3eyedwagon Posted December 7, 2005 Share Posted December 7, 2005 Has anyone here ever run aluminum lift blocks, and if so, found any problems such as cracking etc.? After all, weight is the H4s natural enemy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rollie715 Posted December 7, 2005 Share Posted December 7, 2005 I believe most of the SJR Lift components are made out of aluminum. Rollie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSubaruJunkie Posted December 7, 2005 Share Posted December 7, 2005 The last 4" Lift I helped install was made from aluminum blocks. We put it in Jibs Brat... installation wasnt as smooth as the steel lift I had, but it worked just as well. -Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott in Bellingham Posted December 7, 2005 Share Posted December 7, 2005 heres a few I have had no faliure to date , pictured is the compopnants for a 6" lift , the 3-1/2" lift has less parts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
operose Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 heres a few I have had no faliure to date , pictured is the compopnants for a 6" lift , the 3-1/2" lift has less parts cast or machined? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott in Bellingham Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 cast or machined? cast Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3eyedwagon Posted December 8, 2005 Author Share Posted December 8, 2005 I kinda meant more like building your own from 6000 series aluminum rectangular tubing. It would behave quite a bit different than cast pieces. Anyone have any experience with that? Im only looking at doing a 4inch to have a functional commuter with some "pressence". Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoahDL88 Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 I think solid ally would be better for strength then an open rectangular box. thats just my .02 though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadyirishmen Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 It may be slightly stronger, but I don't see how you could benefit from it. It costs more, probably doesn't weigh less, and unless you plan on doing the baha 500 with a turbo charged 2.5 and catching 20 feet of air theres no real reason to go that route. The box tube we use is like industrial strength and we've never had any problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LosDiosDeVerde86 Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 It may be slightly stronger, but I don't see how you could benefit from it. It costs more, probably doesn't weigh less, and unless you plan on doing the baha 500 with a turbo charged 2.5 and catching 20 feet of air theres no real reason to go that route. The box tube we use is like industrial strength and we've never had any problems. PLUG! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoahDL88 Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 It may be slightly stronger, but I don't see how you could benefit from it. It costs more, probably doesn't weigh less, and unless you plan on doing the baha 500 with a turbo charged 2.5 and catching 20 feet of air theres no real reason to go that route. The box tube we use is like industrial strength and we've never had any problems. The box tube that you and www.ozified.com use is steel, which is much stronger than ally, i was refering to using ally box, that seems it would be too weak to withstand hard offroading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
singletrack Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 All my lift bolcks are solid aluminum with steel strut extensions. It actually weighs more than steel box-tube. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3eyedwagon Posted December 8, 2005 Author Share Posted December 8, 2005 It may be slightly stronger, but I don't see how you could benefit from it. It costs more, probably doesn't weigh less, and unless you plan on doing the baha 500 with a turbo charged 2.5 and catching 20 feet of air theres no real reason to go that route. The box tube we use is like industrial strength and we've never had any problems. Did you actually say that it wouldnt weigh less? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3eyedwagon Posted December 8, 2005 Author Share Posted December 8, 2005 Basically, I am wondering if anyone has any experience using 6061 or 6063 series aluminum rectangular tubing with a wall thickness of 1/4" or thicker to make their own lift kit. I realize that multiple groups make their own out of various materials and that "they are the best". However, I am curious if anyone has experienced any problems like torsion cracking, etc. when making their own lift kit from aluminum tubing. I am a welder and fully capable of the project, but I am new to Subarus and have no experience with how much force is applied at the body mounting areas. Many of my friends have made these kits, but none of them had aluminum welding technology, so this is new to us. Any help you could give me would be appreciated. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadyirishmen Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 Well obviously solid aluminum blocks are what we are talking about. I know that they would be stronger because they have support all the way through the block. Its obvious that they would way more than steel box tube that we use. As for the builder who wants information, just look at scorpions website, thats all they use is solid aluminum blocks. I say go for it and use it, it will be strong and you wont have to worry about it cracking unless you weld on it and do a poor weld, but even then I highly doubt it would crack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3eyedwagon Posted December 8, 2005 Author Share Posted December 8, 2005 Well obviously solid aluminum blocks are what we are talking about. I know that they would be stronger because they have support all the way through the block. Its obvious that they would way more than steel box tube that we use. As for the builder who wants information, just look at scorpions website, thats all they use is solid aluminum blocks. I say go for it and use it, it will be strong and you wont have to worry about it cracking unless you weld on it and do a poor weld, but even then I highly doubt it would crack. Dude, solid aluminum is just ignorant overkill for such a light vehicle. The whole point of aluminum is to keep it light weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P K Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 Ozified variations use 6061 "T6" aluminum flat, round, and square bar. Scorpion uses solid aluminum blocks too. The tinsle/crush strength of the