bren_1.3 1 Posted October 18, 2008 i planned on replacing all the steel m6 bolts that hold the thermostat housing and the dizzy housing to aluminium anodised bolts. i know that aluminium bolts arent meant for safety critical areas, i.e bottom ball joint pin! but are they ok to use on the engine side of things? secondly, i know aluminium and steel corrode when in contact with each other. im assuming its a good option to replace all the non-critical steel fasteners on the engine with aluminium ones. having said that ive never had a problem with getting the steel fasteners out from an alloy blocked engine. be it TU or XU.. anyone have any comments or thoughts on the subject. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
base-1 17 Posted October 18, 2008 I wouldn't personally use ali on something like that, they're not strong and as a heated type area you might find that eventually, after a few heat cycles, it gives up and you s*it your water and thermostat out mid-stage, which would be a bit of a fail for saving 12 grams. Might be slightly overcautious there but you get my jist. Things like plug covers, timing beacons, panels, dash, blah blah is the kind of thing I'd use them for. Light stuff mainly though inside, don't want more stuff hitting you in the face if you drop it! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mrswampy 0 Posted October 18, 2008 I wouldn't personally use ali on something like that, they're not strong and as a heated type area you might find that eventually, after a few heat cycles, it gives up and you s*it your water and thermostat out mid-stage, which would be a bit of a fail for saving 12 grams. Might be slightly overcautious there but you get my jist. Things like plug covers, timing beacons, panels, dash, blah blah is the kind of thing I'd use them for. Light stuff mainly though inside, don't want more stuff hitting you in the face if you drop it! Seconded id not use ali bolts full stop bike fairings etc yes but not on a car if weight saving is the game go for titanium ones,and it wont only be the car thats lighter on a mates track bike we shaved off just over 1kg by replaceing the steel bolts with ti ones if nice looking ones is what you want drop me a pm with your requirements, Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bren_1.3 1 Posted October 18, 2008 I wouldn't personally use ali on something like that, they're not strong and as a heated type area you might find that eventually, after a few heat cycles, it gives up and you s*it your water and thermostat out mid-stage, which would be a bit of a fail for saving 12 grams. Might be slightly overcautious there but you get my jist. i do get the jist yes. thats a fair point. ive done the belt covers using the ali bolts, i suppose i might get away with the front wing bolts and thats about as far as it goes? if nice looking ones is what you want drop me a pm with your requirements mrswampy just to confirm we are talking about aluminium bolts not titanium? if weight saving is the game go for titanium ones,and it wont only be the car thats lighter ive only really looked on ebay for titanium bolts but they seem to be very expensive. Five m8 x 50mm bolts are nigh on 20 pounds. are they available cheaper elsewhere? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mrswampy 0 Posted October 18, 2008 No even me buying them wholesale doesnt make them much cheaper and there just isnt the interestd in them for it to be viable for me to invest in them at wholsale qtys Share this post Link to post Share on other sites