ATS and Subaru with its new BRZ and Scion with FRwhatever. So it can be done without going to super expensive carbon fibler throughout and super high sticker prices. You just have to look at every part of car for weight savings and shave a pound here and there. It can add up to a couple hundred pounds on mid sizer and 500 pounds on big truck. and in a lot of cases road and Engine noise......Hondas are notorious.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 That's right, consumers insist on quiet, safe cars and you don't get that by scrimping on materials or design cost, either way someone has to pay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 You just have to look at every part of car for weight savings and shave a pound here and there. Gee. If only Ford's engineers had thought of doing that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 (edited) And if you hear the piffling amounts of weight saved by GM going to 12mm bolts you'd wonder why bother... Not to be little GM's efforts but ATS is not a good example of weight saving in a Compact sedan, we know that the Alpha platform has engineering preservation to allow growth to large mid size and therefore still has more weight than desirable. Edited October 23, 2012 by jpd80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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