Will C7 frame be all-aluminum?
10-11-2012, 06:22 PM
#21
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and where would the average person get helium to put in their tires. I am in the helium business and i dont know if you know it there is a very serious helium shortage going on and it is super expensive to buy right now. It wouldn't be a problem for me because i have it at my disposal but for everybody else?. I don't see this happening for the corvette tires.
10-11-2012, 06:55 PM
#22
Melting Slicks
I have it on good authority that it will have a new TiAlHe alloy an it will only be 2mm thick and have a mass of 100 kg, but do to a Helium fill of the "air" tight frame it will "weigh less than 10 pounds. They will also be using special tires that have a mylar lining so that they can be filled with Helium. While the unsprung mass is changed very slightly this will make the tire/wheel combination 4 pounds lighter per corner.
They are doing amazing things with technology.
They are doing amazing things with technology.
10-11-2012, 06:56 PM
#23
Melting Slicks
and where would the average person get helium to put in their tires. I am in the helium business and i dont know if you know it there is a very serious helium shortage going on and it is super expensive to buy right now. It wouldn't be a problem for me because i have it at my disposal but for everybody else?. I don't see this happening for the corvette tires.
10-11-2012, 07:03 PM
#24
Le Mans Master
10-11-2012, 07:04 PM
#25
Le Mans Master
10-11-2012, 07:05 PM
#26
Le Mans Master
10-11-2012, 07:19 PM
#27
http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/my...y-farther.html
10-11-2012, 07:52 PM
#28
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I do not know their volume of sales forecast for the C7 but if it's only 15,000 cars or so they are going to use a combination of oursourced to specification and in house to make parts for final assembly. You can't afford much tooling on 15,000 or less cars forecasts.
When I heard the $131 million I thought that either they were outsourcing a ton or that they weren't making many fundamental changes.
Don't know which. Tooling can be very expensive. Way more than the $131mm I would think.
When I heard the $131 million I thought that either they were outsourcing a ton or that they weren't making many fundamental changes.
Don't know which. Tooling can be very expensive. Way more than the $131mm I would think.
10-11-2012, 09:32 PM
#29
Le Mans Master
I think BlueOx's prediction of multiple metals is on target. It might be predominantly aluminum but I bet the targa top frame and the firewall/dashboard crossmember are magnesium. I was hoping for high-strength steel A pillars to reduce their girth but it doesn't look like that happened. (A pillars are ridiculously thick these days; I can't wait for the study that shows the blind spots they create cause accidents...)
.Jinx
.Jinx
10-11-2012, 09:38 PM
#30
Drifting
I'm not so sure about that. Maybe in a "crash test". But I've seen quite a few pics of wrecked C5's and read the details of the crash and I have to say the car fairs very well for some of the things I've seen happen to them.
)
10-11-2012, 09:45 PM
#31
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10-11-2012, 11:43 PM
#33
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and where would the average person get helium to put in their tires. I am in the helium business and i dont know if you know it there is a very serious helium shortage going on and it is super expensive to buy right now. It wouldn't be a problem for me because i have it at my disposal but for everybody else?. I don't see this happening for the corvette tires.
I realize there is a shortage, although it is hard to tell by most people on the street as they still sell helium balloons. Helium would be highly impractical as the helium would migrate through the rubber of the tire. I doubt the mylar would adhere well to the rubber over time, and helium still migrate, just at a slower pace.
10-12-2012, 12:25 AM
#34
Melting Slicks
First, it was joke. I don't think a smiley was necessary; especially with the titanium Aluminum Helium alloy. As Helium is a noble gas, I would guess that would be difficult to practically impossible. Putting helium in the rails would service no practical purpose as the mass of the car would almost unchanged, so the dynamics would be unchanged. The car "weighing" less would have no value.
I realize there is a shortage, although it is hard to tell by most people on the street as they still sell helium balloons. Helium would be highly impractical as the helium would migrate through the rubber of the tire. I doubt the mylar would adhere well to the rubber over time, and helium still migrate, just at a slower pace.
I realize there is a shortage, although it is hard to tell by most people on the street as they still sell helium balloons. Helium would be highly impractical as the helium would migrate through the rubber of the tire. I doubt the mylar would adhere well to the rubber over time, and helium still migrate, just at a slower pace.
10-12-2012, 03:11 AM
#35
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GM invested in NanoSteel. My guess is that they're going to use it for the frame at some point in the C7 generation. It's FAR lighter than standard steel, it's way cheaper than aluminum and carbon fiber and it's nearly on par as far as weight goes with aluminum except that it's stronger.
10-12-2012, 09:15 AM
#36
GM invested in NanoSteel. My guess is that they're going to use it for the frame at some point in the C7 generation. It's FAR lighter than standard steel, it's way cheaper than aluminum and carbon fiber and it's nearly on par as far as weight goes with aluminum except that it's stronger.
There is no doubt they will use it but the only real question is where and how much. With NanoSteel, GM's new aluminum welding technique, magnesium, and other materials/approaches, I can see a very light C7 generation.
I can only hope they bring those materials/approaches to the next-gen Camaro also!
10-12-2012, 12:33 PM
#37
Team Owner
I think BlueOx's prediction of multiple metals is on target. It might be predominantly aluminum but I bet the targa top frame and the firewall/dashboard crossmember are magnesium. I was hoping for high-strength steel A pillars to reduce their girth but it doesn't look like that happened. (A pillars are ridiculously thick these days; I can't wait for the study that shows the blind spots they create cause accidents...)
.Jinx
.Jinx
My C6 has an aluminum frame, carbon fiber fenders, wheelhouses and floorboards(combined with balsa wood). It also has a magnesium engine cradle and roof frame(also used in C6 convertible top frame, C5's wheels and C3/C4's valve covers, and at least one 1953 Corvette left Flint with a magnesium hood). Titanium valves and connecting rods are found in my engine(was also used in the C5's exhaust).
Nothing new in using those materials in a Corvette, so using them in a future Corvette is not breaking new ground.
Last edited by JoesC5; 10-12-2012 at 01:06 PM.
10-12-2012, 01:47 PM
#38
Le Mans Master
The fact that GM can now more effectively weld aluminum to aluminum will help this happen in the C7 and lots of other GM vehicles... I think it is also possible that they could use some mixture of the aluminum, magnesium, steel, NanoSteel, and other materials.
.Jinx
Pedantic Palace, indeed!!