If you were willing to fork over the $$ for titanium wheels, then you should look at the Work Emotion (not the Kai) wheel. It is forged aluminum and pretty light for how strong they are. The Kai is a cast aluminum wheel of the same look, but much more inexpensive and actually very durable as well. I love Work wheels!!

 

If you get the mag wheels, they will probably get thrashed on the street - the track is the only place they really belong.

 

What kind of proof do you want?

A web search turns this up quite easily: http://www.mcelwee.net/html/densitie...materials.html

Aluminum weighs 2.643 grams per cc, Titanium weighs 4.5 grams per cc.

For comparison, Magnesium weighs 1.7 grams per cc, and Stainless Steel weighs 8.03 grams per cc.

 

I don't doubt your numbers, Jack, but I do wonder why my Cusco titanium front strut bar is so much lighter than the aluminum one...

 

I'm guessing that's because titanium is stronger than aluminum, so they can use thinner metal. You may be able to get the same part, same strength, to be lighter by using titanium compared to using aluminum.

But that's a different thing than saying that titanium is lighter than aluminum...

 

That makes sense.

 

Uneccessary Comments Edited by mod

 

The fact is that different materials do have special characteristics that make them suitable for different applications. My primary expertise is in aluminum. Aluminum has very widely varying properties of corrosion resistance, strength and fatigue life. The best material for wheels would be forged 6069 T6. Good corrosion resistance and strength about 20% above 6061. It was developed for compressed gas cylinders and is used now for bicycle frames and air bag cylinders. Aluminum weights vary from .097 to .101 lbs per cubic inch. If aluminum is heated above about 400 F it loses about half of its ultimate tensile strength.
Titanium is very difficult to work with but has comparable weight to aluminum with potential strengths twice as high. It is the best material for springs and exhaust systems if cost is no object. Aluminum will not work for either of these items because of temperature and fatigue limit problems.
To compare materials considerations are: weight, strength, flexural modulus, fatigue life, fatigue limit, annealling temperature, hardness, sustained load cracking characteristics, corrosion resistence in several types. Deficiencies in many areas can be overcome with design. Metals are my life.

 

Time to start kissing.... and thanks for the numbers, just never heard of that before. Thanks.