Quote:
Originally Posted by FazerBoy
Hiya,
Can you please summarise the relative pros and cons of aluminum v steel?
Can you ship to the UK?
Thanks
Jack
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Steel Pros:
1. Stronger
2. Less subjected to thermal expansion
3. Cheaper because it's easier to work with and material cost is also lower.
Steel Cons:
HEAVY
Aluminum Pros:
1. Lighter (1/2 the weight in this case)
2. Looks Nicer, the brushed aluminum look
Aluminum Cons:
1. Weaker than steel in the same diameter
2. Expands more when heated. In general, you don't want a strut bar to change its length because that may screw up your suspension geometry.
3. More expensive because of material cost and it's a bitch to wield.
So really depends on what you're looking for. If you want something that's Stiff as hell in a wider range of temps and don't mind adding a few more pounds, steel is the way to go. If you want looks and not too much weight added to the front of the car, go with Aluminum.
I think our car suffers from compression stress more often than expansion (i.e. top of the strut tower is coming together more than going apart) , so the advantage of steel's strength might not be that much.