Just wondering what everybody thought of the Aluminium I beams sold by Superbell, They are very light so must help with unsprung weight but are they durable ???
I have only seen one and it was on a local rod that did not see much road use. Pretty. But expensive and not really "correct" looking. If I was going to spend that kind of money I would go with a stainless Deuce Factory unit or a chromed Chassis Engineering model. Note that the CE model requires a unique spring available from CE and Posies. Picture is the best I have.
i'm sure it is a fine axle as all superbell products seam to be , and they make aircraft parts out of aluminum..i just don't think i want to use one yet. i have never seen one on a car outside of a display at a rod show. how many have they actually made and sold? i asked Jason at the street rod nationals a couple years ago about testing them and he told me they sent one out for structural testing..but when i asked him how many miles did they have on the test car i got no answer. i'd like to see them put 100,000 miles on one in the real world maybe i'm overreacting..but no one has proved to me that i should be using one. if i'm wrong , please someone step up and tell me . just my 2 cents
While I have confidence in the testing lab's ability and the engineers' analysis, I don't think I am ambitious enough to replace my 26-year-old Superbell tube axle, even if it has kept the tires in place for substantially over 100,000 miles. Could also be that I am too cheap.....
I wanted one of those when they first came out there bitchin ! and yes they would lighten up the un sprung weight, but they only make um in the narrowed width so I couldn't use it on my car . Ive seen a few running around with no problems, I would buy one in a second if they made a stock width
I already have a brand new axle as it came way of a deal so money is not the factor, I was more interested in the performance advantages.
The E-modulus of aluminium is abt 1/3 of steel. If we put aside the fact that good aluminium can be stronger than bad steel and assume that strengthwise they are OK. They are still the same shape as a steel axle so an applied force will cause the same tension in them both. The difference is that the aluminium axle will move (flex) 3 times more than the steel. I've only seen one on a car and it was scary soft.
The advantage as mentioned above would be a reduction in unsprung weight. On a 1500 lb T bucket it might really be a noticable difference. Especially on UK back roads. On a 2500lb car the improvement may be quite a bit less noticable. I think the big thing with it is a high Bubba factor at the moment. "Hey Bubba look at this, he's got one of those alunimum axles." As far as strength, it is probably as strong as any alunimum suspension piece on any new car. How it reacts to the stresses placed on a traditionally mounted I beam axle remain to be seen.
Well, a lot a of information to take in. I bought the "Forged" aluminum axle made out of 6061 because it would be lighter and stronger than a cast axle. The price, well I got mine by asking for a discount, it never hurts to ask and cash does talk as they say. Just like buying any parts from any major supplier, you won't get a discount unless you ask. As for the Modulus of Elasticity, yes, standard aluminum is less than cast steel, but you are not just looking at "E-Modulus", you are also looking at "torrisonal strength", "tensil strength" and last but not least a little thing called "fatigue", all of which forged aluminum made from 6061 will far out last cast or forged steel. Kind of the reason they make airplanes out of aluminum rather than steel......................even if steel could be made as thin and lightweight as aluminum................it wouldn't survive the compression/decompression of over 1,000,000 duty cycles........... IMHO
A little thing called fatique... The reason they do airplanes in aluminium instead of steel is weight. The downside of making things in aluminium, especially airplanes, is that is prone to fatique. Steel has a safe fatique stress level. Keep under that level and fatique will never be an issue. Aluminium don't have that, any stress level repeated enough times will cause fatique. Kick the front tire of your car and then do the same on a car with a steel axle and you see what I mean about flex.
"They are still the same shape as a steel axle " This is the big joker with aluminum and cast iron substitutes for Ford suspension parts. Modern OEM suspension parts are being made from both materials, but they have been designed for those materials with appropriate sections and thicknesses. If you simply replicate the size and shape of a forged steel part in a weaker metal, you obviously weaken the product, and the amount of weakening is utterly unknown without an engineering test to destruction. If you want a strong aluminum or iron, designing it for that material would produce a strong piece but with very little resemblance to a forged steel piece.
I have one, not been used yet! How about the one you had seen tunglegubbin, is,t in on a car in Sweden? I,m currently using a super bell cast I-beam, I hope the aluminum version is at least as strong!?
i heard the test results came back saying the ali axle was far stronger!!!!like 4/5 times stronger,,carnt remember where i read it thou,,superbell website maybe!!!
I sold one to a fellow club member in the Denver Roadsters. He drives the car alot,loves it. I used to get a kick showing them,act like it is all heavy and hand it to someone. They are very light .
Think I'd pass... Looks like it would be a bitch to get paint to stick to it. Wonder how it fares with the potential for galvanic corrosion between the aluminium axle and the steel perch bolts? I know that up here in the Northern Caribbean , getting steel bolts out of aluminium can be a major headache due to galvanic corrosion. Having it in the perch holes could eventually compromise the strength of the axle! Slow process I know...but considering the axle is just above the road and easy to get wet etc....????
we've got a drilled one for the '32... it's unreal how light it is. Knowing Superbell's reputation, they wouldn't introduce it just as a wow factor in their product line.
Any one else? I am considering this for my roadster and would like to hear how hard you have beaten your aluminum axle. I drive hard, I would like to hear from some guys with real world experience. thanks, Donny
I work for Pete & Jakes and SuperBell and have never had a failure on a Alum I beam in the whole time i'v worked there. In testing they a stronger the a steel axle. I have had guy's paint them, leave them polished are even chrome plate them with out failure or fatique.They are forged from aircraft grade Aluminium.
I have one under my 32, have drove it about 1000 miles with no issues at all. If Pete & Jake sell them I am sure they have been tested to stress levels I will never see.
For those of you running this axle - Did you have the car aligned? If so do you know what the camber was at and have you checked it after any mileage? Thanks!
They look pretty good but, You can definately tell they are not really dropped but actually forged that way.I don't really like the little emblem in the center either. I actually like the way they looked undrilled rather than drilled. As far as strength, I have no idea. Alot of people use them so I guess they are pretty good but don't take my word for it.
I had one under my roadster. But I didn't really like it after a buddy of mine kicked the front tire and I watched the axle flex between the pearch and the spindle,,that doesn't happen with a forged axle,,, I drove the car hard and that axle flex soon was a dim memory but always in the back of my head I had that vision,,,I would not run another one. HRP
Does anyone know how much these axles weigh? very light is kind of vague. would they be well suited under a drag car for weight reduction, to help get the front end up?
The Superbell aluminum axle weighs in at 9.5 lbs. and I don't think you would want a 4" dropped axle on a drag car. HRP
now , why wouldn't you want a 4" drop axle under your drag car...? as for the axle , a friend sold 3 a couple weeks ago ...he said they were something above 6061. my other buddy , who's on here , has one patiently waiting for a car to use it on
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