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I've reached out to an outfit that makes Titanium lug nuts (I have a set on my car) to inquire about possibly making titanium wheel studs to reduce rotational inertia. They used 6AL4V aircraft grade titanium and quoted a price of $250 for a set of 20 with a group purchase of 5 to start off. Anyone else interested?
Ok, so I spoke with the manufacturer and they stated that Ti has excellent heat resistance qualities that make it ideal for this type of application and that steel has the tendency to become brittle due to heat, especially for track type activities.
Here's something I found on the properties of Ti online. "One of titanium’s useful properties is a high melting point of 3135°F (1725°C). This melting point is approximately 400°F above the melting point of steel and approximately 2000°F above that of aluminum."
It's true that they look nice, but more than that, they shave valuable weight off plus you don't lose any strength compared to the steel lug nuts. In fact, they're stronger than steel. By replacing my steel lugs with Ti, I shaved an entire pound off the weight which reduces the rotational inertia immensely.
It's true that they look nice, but more than that, they shave valuable weight off plus you don't lose any strength compared to the steel lug nuts. In fact, they're stronger than steel. By replacing my steel lugs with Ti, I shaved an entire pound off the weight which reduces the rotational inertia immensely.
The benefit of a slight decrease in the weight of Ti studs will have very little effect on rotational inertia as the weight loss is concentrated in the center of the wheel as opposed to the outer portion of the wheel. You will get a slight decrease of unprung mass. I'm not aware of any race series that uses or allows the use of Ti studs most likely due to the concern I voiced initially.
I respect your opinion immensely since you've demonstrated time and time again a vast knowledge about our cars (which I don't come close to matching), but I'm having a really hard time reconciling what you're saying about Ti as a material and what I've seen and experienced with these applications.
There are different grades of Ti and the grade that would be used here is frequently used in the aerospace industry exactly because it is strong and light (it's an aluminum alloy). Perhaps you've seen Ti fail in the past? Perhaps it was a different grade?
As for the weight saving comments, no, it's not like removing your phone or CDs. while it is correct that the weight would be only removed from the center of the wheel and weight removed from the outer circumference makes a bigger difference in rotational inertia, it all adds up and this seems like a relatively cheap way to achieve that weight saving.
I'm not going to get into a pissing contest about this matter. If there's no interest, I'll just leave it at that.
Originally Posted by powdrhound
The benefit of a slight decrease in the weight of Ti studs will have very little effect on rotational inertia as the weight loss is concentrated in the center of the wheel as opposed to the outer portion of the wheel. You will get a slight decrease of unprung mass. I'm not aware of any race series that uses or allows the use of Ti studs most likely due to the concern I voiced initially.
Just stop it! You guys are going to make me cry about my new jewelry. I feel so superficial. Oh, and I totally feel the difference just sitting in my car.
05-09-2016, 10:45 PM
Gauging interest- Titanium wheel studs
Oh, and I totally feel the difference just sitting in my car.
