92stoccord
Big Member
It's kind of neat thinking that I'm in charge of some of the paint that gets put on these 750,000 or so vehicles/year.
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It doesn't make manufacturing sense to build two separate frames with different materials on the same line.
700 lbs is a HUGE amount of weight and it will absolutely make a difference in fuel economy. Less mass, less power required to get it moving and keep it moving. Simple as that. Sure, engines are part of it, but clearly Ford saw an opportunity to make an improvement and they are taking it. Saying there won't be a difference in fuel economy is like putting identical engines in a Civic and an Accord and expecting both to get the same gas mileage.overall, i doubt that 700lbs is going to make a huge improvement on the fuel economy on these things. yeah, it will help. some. but, aerodynamics and engine design will have the greater impact.
There isn't any added cost in reproducing the same frames, but I can guarantee you that Ford has a reason for making this change. It's not always about profit, either.but they already have the technology for the old frames, there is nothing new to be done....where is the added cost of building something you have built for years?
Exactly. On the highway, unless pulling up a grade the weight reduction will not produce much improvement.10 lbs = 1 hp as the saying goes.
this is effective as 70 hp.
or, requires 70 less hp to move it from stop to motion.
It doesn't make manufacturing sense to build two separate frames with different materials on the same line.
but they already have the technology for the old frames, there is nothing new to be done....where is the added cost of building something you have built for years?
No way. It's lean manufacturing. You buy/build what you need using the pull method. Stockpiling is a way of the past.
"Just in time" manufacturing. Only order the materials you NEED for when you need it. That is why occasionally you see manufacturers having to stop a line because they are short a certain part. It helps control cost.