Whats the advantages and disadvantages of an iron block verse a aluminum block? aluminum is lighter, stronger, but more expensive

even if aluminum cost more why go with an iron?

Aluminum is not strogner than iron..

hmm im pretty sure it is, at least weight wise, or maybe im just wrong how about c405?that would be sweet, a c405 engine block, maybe im playing too much lacrosse

iron is much stronger than aluminium the only thing better about aluminuim is that is lighter

johnpoppy wrote:hmm im pretty sure it is, at least weight wise, or maybe im just wrong

Dimension for dimension, iron is stronger than aluminum. Something made of aluminum needs to be "bigger" dimensionally to match the strength of iron, meaning you don't get the full benefit of using a lighter material.

Another benefit of aluminum is that its expansion rate will match that of an aluminum cylinder head. In addition, its higher thermal conductivity will make it better at transferring heat to the coolant.

Asad

If your trying to compare the SR to the CA, remember, the SR isn't aluminum, its alloy. No weight advantage.

If you want to make an engine out of some sick materials, try titanium. How sweet would that be? Could you even do that? I know it'd be expensive, but I'm dreaming here...

sapix @ RHIT wrote:the SR isn't aluminum, its alloy.

:rolleyes "alloy" by itself isn't a descriptive term. The term "alloy" simply means that the material is a mixture of more than one element. The word "alloy" is meaningless unless you're using it in conjunction with another element; i.e. steel alloy, titanium alloy, copper alloy, etc.

The SR block is made of an aluminum alloy. Typical casting alloys (like 356) are over 90% aluminum by weight. Thus, it's fair to say the SR has an aluminum block, and it's also fair to characterize the material using fairly general aluminum properties, like density and melting point. Alloys, however, are generally much stronger than pure metals.

You will find VERY few pure metals used anywhere on a car (the major exception being copper wiring, which are still only "pure" to a certain limit).

Common usage has led to the term "alloy" (as in "alloy wheels" or "alloy block") to refer to aluminum alloys. Thus, your statement was, effectively, "the SR isn't aluminum, it's aluminum"

It should be noted that cast iron is ALSO an alloy -- it's not just pure Fe; it usually contains a few percent carbon, silicon, and magnanese, as well as smaller amounts of other elements.

Asad