Thinking out loud: aluminum parts

whipped · Post by **whipped** » Sat Apr 14, 2007 8:38 pm

I was reading an archived thread on OE, and it got me to thinking..... there are a LOT of aluminum parts on lots of cars nowdays. I'm sitting here with all this unsprung weight in S-10 iron calipers and iron knuckles...

Rickady88GT posted a thread about installing an aluminum cradle from an Impala in his 3.5 S* car, but I didn't find anything about him actually completing it. Does anyone know what happened with that?

Has anyone researched whether any aluminum knuckles (vette/wbody/other) might work with a fiero with a little work?

Third, is there any alternative to the lebaron/11.25" swap that uses aluminum calipers off a stock, preferrably GM car (i.e. not brembo)?

The Dark Side of Will · Sat Apr 14, 2007 8:40 pm

Wilwood & SSBC both make aluminum replacements for the Camaro/S10 calipers.

Modern GM cars use aluminum knuckles, but they generally have much less kingpin angle than Fieros do at the rear so aligning the car once the new knuckles were installed (assuming the geometry could be gotten right) would be difficult.

GM should have built the aluminum frame Fiero they experimented with.

whipped · Post by **whipped** » Sat Apr 14, 2007 8:45 pm

The Dark Side of Will wrote:Wilwood & SSBC both make aluminum replacements for the Camaro/S10 calipers.

Do they have dust boots for street use?

Jinxmutt · Post by **Jinxmutt** » Sat Apr 14, 2007 9:42 pm

* A 2-piston caliper with 38mm stainless steel pistons
* Lightweight aluminum reduces â€œunsprung weightâ€

Series8217 · Post by **Series8217** » Sat Apr 14, 2007 9:52 pm

Take a look at G6 front spindles. They're pretty close to the Fiero design, are aluminum, and you can get 'em at decent prices. You'll have to make a new LCA at the very least. Not sure if the hubs have the same # of splines as the Fiero axles.

The Dark Side of Will · Sat Apr 14, 2007 11:09 pm

Got a pic handy? The W-body and N-body knuckles look similar to the Fiero knuckles, but as I said before, the kingpin angles are wrong.

Series8217 · Post by **Series8217** » Sun Apr 15, 2007 4:10 am

I don't have a pic on hand. I'll take some if I remember next time I'm at the shop. Can't you just tilt them til its right? Shouldn't be too hard to make a control arm that puts it wherever you want?

The Dark Side of Will · Sun Apr 15, 2007 5:49 am

If you like 2.5 degrees of camber.

cactus bastard · Post by **cactus bastard** » Sun Apr 15, 2007 12:31 pm

Lol, think a little bit harder on that idea of yours Series.

There's a wilwood kit for SRT-4s or PT cruisers that goes on ebay for around $600.
http://www.wilwood.com/PDF/ds385.pdf

Bolt pattern on the hats is correct; if you could get this setup adapted to a fiero, it would cut out a decent chunk of unsprung weight on the front end. An adapter for the calipers shouldn't be hard to fab up.

Also, for the record, the Solstice and 07 Miata have aluminum spindles too.

cactus bastard · Post by **cactus bastard** » Sun Apr 15, 2007 12:57 pm

Here are a couple pics of the solstice suspension. (Though you can't really see the knuckles very well)

The KAI on the front looks pretty close to the fiero, but it could just be the angle of the picture.

cactus bastard · Post by **cactus bastard** » Sun Apr 15, 2007 1:01 pm

Here are the specs on an (84-87) front spindle

sourced from this thread
That thread also lists specs from miata spindles, front and rear.

cactus bastard · Post by **cactus bastard** » Sun Apr 15, 2007 1:12 pm

Wilwood also makes lightweight aluminum hubs for a couple of their kits.
The mustang II brake kit for example
http://www.wilwood.com/PDF/ds415.pdf

I know there's a ton of aftermarket mustang stuff out there.
I'm sure you could source the snout/stub axle, and make up a boxed front spindle that would be very strong and light; you could put the pickup points wherever you wanted, and with the aluminum hubs, hats, calipers and lightweight discs, from the wilwood kit, you'd have a very light front end.

Or you could probably even make do with pre-manufactured mustang spindles. I know you can get them with bolt on steering arms, and different KAI angles, so I'm sure something competent could be designed to fit on a fiero.

cactus bastard · Post by **cactus bastard** » Sun Apr 15, 2007 1:15 pm

... double post ...

whipped · Post by **whipped** » Sun Apr 15, 2007 1:50 pm

cactus bastard wrote:Here are a couple pics of the solstice suspension. (Though you can't really see the knuckles very well)

The KAI on the front looks pretty close to the fiero, but it could just be the angle of the picture.

solid rotor?

Holy shit, it's made for the fiero!

:thumbleft:

Series8217 · Post by **Series8217** » Sun Apr 15, 2007 4:39 pm

The Dark Side of Will wrote:If you like 2.5 degrees of camber.

Negative? Don't mind.

Positive? Heck no.

FieroWanaBe1 · Post by **FieroWanaBe1** » Sun Apr 15, 2007 7:23 pm

http://www.streetdreamsbyross.com/alumknuckles.php

can be ordered in any drop too. but he wants at least an order of ten to make a run, the more people buy the lower the prices. I had email them about it in the past but no one else had interest on Old Europe.

whipped · Post by **whipped** » Sun Apr 15, 2007 7:42 pm

I think those were the ones Will designed.....

$900 will buy a lot of parts.......

Junkyard racing for the win! :salute:

Series8217 · Post by **Series8217** » Sun Apr 15, 2007 9:59 pm

FieroWanaBe wrote:http://www.streetdreamsbyross.com/alumknuckles.php

can be ordered in any drop too. but he wants at least an order of ten to make a run, the more people buy the lower the prices. I had email them about it in the past but no one else had interest on Old Europe.

I wish I could those for an 88..

The Dark Side of Will · Mon Apr 16, 2007 8:28 am

Might not be that far off.

I'm collecting used balljoints to cut them apart for the balls. I'm going to have an early knuckle and a late knuckle CMM'd to know the exact position of ball joints & tierod ends relative to the wheel. That will let me assess kingpin angle, etc. to see if one knuckle design would fit both chassis.

I know the steering offset on the early knuckles is huge compared to that of the '88 knuckles, but I know how I'm going to deal with that. The biggest potential difference I see is kingpin angle.

DreX · Post by **DreX** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 5:52 pm

Try willwood Forged Super Lights, they are aluminum and have 4 piston calipers. BTW are not expensive as ppl may think. I bought 4 brand new for $300.

DreX