{"id":568390,"date":"2010-05-18T10:48:38","date_gmt":"2010-05-18T14:48:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.caranddriver.com\/?p=21896"},"modified":"2010-05-18T10:48:38","modified_gmt":"2010-05-18T14:48:38","slug":"steel-still-has-a-future-says-audi%e2%80%99s-lightweight-chief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/568390","title":{"rendered":"Steel Still Has a Future, Says Audi\u2019s Lightweight Chief"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Audi is the automaker furthest ahead in aluminum construction, but the head of its lightweight materials effort says that steel definitely has a future.<\/p>\n

Heinrich Timm, head of Audi\u2019s Aluminum and Lightweight Design Center in Neckarsulm, Germany, is considered by many to be the godfather of the modern aluminum car. In a lengthy private briefing at Audi\u2019s sprawling, 13,700-employee Neckarsulm plant, where aluminum R8s and A8s are assembled along with a raft of other mainstream Audis, Timm said the future for body construction in lower-cost cars will be a mix of materials such as aluminum, steel, and composites, including plastic and carbon fiber.<\/p>\n

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Because aluminum is typically twice the cost of steel, and its use means that costs for almost every other aspect of the car\u2014from assembly to parts handling to service and repair\u2014are significantly higher, \u201cfrom an economic sense, it doesn\u2019t make sense to use one material,\u201d says Timm.<\/p>\n

With the ultra-chic R8 and new R8 Spyder convertible as well as the freshly redesigned A8 sedan being assembled in the halls below from aluminum, Timm said the prototype for lower-cost cars actually is the current Audi TT<\/a>, which is assembled in Gyor, Hungary. It\u2019s made from 31 percent aluminum sheet, 31 percent steel sheet, 22 percent aluminum castings, and 16 percent aluminum extrusions. By comparison, the more expensive A8 uses just 8 percent steel in its mostly aluminum body. The whole rear of the TT\u2019s skeleton is conventional steel stampings, used strategically for weight balance, strength, and cost, says Timm.<\/p>\n

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Timm, a 38-year Audi veteran who started working on aluminum construction in 1982, believes steel will always be king in smaller, cheap cars where every dollar added to the price counts. But in mid-priced cars, targeted use of aluminum and composites in the body construction can help hold the line on weight.<\/p>\n

Weight gain in the mid-size segment, where Audi’s own A4 competes, has averaged a 10 percent increase per year, says Timm. However, the current A4 gained no weight over its predecessor, he says, because the company is smarter about its use of materials, and especially its use of steel. \u201cThere are 11 types of steel sheet in the A4,\u201d says Timm, including various exotic types of high-strength steel in critical load areas.<\/p>\n

According to Timm, if the car\u2019s weight drops by 220 pounds but everything else remains the same, fuel use drops by 1 to 3 mpg and a car needs 20 fewer feet to hit 60 mph. Audi has also focused on components such as fuel tanks, suspension bits, and brakes in the search to save extra pounds. Because its effect is so magnified, rotational mass, including the weight of flywheels, crankshafts, and road wheels, is a particularly attractive target. Cutting two pounds from a flywheel has the same effect on fuel economy as pulling 35 pounds off the body, says Timm. Using its own lightweight A5 2.0T concept<\/a> as an example, look for future Audis to continue shedding the pounds.<\/p>\n

Related posts:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Lightweight Audi A5 2.0T Concept – Prototype Drive<\/a><\/li>\n
  2. Audi’s Diversified Electric Future<\/a><\/li>\n
  3. Next Audi A8 Pushed Back, Plus Audi Plans for 2010 and Beyond – Car News<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Audi is the automaker furthest ahead in aluminum construction, but the head of its lightweight materials effort says that steel definitely has a future. Heinrich Timm, head of Audi\u2019s Aluminum and Lightweight Design Center in Neckarsulm, Germany, is considered by many to be the godfather of the modern aluminum car. In a lengthy private briefing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6416,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-568390","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mobile","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/568390","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6416"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=568390"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/568390\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=568390"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=568390"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=568390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}