Alpine951

I need to make some brackets to adapt some seat rails for non stock seats to my car. Should I only use steel or will aluminum proved the strength neccesary? these brackets will be in between the seat and the slider. it will probably be shaped like a "U" but it will be on its side. One side will bolt to the top of the slider and the other side will bolt to the bottom of the seat. the alternative mounting would be to mount it on its side directly to the floor in the stock holes and maount the slider on top of the other side.

odie

I say NO! I think aluminum is too brittle. The brackets may snap in an accident. Metal may bend, twist, stretch but not snap.

Dave951M

YES!!!!!

It depends on the alloy. If 6061T6 is good enough for stressed parts, it's probably overkill on seat brackets. Do NOT use pure aluminum.

Skip

Absolutely aluminum is okay, but it depends on the material and the formation. Sparco (and others) make Aluminuim versions of the side mounts.

Not sure what you are trying to do, but don't be using the junk they sell at hardware stores for DIY projects... it's very brittle/soft. Sounds like you might find what you need in steel at a hardware store - U-bent steel bar.

Good Luck!

RMills944

Just make sure you use the right type of aluminum, and also that the piece you're using is thick enough to be structurally sound.

Alpine951

So steel from a hardware store is OK but aluminum from a hardware store is not?

RedlineMan

Mild Steel is mild steel...

But they don't sell T6 6061 at Lowes!

You can use aluminum, but I would offer that you need to be VERY CAREFUL with material choice, configuration, and in how it is designed and laid out. You need to make sure most of the force put to the aluminum is in shear rather than a bending force, and that you absolutely limit the leverage forces working against the mount. You also should use generous washers to back up any fasteners.

In other words.... use steel!

Custom Built Double Locking Sliders in a 930S

Danno

Depending upon the alloys, aluminium and steel have roughly the same strength to weight ratio; so equivalent-strength parts end up weighing about the same. However, due to the lower density of Al, that part will be physically larger for the same strength.

Alpine951

Sounds like steel is the safe bet.

Geo

I'm with Skip. Aluminum is OK. But, you had better thing about the engineering a bit. You are going to have to use a good grade of aluminum and make sure it's thick enough.

If you are not sure, use steel. But you should be able to use aluminum if you think it through OK.

Dave951M

Just remember like John pointed out- they generally don't sell the tempered alloys at the local hardware store. With that in mind, neither do they sell any good grades of carbon or stainless steel either. I would recommend that you get your materials from a metals dealer with access to multiple materials and the knowledge to help you pick out the right stuff.

theedge

Steel is a safer bet usually.

If youre using it like the pic further up there, you wont need very thick steel to support it at a minimum, but you can go thicker steel to be safe.

Skip Wolfe

I agreee with the others that Al is fine as long as its the correct alloy and setup correctly. FYI, McMaster Carr is a great source for one time purchases of stock like this that you can't find at the local Home Depot - worth checking out.

http://www.mcmaster.com/
http://www.mcmaster.com/param/asp/ps...etals;Aluminum

Alan C.

One thing to consider with aluminum is how you bend it relative to the rolling direction. Some alloys do not like to be bent parallel to the rolling direction. With a tight enough radius they will crack. In general a generous radius 90 degrees to the rolling direction is your best bet.

Funny as it may sound some alloys will improve with time which can be artificially accelerated, age hardening.

If you are doing this at home It may be just as easy to fab it out of steel. Have you considered square section tubing? I would not worry about the weight delta. Skip a super sized meal or two.