Abstract: The teachings provide a fill tube assembly for a casting mold and methods of using the assembly. The fill tube assembly includes a fill tube having a tubular member with a receiving end, a mold-engaging end and an intermediate portion. The mold-engaging end has a tapered flange radially extending therefrom, the remainder of the tubular member has a substantially, uniform cross-section. A clamping assembly is structured to maintain a substantially leakproof seal at the fill tube, casting mold interface while accommodating dimensional variations. The clamping assembly includes a gasket, a load ring, a clamping plate and a pre-load gap between the clamping plate and the casting mold and optionally includes a dimensional compensating ring. When tightened, the clamping plate biases the load ring against the flange thereby distributing a uniform load against the casting mold, compressing the gasket therebetween while narrowing the pre-load gap to accommodate dimensional variations.

Abstract: The present invention provides a casting having increased crashworthiness including an an aluminum alloy of about 6.0 wt % to about 8.0 wt % Si; about 0.12 wt % to about 0.25 wt % Mg; less than or equal to about 0.35 wt % Cu; less than or equal to about 4.0 wt % Zn; less than or equal to about 0.6 wt % Mn; and less than or equal to about 0.15 wt % Fe, wherein the cast body is treated to a T5 or T6 temper and has a tensile strength ranging from 100 MPa to 180 MPa and has a critical fracture strain greater than 10%. The present invention further provides a method of forming a casting having increased crashworthiness.