solid aluminum or steel tubing versions far exceeds the unibody of the Sube, and the weight savings of solid aluminum vs box steel are negligible. Typical complete kits are ~50 pounds. The concept of using aluminum tubing is a great one for those wanting the very best and I applaud thinking outside the box (pun intended)... though the thought of using TIG for each piece screams labor intensive. Also, I would estimate weight savings at 10-15 pounds, since you still need steel bolts, washers, pitch and steering mods. Then also, based on wall thickness, you may need to anodize or corrosion treat the aluminum tubing - eek, more labor. In reading my ramblings here, I didn't answer your question - "...is it strong enough?" IMHO - 1/4" wall aluminum tubing with TIG-welded top and bottom plates? - YES* r/ PK * PK does not claim to be a materials engineer and is not liable for his opinions. :-p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoahDL88 Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 Dude, solid aluminum is just ignorant overkill for such a light vehicle. The whole point of aluminum is to keep it light weight. Ignorance is bliss, the extra 15 pounds on a 2500-3000 pound car dosn't seem worth the risk, if you are that worried skip the twinkies and date an olsen twin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadyirishmen Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 I think currently (from what I remember) our lift kit only weighs 20 lbs. You'll add more weight with the aluminum and spend more money. Puke, run, puke again, date olsen twin... ready to race. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadyirishmen Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 Okay, now im understanding your point box tube aluminum, vs, box tube steel. No way in hell would I try it to save ten pounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3eyedwagon Posted December 8, 2005 Author Share Posted December 8, 2005 Okay, now im understanding your point box tube aluminum, vs, box tube steel. No way in hell would I try it to save ten pounds. The weight savings would be far more than ten pounds. Even by the time you trussed it to make up for aluminums structural inferiority to steel, it would still be far lighter. Aluminum weighs 1/3 of what steel does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3eyedwagon Posted December 8, 2005 Author Share Posted December 8, 2005 Ozified variations use 6061 "T6" aluminum flat, round, and square bar. Scorpion uses solid aluminum blocks too. The tinsle/crush strength of the solid aluminum or steel tubing versions far exceeds the unibody of the Sube, and the weight savings of solid aluminum vs box steel are negligible. Typical complete kits are ~50 pounds. The concept of using aluminum tubing is a great one for those wanting the very best and I applaud thinking outside the box (pun intended)... though the thought of using TIG for each piece screams labor intensive. Also, I would estimate weight savings at 10-15 pounds, since you still need steel bolts, washers, pitch and steering mods. Then also, based on wall thickness, you may need to anodize or corrosion treat the aluminum tubing - eek, more labor. In reading my ramblings here, I didn't answer your question - "...is it strong enough?" IMHO - 1/4" wall aluminum tubing with TIG-welded top and bottom plates? - YES* r/ PK * PK does not claim to be a materials engineer and is not liable for his opinions. :-p Thank you for your experience and opinion. Do you by any chance know the weight of a complete steel kit? I just have a feeling that the weight savings would be far greater (Naturally it would sacrifice a small amount of strength) than only 10-15 pounds. My reasoning behind this is that this is not going to be a vehicle that sees much off road action, mostly snow trips and light trail work. It will be a poser if you will, and so far, my experience with the EA81 is that it is very durable, but also greatly underpowered, even with exhaust and a 32/36. Even a toolbox is noticeable when merging! SO my mission is to keep the weight down to make the car tolerable for a 100 mile round trip commute in the winter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qman Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 The weight savings would be far more than ten pounds. Even by the time you trussed it to make up for aluminums structural inferiority to steel, it would still be far lighter. Aluminum weighs 1/3 of what steel does. If you have the answers then why are you asking the questions? If this is just a poser(your words) then why are you worried about 10-15 lbs. Yes, that's about the most you could possibly save in weight reduction. Besides, by mixing aluminum with steel bolts you will get a dissimilar metal corrosion. I would be far more worried about that then cracking on a street poser. If you ask the question you should be prepared to accept the answer. If you are not then do not ask the question. You have gotten responses from 3 lift kit manufacturers. Not to mention some who have built there own lifts and rigs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dustyrider Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 my experience with the EA81 is that it is very durable, but also greatly underpowered, even with exhaust and a 32/36. Even a toolbox is noticeable when merging! SO my mission is to keep the weight down to make the car tolerable for a 100 mile round trip commute in the winter. Might wanna look into an EA82.... I have put thousands of miles on the lifted hatch with all sorts a weight in it and even little thirteens under it, there is just no way I can stand up on the highway, and if theres a head wind forget it... I don't even get to pass trailer trucks unless there is a hill and I have drafted him just right:brow: they still catch up and pass me again its like tag on the interstate:rolleyes: Course I would like to see any one of those cars that pass me follow me off road. I think for what your looking to do you may just wanna stick bigger wheels and tires under something it will give you that presence your after.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry DeMoss Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 Thats helarious.Plus adding weight to it anyway like putting a winch on the front,ect.I also am a fan of aluminum.I don't think you need to use solid aluminum blocks.But the olsen twins weigh maybe 100 lbs for both of them. Ignorance is bliss, the extra 15 pounds on a 2500-3000 pound car dosn't seem worth the risk, if you are that worried skip the twinkies and date an olsen twin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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