AN ANALYSIS OF AUTOMOBILE WEIGHT AND ITS REDUCTION BY ALUMINUM SUBSTITUTION

An analysis of existing vehicle designs is used as a basis for the development of influence coefficients which relate a weight change in an automobile component to the total vehicle weight change that could result. It is found, for example, that a ten pound decrease in the weight of a body part could lead to a total vehicle weight reduction of 14 pounds, assuming that other vehicle components are redesigned to account for the smaller load they need to support. As an application of the use of the influence coefficients, a study is made of the potential weight reduction that could be achieved by substitution of aluminum for steel in selected vehicle components. /GMRL/

• Corporate Authors:

  Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)

  400 Commonwealth Drive
  Warrendale, PA  United States  15096
• Authors:
  • Kennedy, F E
  • Hooven, F J
• Publication Date: 1977-9

Media Info

• Pagination: 11 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Aluminum; Automobiles; Motor vehicle bodies; Steel; Vehicle design; Weight
• Old TRIS Terms: Automobile bodies
• Subject Areas: Design; Highways; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00183033
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: SAE 770805
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Dec 12 1978 12:00AM