What's the appeal of an aluminum engine block?

[RET_COP]

I'm with you Brent also. My thoughts are, aluminum moves a lot. A block being such a big chunk of bored holes to the thousands of an inch just never made sense to me from a longevity reliability standpoint at big horsepower numbers. Maybe a seasoned block has better results. I'll let you weigh in on that thought.

[RockBit]

Not knowing anything about the agreement they have in place, BBM may be in a perilous position have their parts cast by Hyundai. Years ago I was with a company that needed castings. We found an excellent foundry that was owned by Kumatsu and had spare capacity. The parts they supplied us were great, and pricing was good. After about 5 years, they told us that Kumatsu's demand had increased and they no longer had the capacity to supply parts to us. We scrambled to find another supplier, but never found one with the quality we had been getting.

[jhv48]

Brent, it's your business.

Do what you want!

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by jhv48

Brent, it's your business.

Do what you want!

No, you can only do what you want after you've made a pot full of money. Until then, you do what you have to. Even RodKnock will agree with that.

[RodKnock]

Originally Posted by patrickt

No, you can only do what you want after you've made a pot full of money. Until then, you do what you have to. Even RodKnock will agree with that.

Not everyone needs to make a pot full of money. For someone who's a fan of Wabi-sabi, I'm very surprised with this remark.

But for some, the more money we have, the more discriminating we can be.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by RodKnock

But for some, the more money we have, the more discriminating we can be.

You shouldn't discriminate; you should be "inclusive."

[jetblue69]

I guess it just boils down to showing everyone how big your, ahem, "fritter" is...

Or isn't

[Detroit Bill]

It is weight, cool factor. Most guys buying this stuff are buying themselves a gift.

Refusing aliminum is fine. You might lose a couple but not all sales are good sales.

[Mark IV]

Originally Posted by Detroit Bill

It is weight, cool factor. Most guys buying this stuff are buying themselves a gift.

Refusing aliminum is fine. You might lose a couple but not all sales are good sales.

What Bill said.............

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by Mark IV

What Bill said.............

Wait a minute, who puts an aluminum FE in an SPF anyway?

[Phx Mike]

I agree with you Brent. I would not want to take the chance either and you no doubt have more experience than most/any of us. I was just weighing in on why someone might prefer aluminum.

[blykins]

Yeah, I had to look up "mitigate".

[scottj]

Independent rear suspensions don’t produce the anti-squat that solid axles can produce, so forward bite has to be achieved by other means. Personally, I want as much rear percentage as I can get and there’s really only two ways of achieving that. The way I chose is to use the lightest engine available that will make the HP I can use. Since 1999 I’ve run 430+ cid all-aluminum small blocks and get 57%-59% rear depending on fuel load. A Dart Iron Eagle tall deck block would be a few percent less rear and a BB would probably be close to 50%-50% in my car. Yes, the iron block versions of my engines would probably make a little more power, but I’m already at the limit of what I can hook up with 59% rear. Because I’m more about percentages than overall weight, the weight I save with the aluminum block allows me to run that boat anchor T-56 6 spd that I know you’re so fond of Brent. Oh, and the other way to get the rear percentage I want would be to hang a bunch of lead on the back of the car. But, since these things are challenging enough to drive already I would not want to deal with the effect that would have on the polar moment of inertia.

[66gtk]

If you have customer who wants an aluminum block why not simply charge him time and materials to pass the risk onto him?

[RodKnock]

Where's "Thor maine"? OK, I'll be his surrogate here.

We all should be running Chevy's, specifically the LSx series. Next time I'm running a "real" engine in my Cobra.

[fordracing65]

Bling. The 150lbs weight savings is a big deal. Go to a gym. Take 3 45lbs plates and a 25lbs plate and strap it to the front of the car and tell me you can't tell the difference. Weight matters. Even if you're not racing. These are not daily drivers so why not build them like a race car. But you're right. If you don't want to build aluminum fe's dont. The next guy will. Just be up front when you make that decision with the customer, in the beginning.

[blykins]

That may be a compelling argument if the engine were in the very front of the car.

[RodKnock]

Originally Posted by fordracing65

Bling. The 150lbs weight savings is a big deal. Go to a gym. Take 3 45lbs plates and a 25lbs plate and strap it to the front of the car and tell me you can't tell the difference. Weight matters. Even if you're not racing. These are not daily drivers so why not build them like a race car.

That would be 160 lbs no?

Weight does matter. I didn't buy the alloy block for bling. I bought it for the increased gas mileage.

[fordracing65]

Originally Posted by RodKnock

That would be 160 lbs no?

Weight does matter. I didn't buy the alloy block for bling. I bought it for the increased gas mileage.

Yes. But the when they cast these plates sometimes they are not the correct weight. Lol

[RodKnock]

Originally Posted by fordracing65

Yes. But the when they cast these plates sometimes they are not the correct weight. Lol

I'm not sure what plates you're using, but I only use American made competition bumper plates made specifically for actual competitions.