Aluminum Cross Member for LSX Swap

[Edub1]

As long as you are fabbing one why not fab one up from aluminum the way you want it. I wounder how much weight that would save.

[jrb240]

Ive thought about looking into doing a tubular cross member like they do for the camaros.

[Davidss]

Aluminum is WAY more expensive and usually you're going to want to TIG weld it so it would take a million years. And all this would only save a few pounds.

[cnichols]

Mine is all aluminum. Had it CNC'd from a piece of 1/2" flat stock and to make up the difference on the driver side, I just used some solid aluminum spacers made on a lathe. Whole thing probably weighs 4 lbs. if that. It's held up so far...but next time the motor and transmission are out I'm definitely going to check it for any signs of fatigue.

No welding and I spent a total of ~$5.00 on the stainless bolts. Got the rest for free.

[WDRacing]

Pics?

[Blown240sx]

Chris they are talking about an Aluminum Cross Member for the motor I believe. Not just the transmission.

[cnichols]

Yeah, realized as I was browsing. Guess I was drunk when I posted that...oops.

I think it would be too bulky. The main reason for building a custom one in my opinion would be to save space for headers, etc. But, in order to make it strong enough, the aluminum would have to be pretty thick. The other thing about aluminum is that it fatigues...unlike steel.

To be honest, I don't remember the stock member being all that heavy so weight gains would be minimal. You'd be better off taking out your air bags and the computer for them or the sound deadening material. Save more weight that way and not sacrifice strength.

Now, titanium is a different story, but the $$$ is way too much.