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Titanium and titanium alloys offer a unique combination of physical and mechanical properties that provide engineering benefits to automotive components. Titanium's major limiting factors to large-volume acceptance have been 1) the material's high raw material cost and, 2) engineering consideration primarily on a substitution basis. Consumer and governmental pressure to improve vehicle fuel efficiency, durability, and safety, while progressively “light-weighting” compels auto industry managers to reassess the value of titanium. Many additional synergies, however, have been discovered to motivate automotive company management to cost-effectively use titanium.

TIMETAL® LCB is a low cost beta titanium alloy specifically designed for automotive coil spring applications. The advantages of beta titanium springs in automotive spring applications are due primarily to low density, low elastic modulus and excellent corrosion resistance. Over 20 ingots of TIMETAL® LCB have been produced since a large production ingot was first melted a few years ago. This paper will provide the characteristics of TIMETAL® LCB that distinguish this alloy from other titanium alloys and steels. Mechanical and metallurgical properties of TIMETAL® LCB accumulated over several years will be summarized and discussed. The significant volume of production experiences of the alloy has enabled realistic specifications to be established for TIMETAL® LCB wire products.

The technical advantages of titanium suspension springs were demonstrated in 1980. Despite successes in aftermarket and racing applications OEM applications have proved more difficult. Changes in the titanium industry, new alloy technologies and lower cost processing are bringing OEM applications for titanium suspension springs closer to being realized. This paper reviews the factors that make beta titanium alloys attractive for titanium and also discusses the developments and changes in the titanium industry that makes wider use of titanium suspension springs a real possibility.